Help! How Do I Wash A Fireproof Racing Suit?
Here’s all the stuff you shouldn’t use when washing a fireproof item of clothing:
- No chlorine bleach
- No detergents that contain chlorine bleach
- No detergents that contain animal fats
- No fabric softeners (both the liquid stuff and dryer sheets, or detergents that contain fabric softeners)
- No starch
Now
that you know that stuff, the rest is mostly gravy! But gravy is good,
so here are your best practices when laundering fire retardant clothing:
First, check the care instructions for your particular item of clothing
to find out what the manufacturer specifies when it comes to water
temperature and drying instructions. You’ll also want to turn the
clothing inside out before it goes in the washing machine.
It’s
also important to be mindful of not overusing detergent; more detergent
does not equal more clean and, in the case of washing this particular
type of garment, it’s really important not to use too large a dose of
the stuff. What happens is that the detergent doesn’t get fully rinsed
out of the fibers — and lingering detergent can act as an accelerant to
flame. So! Please do not use too much detergent.
One thing you
can
use safely is a laundry pretreatment spray, like Shout or Spray ‘n
Wash. Which is helpful to know about if your suit has gotten especially
soiled during the course of wearing it.
When it comes to drying,
use a low- or medium-heat drying cycle to prevent shrinking, unless
otherwise specified in the care instructions. You may also opt to air
dry the item by hanging it or laying it flat.
(Jalopnik.com)
