A good hoodie is a ten-year garment. A badly cared-for one is a ten-month garment. The difference is almost entirely laundry habits — and the five minutes of care in this guide apply to every fleece and French terry piece in our Hoodies & Sweatshirts collection, plus anything else in your closet with a looped back.

Wash Cold, Wash Less

Heat and friction are the two enemies of fleece. Wash hoodies in cold water on a gentle cycle, inside-out, zipped or buttoned if they have zippers. Cold water cleans sweat and dust just as well as warm for this kind of garment — the hot cycle exists for bedding and grease, not cotton blends.

Wash after every two or three wears unless something spilled. Over-washing is the fastest way to age fleece; each cycle swells and relaxes the fibers a little more.

Defeat Pilling Before It Starts

Those little fabric balls ("pills") form when short fibers break loose and tangle. Three habits prevent them:

  • Turn garments inside-out before washing — abrasion happens between garments in the drum
  • Close zippers and velcro on anything else in the load; an open zipper is a pilling machine
  • Skip the fabric softener — it coats fibers, makes fleece greasy, and actually increases pilling

Already pilling? A cheap fabric shaver (or a razor used gently in a flat direction) restores a hoodie in five minutes. Do it once a season and the garment reads new.

The Dryer Question

Here is the honest answer: tumble dry low is fine, high heat is not. High heat shrinks cotton fibers and can crack any printed graphics. Low heat with a dryer sheet, pulled while slightly damp and laid flat for the last stretch, keeps the soft hand-feel. If you have the time, flat-drying on a rack is even better — no heat, no tumbling, zero stress on cuffs and seams.

Never hang a wet heavy hoodie by its hood on a hook — the shoulder seams will stretch into wings. Lay it flat or dry it on a hanger with the shoulders supported.

Cuffs, Hem, and Drawcords

Ribbed cuffs and hems fail by stretching, not tearing. Two rules keep them tight: never pull a hoodie off by yanking both arms behind your back (push the sleeves up and lift over the elbows instead), and fold rather than hang for storage. A hoodie on a hanger for a month develops hanger-bump shoulders and stretched cuffs.

Drawcords that pull out in the wash? Tie a small knot at each end before washing — the knots stop the agitator from dragging them out of the channel, and they look intentional.

Zip-Up Specifics

Our heavyweight zip-up needs one extra habit: zip it fully before washing. An open zipper whips around in the drum and stresses both the zipper tape and whatever it hits. If the slider ever starts to split behind you, run the teeth gently along both sides with pliers — most "broken" zippers are just slightly spread teeth.

Storage Between Seasons

Store clean, folded, in a dry drawer or shelf. Never store fleece dirty — body oils and skin cells in the fabric attract moths and set odors over a summer. A cedar block in the drawer does more than any sachet. If you must bag a hoodie for long storage, use cotton or a breathable bin, never sealed plastic, which traps moisture and yellows fabric.

Stains: Act Fast, Stay Cold

Blot — never rub — then pre-treat with a small amount of liquid detergent worked in with your fingers, and wash cold the same day. Hot water sets protein stains (sweat, blood, egg) permanently. Oil-based stains (pizza, lip balm) come out with a drop of dish soap before the detergent.

The Pocket and Seam Check

Twice a year, give your favorite hoodies a two-minute inspection: kangaroo pocket corners (the first place the stitching lets go), cuff edges, and the seam where the hood joins the collar. Catching a loose thread early — one stitch of thread security, a drop of clear fabric glue or a five-dollar tailor fix — prevents a full seam blowout later. Never pull a loose thread on knitwear; it gathers the fabric. Snip it flush instead.

If a hoodie has printed graphics, wash it inside-out even when the rest of the load does not matter — the print is the fragile surface. Modern water-based prints survive dozens of washes; the combination of high heat and outside-out friction is what cracks them. Our graphic oversized hoodie uses a soft-hand print that flexes with the fabric, but the cold-wash rule still applies.

Follow this routine and a quality hoodie — like the cotton-blend pieces in our collection — will outlast several phones. Every style ships free and returns free for 30 days, so the only real risk is not ordering your second one.