Trumaker Blog How to Care for White Shirts

by Joe JarvisTwo questions we frequently hear: "What's the best way to clean a white button-up shirt?" and "How often should I reorder my white shirts?"For the scoop on cleaning, we turned to the experts at Rinse.com, the dry-cleaning and laundry delivery service. Their suggestions:Minimize the time between wearing your white shirt and cleaning it. This will reduce stains around the collar and underarms. Also, bacteria love fresh sweat, so quick cleaning will keep microbes out of your Morrow button-up.If you decide to clean your shirts yourself, pre-treat any stained areas (namely, collar or underarms) with a stain remover. Then wash the garment according to the care instructions, using the warmest water possible. Always remember to wash lights and darks separately - otherwise the dye from the darker fabrics will make your whites look dingy.Don't use chlorine bleach, which can alter the color of your shirt. (Remember, white is a color.)If you decide to use a professional cleaner-like the good people at Rinse.com, for example-try to minimize the time between wearing and cleaning, and don't store your worn shirt in a place where there's a lot of heat, sunlight, or humidity.As far as replacing your white shirts, we're tempted to advocate the Don Draper approach. In the first season of "Mad Men," Don opens a desk drawer to reveal a stack of identical white shirts, meaning that he bought them by the bunch. However, our friends at Rinse.com have a more scientific take.Rinse.com's COO, James Joun, says, "I would rely on the International Fair Claims Guide for Consumer Textiles Products." In addition to its catchy name, the IFCGCTP offers a methodology for determining the life expectancy of garments, which the cleaning industry widely regards as authoritative. "According to the guide," James says, "a white shirt has a life expectancy of 25 months. At 13 to 19 months, the shirt is worth about 50 percent of its original value. A white collar can then reasonably be expected to last, with proper care, 13 to 25 months."And remember: When the collar turns color, it's time for a new shirt.