How To Clean Cotton Tote Bag

You have had your cotton tote bag for a few months, and it's due for a bit of a wash. But how should you wash your tote bag to ensure it maintains its shape and most importantly in a way that keeps the print as bright and bold as always?

Read on to find out how you can wash your cotton tote bag.

Spot Clean

If you have a stain on your tote bag, the easiest way to clean it is just with a spot clean, if you have a stain removing spray, just follow the directions on the bottle. If you don't have a stain remover, great alternatives are baking soda mixed with a little warm water to create a paste which you can apply, leave for a little while and scrub off. Alternatively soak the affected area in solution of wine vinegar and warm water for a few hours and then rinse with fresh water.

Hand wash

If your whole bag needs a bit of a wash then we advise handwashing your bag, use your regular washing powder and lukewarm water to wash your tote bag. Gentle scrub your bag and try to avoid the print if possible as this can affect the colour and print if you scrub too hard!

Machine wash

Machine washing is not recommended because the wash and spin cycle can cause shrinkage and alter the colour and quality of your print. If you want to machine wash, we suggest putting your bag on a cool low spin cycle. By doing this you should maintain the size and print but do expect a slight distortion.

Wipe clean

If you're cleaning a recent mark a simple wipe clean with hot water and soap will do the trick. For some of our bags like our Jutes a wipe clean is the only suitable method of cleaning as with other methods they may lose their stiff structure and become floppy!

Steam

Steaming your cotton bag is a great alternative to washing. Steaming will remove any creases, will clean long term discolouration, and may help to remove stubborn stains from your tote bag. By adding some essential oil or scented antibacterial liquid to your steamer you can also remove any unwanted smells.