Q and A: Wash or Wipe?

One of the things I like best about laminated cotton is that you can just wipe it clean with a damp cloth and some gentle non-bleach spray and be done with clean up. But sometimes things get messy, and I mean really messy!! So, can you wash laminated cotton in the washer? Yes it can be washed and dried, but you have to know that the texture of the laminated cotton changes when machine washed. I believe that the cotton on the back is shrinking slightly. I really don't think that the shrinkage is of importance, I don't think you would need to pre-wash it if you were making a baby bib or changing mat.

The laminate on the right hand side has been machine washed and dried, the middle one never washed,  and the swatch on the left has been machine washed and dries and then ironed with med-high temp iron. As you can see the texture is different but still intact and very usable. I've tested the same swatch by washing and drying it about 4-5 times.

  From right to left: Machine wash and never washed. 

Like I said earlier, I really don't like to machine wash laminated cotton if I don't have to. I wipe down my tablecloths because I really, really hate to iron almost as much as I hate a wrinkly tablecloth. I take a wet wash cloth to our messy snack bags and leave them open so they can dry out, scrubbing them with a veggie brush if they're really yucky.

So even though you can wash and dry laminated cotton cotton I my advise is wipe it up when you can, especially if your project is big like a tablecloth.

 From right to left: Machine wash and never washed.