How do you care for your socks?

[acecow]

I don't.

 

[Cant kill da Rooster]

Cashmere, wool and cotton are all machine washed and dried.

 

[lasbar]

I only have 4 colours navy , black , dark grey and cream...

I don't care for socks at all..

 

[Don Carlos]

Will (and others), could you clear up a point of contention for me w/r/t cashmere socks? I've heard it said, probably in equal numbers, that one should hand-wash cashmere socks in warm water or cold water, or even lukewarm water. Which is it? This is a serious question.

For most of my wool and even cotton socks, I machine wash on delicate and then hang to dry. For the cashmeres, I usually hand wash cold. But just looking for clarification here.

 

[kirbya]

Originally Posted by Will

Cold water delicate cycle and then hang to dry. Dryers kill socks.
+1 to this. I make sure to wash my socks inside-out and ONLY WITH OTHER SOCKS. If you was them with any other cottons, then I find that they gather white lint that is difficult to remove. Washing them inside-out also helps protect them from the buildup of white lint. And ALWAYS hang them to dry. I do the same with my underwear. The heat of the dryer deteriorates elastic, causing it to break down faster than normal. So, anything with elastic in it (socks, underwear), I never put in the dryer. P.S. I just picked up a new batch of Pantherella socks from On the Fly's grand opening in San Francisco last week. I'm looking forward to enjoying them once I return to Dallas (currently in NYC thru Thurs evening).

 

[kabert]

Machine wash regular cycle, along with other clothes. No apparent ill-effects.

I hang-dry all socks except my crappiest white athletic socks. If my wool socks end up going through the dryer by accident, they invariably shrink (some to the point of being unwearable or nearly-so). I suppose if socks have 25% nylon/poly blend (like alot of Pantherellas) they may not shrink, but after a few washes, I don't recall which of my socks are 100% wool and which are a wool/nylon blend, so I just hang-dry them all. I agree the fine cotton socks fare better in the dryer than wool but I still hang them dry too.

 

[phxlawstudent]

Originally Posted by Bananafish

washing machine: handwash setting; hang dry in bathroom.

This.

 

[phxlawstudent]

Originally Posted by kirbya

+1 to this.

I make sure to wash my socks inside-out and ONLY WITH OTHER SOCKS. If you was them with any other cottons, then I find that they gather white lint that is difficult to remove. Washing them inside-out also helps protect them from the buildup of white lint.

And ALWAYS hang them to dry. I do the same with my underwear. The heat of the dryer deteriorates elastic, causing it to break down faster than normal. So, anything with elastic in it (socks, underwear), I never put in the dryer.

P.S. I just picked up a new batch of Pantherella socks from On the Fly's grand opening in San Francisco last week. I'm looking forward to enjoying them once I return to Dallas (currently in NYC thru Thurs evening).

Just wondering, but wouldn't washing them with colors prevent the white lint problem? I ask because I've never noticed this lint problem before, I'm going to have to check this out. But I do turn them inside out, although I turn them inside out because that is where all the gunk is and it's the part I want clean.

 

[MyOtherLife]

Originally Posted by Will

Cold water delicate cycle and then hang to dry. Dryers kill socks.
Though I agree with this, I will respectfully add something. Turn your socks inside-out before washing because there is no way in the world you'll get rid of dead skin, toe jam, sweat, lotions, or whatever else was on your feet when it made contact with the socks. The other item is to beware of the 'delicates' setting on your machine washers. Not all of the use cold water, in fact some washers use warm water for delicates. The delicates setting, to my understanding, provides more soaking time and less agitation of the garments whilst being washed. Will is correct in stating that wool/cashmere be washed in cold water. Warm promotes shrinkage. If you are hand washing, the water need not be icy cold but the key is to let the socks soak for about 15-20 minutes, then gently work the sock in your hands, like you are anticipating something. Do not twist or 'wring' the socks. This causes fibre damage and can lead to some shrinkage. Fold them while wet and squeeze out the water while trying to keep them flat. In other words, the less agitation and the colder the water, the better. Red, burgundy or other bright colors should be washed seperately to ensure no dye bleeds from the socks into other socks. For all other socks, I machine wash and hang dry.