How to Wash Cashmere Without Ruining It

Most cashmere isn’t worn out, it’s washed to death. Hot water and a tumble dryer can shrink a good sweater two sizes in a single cycle, and dry cleaning chemicals slowly dry the fiber out over time. The good news is that washing cashmere at home is genuinely easy once you know the rules.

Here’s the method that keeps a sweater soft for a decade.

Hand washing, step by step

This is the gold standard, and it takes about ten minutes of mostly waiting.

1. Fill a sink or basin with cool water. Never hot. Heat is what shrinks and felts cashmere.
2. Add a little gentle cleanser. A cashmere or wool wash is ideal. A drop of baby shampoo works too. Skip regular detergent, it’s too harsh.
3. Submerge and swish gently. Let it soak for a few minutes. Don’t rub, scrub, or twist.
4. Rinse in cool water until the water runs clear.
5. Press the water out. Never wring. Wringing stretches and distorts the knit. Gently squeeze, then press it between your hands.
6. Roll it in a towel and press to pull out more water.
7. Lay it flat to dry, reshaped to its proper size, away from direct heat or sun. Never hang it, the weight of the wet fabric will stretch the shoulders out.

Can you machine wash it?

Sometimes, carefully. If the label allows it, use a mesh laundry bag, the wool or delicate cycle, cold water, and a gentle cleanser. Then lay it flat to dry like above. Never put cashmere in the dryer. When in doubt, hand wash, it’s the safe default for anything you care about.

How often should you wash it?

Less than you think. Cashmere doesn’t need washing after every wear, and over-washing wears it out faster. Air it out between wearings and wash it every few wears, or when it actually needs it. Spot-clean small marks instead of washing the whole sweater.

Storing it so moths don’t win

Off-season storage is where good sweaters quietly die.

• Fold, don’t hang. Hangers stretch the shoulders.
• Clean it before storing. Moths are drawn to body oils and food traces, not the wool itself.
• Use a breathable container with cedar or lavender. Skip airtight plastic for long stretches, the fiber needs to breathe.

The payoff

Treated this way, a good cashmere sweater lasts for years and actually softens with age. That’s what makes spending even $50 on a real Grade A piece a smart buy instead of a disposable one. If your sweater is starting to fuzz, that’s normal, and our guide to stopping pills fixes it in minutes.