Wash cashmere by hand in cool water — around 20–30 °C — with a pH-neutral wool detergent, soaking for no more than ten minutes without rubbing or wringing. Press the water out against the side of the basin, roll the garment in a towel, then dry it flat and reshaped. Never hang it, never tumble dry it, and never let the rinse water be a different temperature from the wash water.
That last point is the one most people get wrong, and it is the reason cashmere shrinks. At Italiana Filati Pregiati we handle original cashmere yarn produced by Italian mills — Loro Piana, Cariaggi, Zegna Baruffa, Biagioli among them — sourced through Italian stock and destock channels, so the care advice below is written from the fibre up rather than copied off a garment label.
Can You Wash Cashmere at Home?
Yes. Cashmere is a protein fibre, chemically much closer to your own hair than to cotton, and it responds well to gentle washing. Home washing is not a compromise: frequent dry cleaning is arguably worse, because the solvents strip the natural oils that keep the fibre supple.
The risk is never the water. It is heat, agitation and alkalinity — the three things that make the microscopic scales on each fibre lock together permanently.
What You Need
- A clean basin or sink
- A pH-neutral detergent made for wool, or a plain baby shampoo
- Two dry bath towels
- A flat drying surface
What to leave out matters more: no fabric softener (it coats the fibre and flattens the loft), no bleach, no enzyme "bio" detergent (enzymes digest protein, and cashmere is protein), and no hot water.
How to Hand Wash Cashmere, Step by Step
1. Fill the basin
Cool to lukewarm, 20–30 °C. If it feels warm on your wrist, it is too warm.
2. Add the detergent
A teaspoon is plenty for a sweater. Swirl it through the water before the garment goes in, so no concentrated detergent sits against the fibre.
3. Soak, don't scrub
Submerge the garment and press it gently under the surface a few times. Then leave it. Five to ten minutes is enough — cashmere releases soil easily, and longer soaking gains nothing while risking dye bleed.
4. Rinse at the same temperature
Drain, refill with water at the same temperature, and press the garment through it. Repeat until the water runs clear. A sudden temperature change between wash and rinse is the single most common cause of felting.
5. Press the water out
Press the garment against the side of the basin. Never wring or twist it. Then lay it on a dry towel, roll the towel up like a swiss roll, and press along its length.
6. Dry flat and reshaped
Unroll onto a second dry towel or a mesh rack. Pat it back to its original measurements — this is your one chance to correct the shape. Keep it away from radiators and direct sun. It will take a day or so.
Can You Machine Wash Cashmere?
Sometimes, and with conditions. If your machine has a true wool or hand-wash cycle — cold, minimal drum rotation, and a spin no faster than about 400–600 rpm — put the garment in a mesh laundry bag and use wool detergent. Many modern machines handle this well.
If your machine has no wool cycle, wash by hand. A "delicate" cycle is not the same thing: it still agitates far more than cashmere tolerates.
Never tumble dry cashmere under any circumstances. Heat plus tumbling is the fastest way to shrink a garment permanently.
What About Dry Cleaning?
Dry cleaning is safe but rarely necessary, and it should not be routine. The solvents remove the fibre's natural oils along with the soil, so cashmere cleaned only this way tends to feel drier and less lofty over the years.
Reserve it for structured pieces — tailored coats, anything with interfacing or shoulder construction — and for oil-based stains that water will not lift.
Why Cashmere Felts
Each cashmere fibre is covered in overlapping scales, like roof tiles. Heat opens them, agitation makes them ratchet past one another, and alkaline detergent softens the fibre so they interlock. Once locked, they do not unlock: felting is irreversible.
This is why every rule above is really the same rule — keep the temperature steady, keep the movement minimal, keep the pH neutral.
How Often Should You Wash Cashmere?
Far less often than most people think. Every three to four wears is typical, or whenever it is visibly soiled or smells.
Between wears, air the garment overnight rather than washing it. Cashmere is naturally odour-resistant, and every wash is a small amount of wear. Spot-clean isolated marks instead of washing the whole piece.
Dealing with Pilling
Pilling is not a defect. It is loose surface fibres tangling, and it happens to the softest cashmere most of all — the finer the fibre, the more it pills at first. It settles down after the first few wears and washes.
Remove pills with a cashmere comb or a pumice-style sweater stone, working in one direction. Avoid disposable razors: they cut into the surface fibres and thin the fabric over time.
Storing Cashmere
Fold, never hang. Hanging stretches the shoulders permanently.
Always clean it before storing. Moths are drawn to perspiration, skin oils and food traces, not to clean wool. A garment put away dirty is the one that gets eaten.
Store folded in a breathable cotton bag or a sealed box with cedar or lavender. Avoid plastic dry-cleaner bags for long-term storage — they trap moisture.
Common Mistakes
| Mistake | What happens |
|---|---|
| Hot water | Scales open, fibre felts and shrinks |
| Different rinse temperature | Thermal shock — the most common cause of shrinkage |
| Wringing or twisting | Stretches and distorts the knit permanently |
| Hanging to dry | Shoulders and body stretch under the weight of water |
| Tumble drying | Rapid, irreversible shrinkage |
| Fabric softener | Coats the fibre, kills the loft |
| Biological detergent | Enzymes attack the protein fibre itself |
| Storing unwashed | Attracts moths |
Frequently Asked Questions
Can cashmere be washed in the washing machine? Yes, if the machine has a genuine wool or hand-wash cycle: cold water, low agitation, spin no faster than about 400–600 rpm, and the garment inside a mesh bag. Without a wool cycle, wash by hand.
What temperature should I wash cashmere at? Cool to lukewarm, roughly 20–30 °C, with the rinse water at the same temperature. The change in temperature causes more damage than the temperature itself.
Can I use normal detergent on cashmere? No. Use a pH-neutral wool detergent or a plain baby shampoo. Standard detergents are alkaline, and biological ones contain enzymes that break down protein fibres like cashmere.
How do I unshrink cashmere? True felting cannot be reversed. If the garment has only tightened rather than felted, soaking it in cool water with a little hair conditioner for around thirty minutes can relax the fibres enough to let you gently stretch it back while damp and dry it flat.
Why does my cashmere pill? Because it is soft. Fine, short fibres work loose and tangle at the surface, so the best cashmere often pills most in its first weeks. It reduces markedly after the first few wears and washes.
Should I dry clean cashmere instead? Only for structured garments or oil-based stains. Routine dry cleaning strips the natural oils and leaves cashmere feeling drier over time.
Does washing damage cashmere? Correct washing improves it. Gentle washing relaxes and blooms the fibres, which is why well-cared-for cashmere gets softer with age.
In Short
Cool water, neutral detergent, no agitation, same-temperature rinse, flat drying. Every one of those rules exists to keep the scales on the fibre from locking together.
Cashmere is not fragile — it is specific. Treat it correctly and a good Italian-spun cashmere garment outlives almost everything else in the wardrobe.
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