We like cotton bags

Cotton is popular worldwide due to its soft and breathable properties. It is extremely versatile and is used in a vast variety of products.

Cotton bags are a great replacement to use in place of plastic shopping bags, they’re also much more aesthetically pleasing and the also biodegrade up to 500 times faster than a plastic bag does.

If you have purchased some cotton bags that are made from cotton, you may be looking to find out more about how often you need to clean the cotton bags and how you should go about doing it.

How often do I need to clean my cotton bags?”

The answer to this question depends on the frequency of use and the methods of use.

For example, if you were to use your cotton bags every weekend for your weekly shop and fill them with unpackaged and fresh goods, you will want to wash your bag more often than if you were to use them weekly and only fill them with packaged goods.

What is the reasoning behind this?

Cotton bags collect dirt more than a plastic bag does due to the structural elements of the material, so bacteria from your fresh produce can transfer on to the bag and grow without you noticing. You may then reuse this bag to buy fresh produce again, meaning these bacteria may transfer back onto your fresh vegetables.

To prevent the development of unhealthy bacteria, throw your cotton bag in a cold wash every other week if you use it a lot and for fresh products or every few weeks if you use it little and with items that don’t transfer much bacteria.

Ideally you should wash your cotton back every 3-4 weeks if you use it an average amount or more frequently if you have a higher amount of usage.

“How do I clean my cotton bag?”

Use an Eco-friendly detergent and add a small amount to a bowl of cold water.

Soak the bag in water for at least 5-7 minutes.

Gently remove the stain by rubbing it in circular motions with a soft sponge or fabric

brush.

Rinse the bag with clean, cold water until all the detergent has been removed and your bag looks nice andclean.

Hang up the bag and let it dry naturally. Don’t wring your bag or you will damage the fibers that hold it in shape.

This is the easy part because if you’re washing at a low temperature, you can throw your cotton bag in with the rest of the laundry and it’ll be nice and clean. If you wash your cotton bags in warm water, you risk shrinkage and warping, so always use cold water.

Having said that, you can choose to hand wash cotton bags if you don’t want to do a whole cold wash just for your cotton bags (unless you have a lot of them) this is a step-by-step guide to washing cotton/canvas/gunny bags.

Handling cotton bags is really easy and you can clean canvas bags, jute bags and drawstring bags in the same way.

If you want to make custom printed eco-friendly cotton bags, we can help you here, please contact me.