Monsoon fabric care checklist

Monsoon fabric care checklist

Through the monsoon, fabric rarely dries fully and stored textiles sit in air that never gets a dry spell. Most monsoon damage is mould and odour rather than staining, and almost all of it is prevented by how clothes are dried and stored rather than by how they are washed.

• Wash smaller loads so garments can circulate and rinse fully
• Use the highest safe spin speed to cut residual moisture before drying
• Dry indoors with a fan or open window rather than in a closed room
• Never fold or store anything that is even slightly damp
• Air stored cotton and silk on the first dry day of each week
• Keep wardrobes off exterior damp walls; leave a gap at the back
• Add silica or neem in stored trunks; replace silica when it saturates
• Wash and fully dry towels and kitchen linen more often than usual
• Check leather, canvas bags and shoes weekly for surface mould
• Clean the washing machine drum and gasket monthly to stop musty transfer