Make your choice of professional clothing more positive and better. Want to know how to wash your uniform? How to decipher the washing symbols? What’s the best way to remove stubborn stains?
Discover our tips, tricks and cleaning hints and learn how to take the best care of the professional clothing you wear every day in the course of your work!
Don’t let clothes get too dirty. Don’t store wet clothes or leave them on the floor. Separate them properly according to the conservation symbols.
Fabrics that are heavily soiled should be washed immediately. Fresh stains are easier to remove than dry ones.
Empty pockets, turn shirtsleeves inside out, undo buttons, raise collars and zip up before washing to avoid damaging the rest of the garment. Wash the most delicate items in a mesh bag.
Always separate accessories that are susceptible to rust, such as buckles, buttons, etc.
Remove rust stains with a suitable stain remover before washing. Follow the instructions for use and dosage of soap or detergent. Do not overfill the washing machine. Never reach the maximum temperature indicated and always pay close attention to the washing symbols on the garment’s label.
Before washing your work clothes, check that no items have been left inside the pockets.
This wash is recommended for garments with multiple colors, prints and embroidery that deserve delicate treatment. Always use cold water without soaking. It is important that the soap or detergent dissolves completely before you start washing.
Don’t rub the garment, gently squeeze it. Leave to dry thoroughly.
“Don’t keep your work clothes in bags. These retain moisture, which ends up turning the garments yellow and sometimes moldy.”
Fold heavy clothes so that they don’t become deformed. Do not expose your professional clothes to the sun or strong wind, especially if they are colored. If you dry them on an indoor balcony, make sure there are air currents. For knitted items, leave them to dry on a surface without hanging or exposing them to the sun or radiator. Clothes prone to deformation should be stretched out to dry so that they recover their shape. Here it is also very important to check the washing and drying symbols on the garment’s label.
Separate the garments according to the symbols on the label and start ironing at the lowest temperature.
Remove any residue with a damp cloth. Beware of metal coatings on ironing boards.
“Never mix white and black garments in the wash, or light and dark garments.
Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions – these are on the garments and contain very important information about the specifics of each type of fabric.”
Professional uniforms are increasingly seen not just as a way of standardizing employees, but as a company’s business card, responsible for building a stronger corporate identity.
For many companies, professional clothing is a constant concern, as it also has a very direct link to the well-being of their employees, as well as inspiring confidence in those who come into contact with that same organization or brand.
Because of all this importance, you should take care with your professional clothing, both in the process of choosing the right garments and in the maintenance that helps them last.
High temperatures are always bad for fabrics
When it comes to stains that are more difficult to remove, look for a more professional wash
Use neutral detergents for delicate fabrics
Dissolve the detergent well so as not to cause stains on your professional clothing
Jeans: They discolor naturally, so wash them separately or with similarly colored garments. Always turn the garment inside out when washing, do not use stain removers or dry clean. Prefer bleach to bleach; bleach wears down the fibers of professional clothing fabrics.
Always dry clean garments with linings and interlinings
Always pay close attention to the washing symbols on the labels of each garment
“Synthetic fabrics (100% polyester, nylon, lycra) are highly sensitive to heat, so they should be washed in cold water, ironed at low temperatures and without steam.
Always check the label with the composition of the fabric.”
Through our professional experience and all our knowledge in the production of professional clothing, we leave you with a short description of some of the compositions of our garments. Our focus is on being able to offer you an excellent quality product capable of providing you with all the comfort, protection and elegance you need.
A natural product of vegetable origin. The main advantages of cotton fabric are:
Today, polyester is a very popular fabric. With the discovery of microfibers, which allow polyester to have a softer touch, this fabric is very well established on the market.
Polyester has been combined with cotton fabrics to solve some of the problems people would have wearing 100% cotton garments.
All kinds of clothes would wrinkle very easily due to the absorption of all the natural fibers.
“Cotton is a natural fiber of plant origin.
The composition is essentially cellulose and the average fiber length varies from two to four centimeters. The longer the cotton fibers, the better their quality.”
Shine: As desired, from highly lustrous to deeply opaque.
Heat retention: Satisfactory
The soft touch offers a “skin on skin” feeling. Even after many washes, Modal remains as soft as on the first day.
Modal* absorbs 50% more moisture than cotton. So the skin stays dry and can breathe.
*Modal is a generic name for rayon, a fiber manufactured by the viscose process, which has high tenacity and a high modulus of elasticity to moisture.
The best blend:
Each clothing label must state the composition of the fabric and include the washing symbols. Below you can find out the meaning of the various washing symbols that can be displayed on your garments.
The garment can be washed by hand or in the washing machine
The straight line below the container indicates that the garment can be washed in the washing machine, but with a more delicate wash. You will need to use gentler washing programs with shorter spin times.
Whenever this symbol appears, it means that the garment should only be washed by hand.
