How to Wash a Sweatshirt or Hoodie Without Shrinking It

To wash a sweatshirt, turn it inside out, close any zipper, wash it in cold water up to 86°F (30°C) on a gentle cycle with like colors, then lay it flat to dry or tumble it briefly on low: 7 steps in all. A hoodie takes the same steps, plus a tied drawcord and an empty pocket. Cold water and little tumbling keep cotton and polyester fleece close to its original size.

We embroider pet designs on custom pet sweatshirts and hoodies cut from Gildan Heavy Blend fleece, 50% cotton and 50% polyester in solid colors and 60% polyester and 40% cotton in heathers (Gildan), so the settings below are written for cotton and polyester fleece.

Can a sweatshirt be washed in the washing machine?

Yes, a sweatshirt made of cotton, polyester or a blend of the two can usually be washed in a washing machine. Read the sewn-in care label first. Under the FTC’s Care Labeling Rule, “The label must say whether the product should be washed by hand or machine” (FTC), so a hand-wash or dry-clean label overrides the steps below. The same rule requires “Wash with like colors” or “Wash separately” on a product that is not colorfast.

What is the right way to wash a sweatshirt?

The right way to wash a sweatshirt is cold, inside out and on a gentle cycle, in these 7 steps:

1. Check the label. Note the fiber content and any limit on temperature, bleach or drying.
2. Empty the pockets and close the fasteners. Maytag tells owners to “Empty pockets, zip zippers, and snap or hook fasteners before washing” (Maytag).
3. Turn it inside out. The FTC rule defines “wash inside out” as turning a product inside out “to protect face of fabric” (16 CFR 423, Appendix A).
4. Load like colors, loosely. Wash it with clothes of a similar color and weight, and leave room in the drum: Maytag notes that tight packing can reduce cleaning and increase wrinkling and tangling.
5. Choose cold water and a gentle cycle. The FTC rule defines cold as water up to 86°F (30°C) and a gentle or delicate cycle as “slow agitation and reduced time”. Maytag warns that delicate fabrics may stretch and pill in a Heavy Duty cycle.
6. Measure detergent by the package. Tide bases its dose on load size, how dirty the clothes are and water hardness, and warns that both too little and too much detergent can mean poor cleaning and stain removal (Tide).
7. Take it out as soon as the cycle ends. Shake it out, reshape it and dry it as described in the dryer section below.

What water temperature should you wash a sweatshirt in?

Wash a sweatshirt in cold water, up to 86°F (30°C), unless the label asks for something else. Nike’s care guide says cold water “is less likely to shrink or fade” clothes, “especially anything made of cotton” (Nike). The FTC rule sets the three temperature ranges a US care label refers to:

How do you wash a hoodie?

To wash a hoodie, use the same 7 steps, plus three for the drawcord, the pocket and the hood. We stitch custom pet hoodies on the Gildan 18500, which has all three: a color-matched drawcord, a front pouch pocket and a double-lined hood (Gildan 18500).

• Drawcord: Even out the ends and tie them in a loose knot so the cord cannot slip into the hood channel; Maytag also suggests an open mesh bag for strings.
• Pouch pocket: Empty it of tissues and receipts, which break up in the wash and stick to the fleece.
• Hood: A double-lined hood holds water in two layers of fleece, so press it in a towel and spread it open to dry.

Otherwise a hoodie and a crewneck cut from the same fleece wash alike; our hoodie vs sweatshirt comparison lists what differs.

Should I zip up my sweatshirt before washing?

Yes, zip up a zip-up sweatshirt or hoodie all the way before washing. Open zipper teeth can catch other clothes in the drum, and Nike says zipping it up helps “protect it against snagging on other items in the machine.” Close a quarter zip and any snaps or hooks too.

Should sweatshirts go in the dryer?

Sweatshirts can go in the dryer on low heat for a short time, but air drying is gentler, because tumbling shrinks cotton knits even without heat. Cotton Incorporated researchers found that a 100% cotton interlock knit tumbled with no heat shrank by more than 20% in 45 minutes, and dryers at 150°F (66°C) and 200°F (93°C) only got there faster (Textile World). Choose one of three drying methods:

• Dry flat: Lay it on a drying rack or a towel, smooth it to shape and turn it over once the top feels dry.
• Tumble briefly, then air dry: The same researchers advised tumbling knitted cotton for no more than 5 minutes to remove wrinkles, then hanging it to dry.
• Tumble dry low: Set the dryer to low and take the sweatshirt out while still slightly damp. A label that says only “Tumble dry” allows a hot setting under the FTC rule; we still recommend low.

Dry it indoors or in the shade, because direct sunlight can fade colored cotton (Cleanipedia). If a sweatshirt has already come out smaller, our guide on how to unshrink a sweatshirt walks through a conditioner soak that wins back some of the size.

How often should you wash a sweatshirt?

Wash a sweatshirt worn over another layer every 3 to 6 wears, and after every wear if you sweat in it. No standard names sweatshirts: the American Cleaning Institute puts sweaters at every three to four wears and exercise clothing at every wear, as relayed by Utah State University Extension, and Nike says washing a hoodie after five or six wears “is perfectly fine”.

How do you stop a sweatshirt from pilling and fading?

To stop a sweatshirt from pilling and fading, cut down friction, heat and sunlight:

• Pilling: Pills are “a common surface defect” in cotton and polyester fleece, according to a 2021 study in Heliyon. Rubbing raises loose fibers into fuzz that tangles into pills, washing and drying keep abrading it, and adding polyester increases pilling (Heliyon). Yarn matters too: Gildan spins its Heavy Blend fleece with MVS Air yarns to reduce pilling (Gildan 18000). Russell Athletic suggests lifting existing pills with a fine-toothed comb on a flat surface.
• Fading: Cold water, washing inside out and drying out of direct sun each slow color loss, as covered above.

What changes when the sweatshirt has embroidery?

An embroidered sweatshirt or hoodie washes by the same steps, with two extra rules for the design: no bleach, and no iron directly on the stitches. The thread and the backing behind a pet portrait need gentler handling than plain fleece, so our guide on how to wash embroidered clothing covers drying, ironing and stains around the stitched area.

Frequently asked questions

Does cold water get a sweatshirt clean?

Yes, for everyday wear. Tide says everyday clothing and outerwear can be washed in cold water with the right dose of detergent, and suggests warmer water for sports clothing that needs extra cleaning (Tide laundry hygiene tips). Treat stains before the wash instead of raising the temperature.

Should you use fabric softener on a sweatshirt?

Nike’s guide advises washing hoodies without fabric softener to extend their life, because softener builds up a waxy coating on clothing over time and makes fabric less absorbent. We recommend leaving it out of loads with sweatshirts you wear for workouts.

Can you wash a sweatshirt and a hoodie together?

Yes, if they are similar colors and fabrics. Zip the hoodie, tie its drawcord, turn both inside out and wash them on a cold, gentle cycle.