At Jennifer’s Hamam, the goal is to ensure your handcrafted textiles last for years while retaining their beauty and functionality. Proper care is essential, and detailed instructions are provided to help you get the most out of your products.
Preparation Instructions
NOTE: Soaking is recommended for cotton items that need to be absorbent (like towels). If your piece is not intended to be used as something to absorb water, you can skip the soaking - however, running it through the washer and dryer 2-3 times to remove the natural lint is advised. (Do not soak washable wipes; simply wash them 1-2 times.) While these products are colourfast, it’s best to soak whites separately, ecru (natural cotton) separately, and keep darks with darks and lights with lights.
COTTON Thick Looped Towels Preparation:
- Soak in cold water for 24 hours. Ensure the towel is fully saturated by pressing the fabric with your hands.
- Hang to drip dry, or if preferred, spin in the washing machine and tumble dry.
- Repeat 2-3 soaks and dries for the colourful or white towels plus a few washes through the washing machine and dryer. For ecru towels (natural coloured cotton), repeat 3-4 soaks and dries plus a few washes through the washing machine and dryer.
Tips for Stubborn Absorbency Issues:
Teaching your cotton how to be absorbent is not exact science, it's just water, time, and patience. Ecru will always be more stubborn to 'learn' than white or colourful - this is normal. Please hang in there, it WILL become absorbent.
- Hard water? Add 1/2 cup of clear vinegar to the soaking or washing water.
- Done the above but your towel is still not absorbent? A few hot water washes can assist in removing the natural oils in the cotton.
- Don't have a place to soak your towels? You repeatedly wash and dry instead. It will take approximately 15-20 washes/dries for ecru thick-looped towels to become absorbent and 10-15 washes/dries for white or colourful thick-looped towels to become absorbent.
- Want to test your towel to see if it has 'learned' its lesson? After doing the above instructions once, on the dry towel, pour a bit of water on it. If it's still beading on top, it needs more soaking. If it's slowly absorbing into the towel - it's getting there, but still needs another soak or wash. if it immediately soaks into the towel - you're finished!
COTTON Thin Flat-woven Pestamel Preparation:
- Soak in cold water for 10-12 hours.
- Hang to drip dry or use the washer's spin cycle and follow up with the dryer. For pestamel, absorbency develops more quickly due to the lighter material, but follow the same steps as thick towels if needed.
LINEN Items
- Cold wash and cool dry the towel a 2-3 times to get rid of natural lint. Please note Linen has a lot of natural lint and will fill the dryer screen the first few times - this is completely normal.
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Everyday Care
Proper everyday care will help maintain the quality and appearance of your hand towels.
Everyday Care for COTTON or LINEN Thick-Looped Items:
- Washing machine: 30-40 C
- No FABRIC SOFTENER
- NO BLEACH
- Cool-medium dryer
- Do not over dry cotton and do not use hot temperatures for linen.
NOTE: Should any loops on any thick-looped towel (cotton or linen) get caught or hang long, cut the longer loop off with sharp scissors at the length of the other loops. If you leave the longer loops, they will make 'babies' in our modern day washing and drying machines. Snip them off and the towel will remain looking new.
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Everyday Care for COTTON or LINEN Flat-Woven Items:
- Washing machine: 30-40 C
- No FABRIC SOFTENER
- NO BLEACH
- Cool-medium dryer
- Do not over dry cotton and do not use hot temperatures for linen.
NOTE: If a twisted tassel on any flat-woven item happens to come undone after washing or drying, don't worry - your piece is not falling apart. Just take a moment to re-tie the tassel. It only takes a minute, and your pestamel will look good as new.
What to Do If You Notice a Pull
Flat-woven textiles are strong, but like any woven fabric, they can occasionally get a pulled thread - especially if caught on jewelry or a rough surface. Don't panic! The piece isn’t damaged - it just needs a little love. Fixing a pull can be tricky to explain in writing (it helps to know your warp from your weft!), so if it happens to you, just get in touch. We’re happy to jump on a quick video call to walk you through it step-by-step.
Everyday Care for WOOL Items:
- Washing machine 30C
- NO FABRIC SOFTENER
- NO BLEACH
- Lay flat to dry.
Keeping Whites White and Dealing with Stains
Harsh chemicals damage natural fibres. For a natural alternative:
- Use vinegar and Baking Soda to treat stains. Apply 1tsp - 1T of each directly to the stain, rub, and wash as usual.
- To whiten, add up to one cup of each to the washing machine.
NOTE: Mixing vinegar and baking soda causes bubbling, so do not combine them in a small container or put into the detergent drawer of the washing machine. Add directly to the drum of the washing machine or apply to the directly to the item prior to washing.
Enemies of Your Hand-Woven Textiles
Some everyday hygiene products and habits can harm your textiles:
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- Chemicals in creams, deodorants, or prescription treatments can damage your natural fibres over time. Rinse thoroughly before drying off to minimize exposure.
- Chlorine in swimming pools will bleach and weaken fibres.
- Avoid spills from hair dye, ink, or other permanent staining agents, as they will immediately alter the fabric's colour of the fabric's and cannot be naturally removed.
- For other spills or stains, treat them quickly with vinegar and baking soda to prevent permanent discolouration.
Keeping Your Towels Soft
- Use phosphate free detergents and avoid over use.
- Avoid harsh chemicals.
- Do not overload your washing machine to allow for proper washing and rinsing.
- Use wool dryer balls to reduce drying time and maintain softness.
- Opt for lower temperature settings when drying and remove when dry; do not over-dry.
With proper care, your Jennifer's Hamam textiles will reward you with years of beauty, functionality, and enjoyment.
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