So you’ve bought a cool backpack and realized a little late that it is polyester, and you have no idea how to clean a polyester backpack.
There are a lot of different types of fabrics available in the market, and most of us don’t focus on the material before liking an item and buying it. The problem arises when we realize that we will have to wash that fabric too.
This article will prove to be a comprehensive guide for you on handling polyester backpacks and anything else polyester.
Can You Machine Wash A Polyester Backpack?
Learning how to wash a polyester backpack is very easy, and it can be done at home quickly. Most forms of polyester bags are machine washable. However, I would recommend reading the labels on your backpack before tossing it into the washing machine.
Some detergents can damage the colors of the fabric or the waterproofing of the backpack. Bleach is almost always not a recommended product to use while washing your bag.
I would also recommend you to use a mild washing detergent to clean polyester backpack. Mild washing detergents won’t damage your bag, which will make it last longer for you.
Can You Put a Polyester Backpack In the Dryer?
Polyester backpacks can be tumble dried at low temperatures. However, the polyester material can shrink in size if left for long. You can put your bag in the dryer; it won’t damage the bag; however, you will need to be careful about the heat.
High heat can damage the polyester fabric, polyester, as a material is sensitive to heat and high heat, can cause it to melt shrink or deform.
Polyester in itself is a quick-drying fabric, so you don’t need to put it in the dryer at all in the first place. However, if you want to tumble dry your bag, you can do it at a low heat setting.
Can You Iron a Polyester Backpack?
Similar to tumble drying, you can also iron your backpack; however, ironing your pack is not an essential step as bags tend to straighten up with time.
You don’t need to iron your polyster bag unless you feel the need to do so, you can take out the wrinkles in the polyester fabric using a steam iron. Polyester is wrinkle-resistant. Therefore, there might not be many wrinkles, to begin with.
If you don’t own a steam iron, you can also use a regular iron to remove the wrinkles; however, you will need to keep it at a low-temperature setting carefully.
How To Dye a Polyester Backpack?
All synthetic fabrics are tough to dye and require a proper process; there are multiple articles online that you can use to gain an idea on the process for dyeing polyester.
If the color of your backpack has faded and you’re thinking about dyeing it to freshen up the color, it would be better to buy one extra bottle of dye just in case so that you can add it if you want to achieve a darker or a lighter color.
It is also always a good idea to test the color on a small piece of cotton or fabric.
How To Bleach a Polyester Backpack?
Polyester reacts poorly to chlorine-based bleaches; therefore, you will need oxygen-based beaches to be able to bleach the fabric properly.
The best way to bleach a polyester fabric is by using diluted oxygen-based bleach. The best soak time is for 2-3 hours.
Fill a tub with water and bleach and gently soak the bag in the water, be careful not to splash the water around as bleach is corrosive and can release harmful gases into the atmosphere and damage any tiling that you have done.
Take special care that the bleach doesn’t get in your eyes or face if anything like that happens to rinse immediately.
How To Wash Polyester Backpack?
Step 1. Empty your backpack
Step 2. Wipe off or dust off surface dirt
Step 3. Check the care label
Step 4. Individually clean any strong stains
Step 5. Wash the backpack
Step 6. Dry or tumble dry
Step 7. Leave it to hang
Step 1. Empty your backpack
Empty the contents of your pack carefully to make sure that you don’t accidentally leave anything inside that ends up getting washed and damaged.
Make sure to check all the pockets of your backpack thoroughly before washing the backpack. I didn’t do this and ended up washing a pair of earphones along with my bag. The earphones never worked after all that water damage.
To make sure that you don’t lose or misplace any of the items you take out, try keeping them in one place so that you can quickly put all your things back once your bag is dry.
Step 2. Wipe off Or dust off surface dirt
To ease out the cleaning process, you could wipe off the surface dirt or dust it off using a stick to beat the bag and get rid of all the trash.
Getting rid of the excess dirt will make the washing process more efficient. You could also use this time to cut off any loose threads hanging from your bag to be able to give your bag an overall neat look.
Step 3. Check the care label
Carefully checking the care label is perhaps the most crucial step. Checking the care label will tell you a lot more about your bag than I ever could. Whether your bag is a 100% polyester or a mix fabric, the care label will have a set of insert specially tailored for your bag that you can follow to extend the life of your bag.
The care label will give you bleaching, ironing, and washing instructions specific to your bag. It will also let you know whether it is okay to machine wash your bag or not. Often a lot of items are hand wash only.
Following the manufacturers, instructions are always better because they know best and have done more research on their product.
Step 4. Individually clean any strong stains
Before washing anything, you should always examine the fabric and identify any stained areas that you should then clean individually using a similar method to the spot treatment method.
Individually cleaning the extra dirty spots or areas will ensure a perfectly cleaned backpack. Scrub away all the stains with soap and a soft brush. You can even leave the soap on for a while if the stains prove to be even peskier.
Step 5. Wash the backpack
After you’ve spot treated the entire backpack, you can then wash it on a washing machine or by hand. For cleaning the bag with a washing machine, you’ll have to fill the machine with lukewarm water and a good detergent that is gentle on polyester fabric.
For washing machines, a good hack is to cover the backpack in a pillowcase so that the zips and pockets don’t scratch against each other.
If you opt to hand wash your backpack, you can do so easily by filling a tub of water and adding a small amount of detergent in it. You can then immerse your bag in it and leave it for a couple of hours, after which you can scrub, rinse, and leave the backpack to air dry.
Step 6. Dry Or Tumble Dry
You can quickly dry or tumble dry your backpack. Polyester fabric is an easy wash and easy dry material that is also wrinkle-free. Polyester tends to dry very quickly, and you can either air dry it by hanging it on a rope or tumble dry it first on low heat.
To dry a polyester fabric without damaging or shrinking the material, you need to be careful about the intensity of heat the cloth is being exposed to. Polyester does not respond well to high temperatures; therefore, while you are tumble drying your bag, you should keep the settings on low heat.
Step 7. Leave it to hang
You can hang the bag on a rope with pegs and wait for it to dry completely. Hang the bag properly with cloth pegs so that you get the minimum amount of wrinkles.
Since polyester is a quick-drying fabric, leaving your bag out for a couple of hours might do the trick.
In Conclusion
Polyester compared to a lot of the fabrics is an excellent material for regular use bags. It is a lightweight fabric that can dry quickly and is also easy to clean, which makes it an excellent choice for school bags and sports bags.
Bags are often always cleaned occasionally, so having a material that is easy to clean is a great help.
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