The fastest way to ruin a good hoodie is to wash it the way you wash everything else. The good news: keeping your Zieck pieces looking new is mostly about doing a few small things right and avoiding a couple of obvious mistakes.
Here's the short version, written like I'd explain it to a friend.
Washing
- Turn it inside out. Always. The print sits on the outside, the friction inside the drum is on the outside, so flip it. This single step probably doubles the lifespan of the print.
- Cold water (30°C or below). Hot water fades dyes, shrinks cotton, and softens print adhesion. There's almost no scenario where a Zieck piece needs hot water.
- Gentle cycle. The "delicates" or "synthetics" setting on most machines is fine. Skip aggressive spin cycles.
- Mild detergent only. Skip bleach, skip fabric softener (it coats the fibres and the print), skip "stain removers" with strong solvents. A standard liquid detergent for darks is what you want.
- Wash with similar colours. First wash in particular: dark dyes can bleed a little.
Drying
- Air dry whenever you can. Lay flat or hang on a wide hanger so the shoulders don't stretch. This is by far the kindest thing you can do.
- If you must use the dryer, low heat. Tumble dryers age garments faster than washing does. High heat especially: it cracks DTG prints.
- Don't iron the print directly. If you need to iron, do it inside out, on the cotton setting, and avoid the printed area. A press cloth between iron and print is even safer.
Storing
Fold heavy hoodies and sweatshirts. Hanging them stretches the shoulders out over time. T-shirts can be folded or hung; if you hang, use a wide hanger and don't pull the neck over the top.
Keep them in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight. Sun fades fabric and prints quietly, over months. You don't notice until you compare an old piece next to a new one.
If something goes wrong
Print starting to flake after years of wear? That's normal aging. DTG prints are part of the cotton, so they age with the garment, not on top of it. A bit of softness or fading after dozens of washes is the look a lot of people pay extra for in vintage pieces.
Print cracked after a few washes? That's not normal. Email us at info@zieck.eu with a photo and the order number, we'll sort it.
The short list
Inside out. Cold water. Gentle cycle. Air dry. Don't iron the print. Fold the hoodies.
That's most of what you need. Do those five things and your Zieck pieces will outlast a lot of cheaper ones in your wardrobe.
