How to wash cashmere at home without ruining it

To wash cashmere at home, hand wash it in cool to lukewarm water with a small amount of mild wool detergent, soak for up to 30 minutes, rinse without wringing, then press out the water and dry the garment flat on a towel. Avoid heat, agitation, and hanging.

Cashmere is a fine animal fiber, closer to your own hair than to cotton, which is exactly why it rewards a gentle hand and punishes heat and friction.

Hand wash or machine wash?

Hand washing is the gentlest method, and the one every cashmere maker recommends first. It gives you control over temperature and agitation, the two things that destroy the fiber. Machine washing is possible if your machine has a genuine delicate, hand wash, or wool cycle. Turn the garment inside out, seal it in a mesh laundry bag, select the delicate or wool cycle with cold water and the lowest spin, and remove it the moment the cycle ends. The Laundress recommends washing like colors and fabrics together. Even on a wool cycle, a machine agitates more than your hands do, so save it for sturdier everyday knits and always wash fine, loosely knit, or embellished pieces by hand. The reason to be careful is felting: cashmere fibers have microscopic scales that lock together when heat, water, and movement combine, which shrinks and matts the garment.

Water temperature and detergent

Use cool to lukewarm water. GOBI Cashmere puts the ideal around 20°C (68°F) and warns that hot water causes shrinkage and felting. The Woolmark Company allows up to about 30°C for hand washing wool and up to 40°C on a true machine wool cycle, but with cashmere there is no reason to push the temperature, and the bigger danger is a sudden swing between hot and cold. Keep the wash and the rinse at the same temperature.

For detergent, reach for a product made for wool and delicates, or a drop of mild hair shampoo in a pinch, which GOBI and older care traditions both suggest. Avoid anything with enzymes or bleach. Enzyme detergents are designed to break down protein, and cashmere is a protein fiber, so they slowly degrade it. Skip fabric softener too, because it coats the fiber and dulls the handle.

The hand wash, step by step

1. Fill a clean basin with cool to lukewarm water and dissolve a small amount of wool detergent. 2. Turn the garment inside out and submerge it. Gently press and swish it through the water. Do not scrub, twist, or rub. The Laundress suggests massaging gently, as if washing your hair. 3. Let it soak. Ten to thirty minutes is plenty, and there is no benefit to leaving it overnight. 4. Rinse in clean water at the same temperature until no suds remain. 5. Lift the garment out supporting its full weight so it does not stretch, then press the water out against the side of the basin. Never wring or twist, which forces the garment out of shape permanently.

A useful trick from several brand guides: lay the damp sweater on a dry towel, roll the towel up like a sleeping bag, and press to blot out excess water before drying.

Drying cashmere flat

This is the step most people get wrong. Lay the garment flat on a fresh dry towel or a mesh drying rack, reshape it to its original dimensions while it is damp, and keep it away from radiators, direct sun, and heat. Never hang wet cashmere, because the weight of the water drags the shoulders and hem out of shape, and that stretch does not come back. Never put cashmere in a tumble dryer, where heat and tumbling will felt and shrink it. Flat drying takes time, often the better part of a day, so flip the garment once it is no longer soaking and smooth the ribbing at the cuffs and hem back into shape. Once dry, a handheld steamer removes wrinkles. Do not iron, which flattens the yarns and kills the loft.

De-pilling without damage

Pilling is not a defect or a sign of cheap cashmere. Johnstons of Elgin describes it plainly as a natural process where loose fibers rub together, and it happens most at friction points like underarms and cuffs. Remove pills with a cashmere comb or a sweater stone, working gently in one direction rather than back and forth. Let the tool do the work, since pressing hard can snag and thin the knit. Doing this every few wears keeps a sweater looking new for years.

Storing cashmere between seasons

Always store cashmere clean, because body oils and invisible food traces are what clothes moths feed on. Fold knits rather than hanging them, since hangers create shoulder bumps and stretch. Keep them in breathable cotton or linen, not plastic, which traps moisture and can yellow the fiber; GOBI suggests a relative humidity around 45 to 55 percent. Cedar balls or lavender sachets are the standard natural moth deterrents. If you have the space, a sheet of acid free tissue folded inside helps knits keep their shape over a long summer in storage. Air a sweater out between wears instead of washing after every outing, because wool and cashmere are naturally odor and stain resistant, as Woolmark notes, so most pieces need washing only every few wears.

When to dry clean, and the mistakes to avoid

Plain knitwear does not need a dry cleaner. The real exceptions are structured and woven pieces: tailored cashmere coats, lined blazers, suits, and woven scarves, where water can distort the construction. Johnstons of Elgin recommends hand washing knitwear every three to four wears but dry cleaning its woven items. Spot treat small stains on structured pieces with cool water and a gentle stain remover rather than soaking the whole garment. The mistakes that ruin cashmere are consistent: hot water, wringing, hanging it wet, tumble drying, ironing flat, and harsh or enzyme detergents. Avoid those six and almost any cashmere sweater will survive home washing better than it survives repeated trips to a solvent-based cleaner.