How to wash your thermal underwear correctly?

Thermal underwear has recently become a very popular type of clothing. Many people use it both for wearing in special climatic conditions and for everyday wear, for example, for sports. The specificity of the properties of the fabric of this type of clothing makes it necessary to comply with special rules for the care of products made from thermal materials.

Thermal underwear is intended primarily for outdoor sports, as well as outdoor activities in the cold season. Depending on the composition of the material, thermal underwear can be designed for different degrees of activity and different external temperatures.

The cellular (or honeycomb) structure of this fabric is capable of combining two seemingly incompatible properties:

1. Actively removes moisture from the body. That is why thermal underwear is called the second skin, because it allows the body to breathe. In cold weather, moisture, lingering on the body, leads to additional loss of heat, and, as a result, to a cooling of the body. If sweat leaves the skin surface well through the pores of the tissue, the body does not lose heat. This process allows you to stay in the cold for a longer time, without experiencing unpleasant chills and without hypothermia.
2. The fabric of thermal underwear is made in such a way that certain of its fibers create something like air gap... Such a layer, freely passing excess moisture from the body, retains heat. That is, the heating function is carried out.

It is the combination of these two functions of the fabric that allows this type of clothing to warm well in cool weather and even in cold weather. Therefore, it is so important not to harm the fabric and not disrupt the structure of such clothes, otherwise its specific properties will simply stop working.

The fabric of thermal underwear, depending on its type, may slightly differ in composition and properties. Such differences suggest the use of this garment under different environmental conditions and with different physical activity.

According to this principle, three types of thermal underwear are distinguished:

• Linen for a long sedentary stay in the cold. The fabric for this type of linen is made in polypropylene or with a polyester layer. This material is able to retain heat for a very long time and well, while removing moisture from the body. This type of product is suitable for winter fishing, picnic or hiking.

• Thermal fabric products intended for active sports with great physical activity in the open air. The composition of such clothing includes cotton. This underwear also removes moisture from the body and retains heat, but it can only retain this effect for 6-7 hours.

• Thermo Clothing for everyday use. This fabric contains a large percentage of natural wool. In everyday life, we do not face excessive stress and increased sweating. The task of such clothes is to keep warm as much as possible. This underwear is much more comfortable than woolen turtlenecks and sweaters. It fits the body well and can be used as an additional, almost invisible layer of clothing in the cold season.

Thermal underwear adheres directly to the body and comes into contact with sweat released during physical exertion. Clothes get dirty pretty quickly. Naturally, underwear used for active sports is susceptible to the greatest contamination.

In the case of products made from thermal fabric, the problem of contamination is also that the pores of the fabric, which should allow moisture to pass well and remove it from the body, become clogged with perspiration. The longer such clothes are used without washing, the more tissue cells become clogged, and therefore, the worse the moisture-wicking properties of the product become. Complete clogging of the cells of the thermal material turns the thermal underwear into an ordinary dense turtleneck that does not have the effect of sweating and warming the body. Therefore, it is necessary to wash linen made of thermal material quite often.

It is advisable to wash clothes that are used for sports activities after each workout. It is highly advisable to wash linen for everyday wear at least 2 times a week. It is not necessary to wash the thermal clothing for a sedentary holiday often.

It is not at all difficult to properly wash thermal underwear at home. You just need to remember well and follow a few rules:

• It is possible to wash clothes made of thermal fabric in an automatic machine only in a delicate mode. It is necessary to set the program "Gentle wash", "Wool", "Hand wash" or "Delicate wash". In each model of the washing machine, this washing mode may be called differently.
• The water temperature when washing clothes by hand or by machine should not exceed 40 degrees. Light dirt can be washed in cooler water, but it is absolutely impossible to exceed the above threshold for all types of thermal underwear. High temperatures significantly reduce the properties of the thermal fabric. Lingerie can be deformed and lose its attractive appearance. Such underwear ceases to fulfill its functions and becomes extremely uncomfortable to wear.

• Do not use ordinary powder for any type of washing of thermal underwear. It strongly clogs the pores of the thermal fabric and is very poorly washed out of the material.Liquid gels, special soft detergents intended for washing thermal fabrics, laundry or ordinary soaps are suitable.
• Thermal clothing must never be bleached or any chlorine-based detergent used for washing. This substance will irreparably damage the tissue structure.
• Antistatic agents, conditioners or rinses will generally not damage the product. They can be safely added to water for machine and hand wash.

• Linen made from polypropylene can only be washed by hand. Even a delicate machine wash program can ruin it.
• When washing by hand, the laundry should be handled delicately and carefully. A thermal fabric product should not be rubbed, stretched, twisted or wrung out vigorously. Hand wash can be done in soapy water.
• Each product has a label where the rules of operation and care are described in detail. Please read these instructions carefully before washing and drying your thermal underwear.

Proper drying of thermo-woven garments is just as important as the washing itself. Errors during the drying phase of the product can negate all efforts to preserve its quality and properties. For proper drying of thermal underwear, there are the following recommendations:

• The spinning of linen in the washing machine at high speeds is excluded. The ideal option would be to completely abandon the machine spinning. Also, do not twist and wring out the laundry by hand. If you need to speed up the drying of your clothes, you can use the spin program at the lowest speed. Spinning at a speed exceeding 400 revolutions is not allowed.
• Do not leave thermo-woven items in the drum of the washing machine or in the basin after washing. The washed product should not be crumpled for a long time. Immediately after washing (if the delicate spin mode was not used in the washing machine), the laundry should be hung over the bathtub and excess water should be allowed to drain.
• Do not hang a wet or damp product on a radiator, place in the sun or near heating appliances. High temperatures destroy the cellular structure of the tissue. The laundry is likely to lose its properties forever.

• Drying in a washing machine is also contraindicated.
• To properly dry your thermal underwear, you need to hang it outdoors, for example, on a balcony. One has only to avoid direct sunlight. You can dry it by spreading the product on a dryer or hanging it on a rope in a room away from heat sources. Please be patient, because because spinning and intensive drying are impossible, thermal fabric products take a long time to dry. However, this is a necessary condition for the preservation of the useful functions of this tissue.
• Thermal underwear must not be steamed or ironed, even when dry. This material is quite elastic and conforms to the shape of the body, so it does not need ironing. To avoid noticeable folds and bruises, you just need to carefully lay out or hang the product while drying.

It will be useful to remember a few important rules regarding the care of thermal clothing:

• Avoid substantial contamination of the laundry. It is important to wash such clothes in a timely manner, since when heavily soiled, the fabric loses its properties due to blockage of cells in the fibers.
• Exposure to high temperatures is categorically contraindicated. This applies to both washing and drying. You cannot boil products made of thermal fabric, and you also cannot wash them in water with a temperature above 40 degrees. Drying in the sun, on a radiator and near other heating devices is not permitted. The linen must not be ironed with a hot iron.
• Do not use cleaning agents with chlorine and other aggressive chemical components for washing. For thermal underwear, the use of ordinary washing powder is not suitable.

As you can see, washing and caring for thermal underwear at home is quite feasible and not time consuming.

For information on how to care for thermal underwear, see the next video.