So you’ve scored yourself a funky, conversation starting TradeMutt shirt.
You’re pumped to put it on this Funky Shirt Friday and start as many conversations as you can. But what about the Funky Shirt Friday after that? Or Funky Shirt Friday in a year from now? Taking care of a TradeMutt shirt is the best way to get the most conversations out of it as possible. Remember: we’re playing a long game. You don’t have to talk to fifty people all in one go.
We’ve put this list together for you so you can make sure your shirt lasts ages. There are legends kicking around in TradeMutt work shirts that are four, sometimes five, years old with weekly wear so it is possible.
TradeMutt work shirts are built tough so you don’t have to be but, like all of us, they do need a bit of TLC at home so they’re fighting fit and ready for a yarn at all times.
These tips apply to just about any cotton work shirt so feel free to follow this guide for any non-TradeMutt work shirts you might still have in your closets, you rebel.
The tips in this TradeMutt work shirt care guide are tips that we got straight from the shirts. That’s right. We polled them.
1. Wash 'em unbuttoned.
You wouldn’t wash your hair all tied up. Being buttoned up is the same thing for a work shirt. You probably unbutton them to get them off but just make sure to undo them altogether before they start tumbling about in the machine or they can get tangled in the tumble.
2. Wash 'em cold.
Like those weirdos that do ice baths every morning, work shirts prefer it when they’re cold washed. It’s better for their skin, for their mood, for their minds. That’s right: the Wim Hof method works for shirts the same way it works for people. Machine wash your TradeMutt work shirts in cold water not hot water. It gets them a little shy if you know what we mean but it’s better for them.
3. Make sure to take them out of the machine.
They get gross and lonely if you leave them there, mate, c’mon.
4. Don’t bleach the poor things.
What’s the point of buying colourful, conversation starting work shirts if you’re just going to throw bleach on them to drain the colour out? TradeMutt shirts aren’t an electric pink hair dye. You don’t need to undo it all to start over.
If you do get a stain on your work shirt, run it under cold water ASAP. Stains take time to set so the sooner you get whatever’s causing the stain off the fibres of the shirt — while the fibres themselves are too busy freaking out about how they’re going to be a different colour — the better.
Trust us: this was the number one thing all the shirts we talked to said not to do.
5. Put them on a hanger and button them up to dry.
Whatever you do, don’t chuck them in the dryer. If you do, they’ll shrink. This is pretty common knowledge about dryers in general, even if you have them on low heats and long cycles. But a long cycle and a low heat is another big power bill you don’t need.
If you take your TradeMutt shirts straight out of the washing machine and get them onto a coat hanger: they love it. The best a TradeMutt work shirt can feel is when you’ve got it on. The next best thing is hanging up dry and clean on a hanger. Help them out and get them on hangers even wet and dry them inside in the sunlight this way.
This’ll mean you can dodge the iron because the work shirts don’t love the iron. I mean: would you? The high vis shirts hate the iron even more. Gravity can do the uncrinkling for you if you just hang your work shirts while they dry. Easy as.
Hot tip from our product team: hang the shirt on the hanger unbuttoned to the button you usually wear it on and make sure the collar’s folded down and neat. This way, the shirt will dry in the exact position it sits on your shoulders.
Then all you have to do is put them away when they’re dry. Simples.
6. Let ‘em dry inside.
Just take advantage of the warm Australian weather and dry them inside on a wooden coat hanger that fills out the shoulders. They’ll dry faster in the sun, of course, but they’ll get sunburnt if they’re out there too long just like we will. Except that when they get sunburnt they just get drained of colour instead of turning red. The sun’s almost as good as bleach as pulling the funkiness out of a TradeMutt shirt.
For best results, open up a glass door so you can get warmth inside around the shirts but keep the screen door shut. For even better results, make sure the shirts dry somewhere with sunlight.
7. Don’t leave them on the line.
They get sad and lonely this way.
It takes a lot to get a work shirt to complain but leaving them on the line for days in the best way to make them do it. Besides, leaving them on the line in the sun is How To Drain The Colour 101 so bring those bad boys back inside once they’re dry.