Maximum temperature of 95 °C. Washed with normal mechanical action and normal spinning. Normal process
Maximum temperature of 60 °C. Washed with normal mechanical action and normal spinning. Solid colored cotton items: work clothes, shirts, etc.
Maximum temperature of 40 °C. Washed with normal mechanical action and gentle spinning. Cotton and polyester items, solid colored cotton, polyamide (nylon) items.
Maximum temperature of 40 °C. Wash with reduced mechanical action and gentle spinning. Colored synthetic fiber articles, knitted garments and wool garments with anti-shrinkage treatment
Do not wash
The garment can be treated with chlorine additives and also bleach based on active oxygen
Chlorine bleaching allowed
Bleach prohibited
The dots on the inside of the iron indicate the maximum ironing temperature
Low temperature: maximum 110 °C. Natural silk, acrylic acetate, lycra
Medium temperature: maximum 150 °C. Wool, polyester blend
High temperature: maximum 200 °C. Cotton, linen
No ironing
“Behave sustainably when ironing your clothes. Avoid leaving the iron on when you’re not using it.”
The letters inside the circle indicate the different solvents used in dry cleaning
Cleaning with all common solvents
Dry cleaning with perchlorethylene
Hydrocarbon dry cleaning
Do not dry clean
“Drying clothes in a natural way is an excellent way to ensure good environmental sustainability.
Sunlight is naturally antibacterial, eliminating bacteria that can survive washing, including those that cause clothes to smell bad and those that can have an impact on health.”
Machine-dryable at low temperatures
Machine-dryable at normal temperature
In the course of your work activities there is a high probability that you will stain your Professional Clothing with various products or substances. So here’s a guide on how to remove these stains quickly and effectively.
Remove oil stains in 3 steps
1 – Place a little talcum powder directly on the stain and press gently so that it absorbs the oil grease. Then remove the excess talcum powder.
2 – Apply a little detergent to the stain and rub it in well. Leave it on for 5 minutes so that the fabric absorbs the detergent.
3 – Wash your garment as usual, always paying attention to the washing symbols.
Removing chewing gum from your work clothes – Remove the gum when it is hard, then place the garment in a small plastic bag in the freezer or put ice on the gum (keep this process going for at least 30 minutes). Once hardened, it will break easily. Then wash the garment, paying attention to the washing symbols.
Although it may seem like an insignificant task, washing clothes has a bigger impact on the planet than you might think. Between 75% and 80% of the life cycle impact of our clothes comes from washing and drying, as it takes a lot of energy to heat the wash water and run the drying cycle. Therefore, there is enormous potential to reduce your use of energy and water consumption, i.e. your environmental footprint.
First of all, washing your clothes less often helps their durability even more. Each wash wears down the fiber of the garment, making it more “fragile”. And secondly, you save water and energy between washes.
Washing with full loads not only saves water and energy, but can also help you save time.
These same washing machines are also designed to use less detergent, which helps to further reduce their carbon footprint. Always pay close attention to the washing symbols.
“Choose an eco-friendly detergent – When it comes to washing powder, there are countless options on the market. Unfortunately, most of them are anything but sustainable. Many conventional detergents use aggressive chemicals that can pollute waterways and irritate sensitive skin.
Fortunately, there are eco-friendly detergents that help you enjoy clean, fresh clothes without a negative impact on the planet. One option is waste-free washing capsules. These capsules are made from gentle but effective ingredients, with sustainable packaging and no plastic waste!”
Using these tips will help you save energy and enjoy clean, soft work clothes.
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UNIFARDAS® supports Espaço T, which is an inclusive organisation, of all and for all, and our common goal is to increase employment opportunities for young people with special needs and/or who, for some reason, have been excluded from the labour market.
We work hard to provide safe working conditions by going beyond the imposed and mandatory minimums.
We support, nurture and offer continuous training programmes aimed at improving skills.
At UNIFARDAS® we keep up to date with the latest technologies and innovations that can optimise our production process making it more efficient and close to zero waste.
UNIFARDAS® is a partner of Espaço T, an inclusive organisation, of all and for all, with the common goal of increasing employment opportunities for young people with special needs and/or who, for some reason, have been excluded from the labour market. In this organisation, immigrants will also find a support network in finding work and housing.
In addition to the sustainable path we have been taking throughout our production and supply chain, UNIFARDAS® participates, supports and organises a beach clean-up every year after the bathing season, in partnership with World Clean-up Day. We are also partners of Seaqual, an entity that, together with some other partners, promotes the collection of ocean waste and its transformation into upcycled marine plastic that will then be used in the production of fabric and other sustainable products.
In addition to the sustainable path we have been taking throughout our production and supply chain, UNIFARDAS® participates, supports and organises a beach clean-up every year after the bathing season, in partnership with World Clean-up Day. We are also partners of Seaqual, an entity that, together with some other partners, promotes the collection of ocean waste and its transformation into upcycled marine plastic that will then be used in the production of fabric and other sustainable products.
