How to Wash a Cashmere Sweater (Without Ruining It)

If there’s a better way to self-soothe during the gray, rainy transition to fall than cashmere, we haven’t worn it. Made from the soft undercoat of certain breeds of goats, cashmere is among the softest things you can put next to your skin, but beyond its buttery softness, it has a reputation for being tricky to keep clean. Cashmere is also, obviously, expensive—at least compared to regular wool or merino—and if you’re treating yourself to a cashmere sweater as an investment piece (which you absolutely should), you’ll want to learn how to avoid shrinking it in the wash. The good news? Cleaning your treasured new V-neck isn’t as complicated as its reputation suggests.“When washed correctly, it should stay soft and feel refreshed,” says Zachary Pozniak, COO of Jeeves New York, a luxury laundry service. The problems start, he says, when you rely on heat, friction, or harsh detergents, all of which can lead to “shrinkage, felting, stiffness, pilling or loss of shape.” In other words, it’s OK to wash cashmere at home, but you can’t treat it like ordinary laundry.When to washThe less you wash your cashmere, the better. In a world of cotton sweatshirts and button-ups, this will feel counterintuitive, but the more successful you are at keeping your sweater out of the laundry basket, the longer it’ll last. “Wash it when it truly needs it,” says Pozniak. “In between washes, air it out and spot-clean small marks. Too much washing will cause pilling and thin the material.”One thing working to your advantage here is cashmere’s natural breathability and odor resistance. Unlike your white dress shirts, which should be washed after nearly every wear to avoid yellowing along the collar, or anything with high polyester content—a magnet for body odor—a cashmere sweater worn over a shirt can go an entire season without a wash if you're careful. Just keep an eye out for stains, dirt, and odors, and maybe take it off before digging into that bowl of ramen.Surefire ways to ruin cashmereCashmere isn’t the most difficult thing to clean, according to Pozniak, but it is less forgiving than your gym clothes. “It’s delicate, a bit involved and time-consuming, but not difficult,” he says. On the laundry-trickiness scale, he puts it somewhere in the middle. The first step is reading the label to see if it’s machine-safe. Regardless of what it says, Pozniak suggests being more careful with expensive, vintage, embellished, structured, leather-trimmed or otherwise precious pieces, which may be better off in the hands of a professional. From there, the biggest risks are “rubbing, wringing it, aggressive washing cycles, using the wrong detergent, and tumble drying,” Pozniak says. Heat is another enemy of cashmere. Pozniak recommends sticking to cool water and avoiding sudden temperature changes. As for the dryer? “Never.” Full stop.And if some of your dinner ends up on your sweater, don’t start scrubbing. “Blot, don’t rub, with a clean cloth and water only,” Pozniak says. “Avoid hot water, aggressive stain removers, and things like Tide pens or Shout wipes.” Once home, use a mild targeted treatment, or take it to a professional if the stain is oily, coloured or stubborn.Treat it like cashmereCashmere’s washing and drying instructions can essentially be summed up in three words: cool, calm, and flat. Whether you’re hand-washing or using a gentle machine cycle, keep the water cool and the friction minimal. Use a detergent designed for cashmere or wool fibers—Pozniak says he personally likes SOAK, which has a conditioning agent that “keeps it soft and healthy, like our own hair.”Drying requires an equally gentle hand. Never twist or wring out a wet cashmere sweater. Instead, press out excess water, lay the garment on a towel, roll the towel up and squeeze gently to draw out more moisture. Then reshape the sweater and lay it flat on a fresh, dry towel until it’s completely dry. “Whatever you do, do not hang it wet,” Pozniak says. Water weight can pull a hanging sweater and quickly alter its shape.If the sweater is wrinkled, use a steamer instead of an iron—direct heat can flatten the surface of cashmere and leave it looking shiny—to gently return it to its original shape. And yes, even the best-cared-for cashmere will eventually pill. A cashmere comb or sweater shaver can tidy it up, but restraint is important here, too. “Don’t do it too often,” Pozniak says. “Removing pills also removes fibers.” He likes the Gleener depilling and lint-brush tool, which has multiple heads for different fabrics. The trick to washing cashmere, ultimately, is restraint. Do less, be gentle, and your treasured fall knits will keep you stylishly cozy for years to come.