Cotton Bag Care Guide (The Right Way)
Cotton is popular worldwide due to its soft and breathable properties. It is extremely versatile and is used in a vast variety of products.
Cottons bags are a great replacement to use in place of plastic shopping bags, they’re also much more aesthetically pleasing and the also biodegrade up to 500 times faster than a plastic bag does.
If you have purchased some bags that are made from cotton, you may be looking to find out more about how often you need to clean them and how you should go about doing it. Well, look no further.
We are a leading supplier of cotton bags and can make a variety of custom bag styles with your designs; here is how to take care of them once you’ve received them. To follow are some popularly asked questions and the answers to the questions you’ve been asking.
How often do I need to clean my cotton bags?
The answer to this question depends on the frequency of use and the methods of use.
For example, if you were to use your cotton bags every weekend for your weekly shop and fill them with unpackaged and fresh goods, you will want to wash your bag more often than if you were to use them weekly and only fill them with packaged goods.
What is the reasoning behind this?
Cotton bags collect dirt more than a plastic bag does due to the structural elements of the material, so bacteria from your fresh produce can transfer on to the bag and grow without you noticing. You may then reuse this bag to buy fresh produce again, meaning these bacteria may transfer back onto your fresh vegetables.
To prevent the development of unhealthy bacteria, throw your cotton bag in a cold wash every other week if you use it a lot and for fresh products or every few weeks if you use it little and with items that don’t transfer much bacteria.
Ideally you should wash your cotton back every 3-4 weeks if you use it an average amount or more frequently if you have a higher amount of usage.
How do I clean my cotton bag?
This is the simple bit, as you can mostly just throw your cotton bag in with the rest if you’re washing on a cold setting and it will be nice and clean. If you wash your cotton bag in a warm wash you run the risk if shrinking and warping the material, so use cold water at all times.
That being said, you may choose to wash your cotton bag by hand if you don’t want to do a whole cold wash just for the sake of your cotton bags. So here is a step by step guide to washing your cotton/canvas bags by hand.
- Brush and shake all dirt and crumbs away from the outside and inside of the bag
- Use an eco-friendly washing detergent and ad a small amount to a basin of cool water.
- Soak the bag in the water for at least 10 minutes
- Rub any stains with a soft sponge or fabric brush in a circular motion to gently remove them.
- Rinse the bag with clean cool water until all the detergent is removed and your bag looks lovely and clean.
- Leave the bag to dry naturally by hanging it up. Don’t wring your bag otherwise you’ll damage the fibres that hold the bag in its shape.
Use your bag again!
It’s really easy to take care of your cotton bags and you can wash your canvas, jute, and juco bags in the exact same way.
If you would like custom printed eco-friendly bags, we can help you with this here.
