Your clothes are being destroyed – and you won’t notice until it’s too late

Your clothing is under attack from a surprising source – the weather. With hours of sunlight each day, it can be tempting to hang all of your washing outside to dry in the sun, but this can cause permanent damage to your clothing.

And it’s not just direct sunlight that damages your clothes – heat, UV rays and even sweat can gradually wreck your clothing, leaving it stained, faded and weakened.

Here’s how your clothing is being damaged by the summer’s heat, and what you can do to protect your wardrobe in hot weather.

7 ways the heat is ruining your clothes

1. Fading colours

Drying your clothing outdoors makes it smell fresher, but hanging your laundry in direct sunlight can fade the dyes. If you can, dry your laundry in the shade to keep the colours brighter for longer.

Once clothes have faded, there isn’t much you can do to reverse the colour change. If you’re desperate to salvage your favourite dress or t-shirt, you could try buying specialist washing machine dyes to give them a quick colour refresh.

2. Weakened fibres

It isn’t just heat that can damage your clothes – UV rays can weaken natural fibres such as cotton, linen, wool and silk over time, making your clothes more fragile and vulnerable to damage.

Tumble dryers can cause similar damage to sunlight, so try to air-dry natural fibres as much as possible.

The damage won’t necessarily appear immediately, but the heat can make your clothing more vulnerable to rips and tears. You’re most likely to notice the damage around stress points such as shoulders, collars, knees and elbows, where your clothes experience more friction and tension.

3. Shrinkage

We all know that hot washes or tumble drying can cause synthetic fibres to shrink, but where you store your clothes in extremely high temperatures can also cause shrinkage. For example, storing your clothing in a hot car may cause synthetic fibres to shrink.

4. Yellowing

Heat doesn’t just damage the fibres of your clothes – in some situations, it can make your clothes turn yellow. If you store white clothing in a hot room, such as an attic, the warmth can lead to discolouration.

There are lots of different methods you can try to reverse yellowing. It’s recommended to start by soaking your clothes in oxygen-based bleach powder before washing them.

Another technique you can try is laundry bluing, which uses blue dyes to counteract the yellowing in the fabric.

If you’re trying to whiten delicate vintage clothing then it’s best to seek advice from an expert before trying any treatments.

5. Loose elastic

Are your clothes feeling a bit loose? High temperatures can also cause elastic to weaken, making your clothes lose their stretchiness.

6. Glue and graphics deterioration

Clothes with any kind of embellishment, such as graphics or plastic gems, can deteriorate in the heat. The high temperatures can loosen adhesives and cause them to weaken, so your sparkling jewels all fall off.

The heat can affect printed graphics on your clothing too, leading to irreparable peeling and cracking.

7. Sweat stains

Sweat stains aren’t directly caused by the sun, but high temperatures inevitably make us sweat more leading to unsightly marks on our clothes. White clothes are particularly susceptible to sweat stains.

The good news is that you can improve the appearance of sweat stains on white fabric – and even get rid of them altogether.

It’s best to try to prevent stains from forming in the first place. One technique you can try is to scrub the affected areas with a small amount of distilled white vinegar before you wash them. Pre-wash treatments can also be very effective. Always wash whites separately if possible to keep them looking bright!

Top tip: if you have any lingering sweaty odours, soak your clothes in warm water with 5-6 tbsp of bicarbonate of soda before washing to freshen them up.

Top tips to protect your clothing from sun damage

• Keep your clothes away from light sources – You can prevent sun damage inside your home by making sure your clothes are stored in a dark wardrobe or drawer (no open rails or shelves), which will help to protect your clothes from light.
• Use garment bags for special clothes – Protect wedding dresses, suits or clothes for special occasions by storing them in breathable garment bags, which will give them extra protection.
• Turn garments inside out – When you’re drying clothes outside, turn them inside out to protect them from sun damage and prevent fading.
• Dry delicate clothes indoors – Use an indoor drying rack to protect your most delicate clothing from the sun’s rays.
• Dry clothes in the shade – Reduce exposure to the sun by drying clothes in the shade, if you can.
• Limit sun exposure – if you need to dry your clothes outside, bring them in as soon as they’re dry rather than leaving them out in the sun all day.
• Store clothing in cool places – Excessive heat can damage or weaken fabric, so avoid storing them in hot cars or lofts.

How to save your favourite jeans. Discover how to bring your old clothes back to life

The fabric production process uses huge amounts of energy and water, so the best thing we can do for the environment is to wear clothes for as long as possible. Mend and patch your clothes to keep them going, or refashion them into something completely new!

Find out how to rescue your favourite jeans with our helpful guide.