General Maintenance Warnings

 Product Care
It has become our obligation in today’s world to take care of our garments using as minimal water and energy as possible. Excessive use of detergents, softeners and chemicals used in the care of garments and products do not only damage our garments, they also pollute and degrade our natural resources.
Therefore, we should work together in protecting our clothes, environment and future by applying correct care for our garments and products.
Each of our products you purchased, either online or in-store, comes with a “Care Label”. Please make sure that you follow the instructions provided on the care label for the maintenance of your products. 
 Care instructions can vary in order to account for the differences in the fabric components (such as fiber type) as well as whether or not your product includes extra design/esthetics/performance features. Care labels include extra instructions to account for these differences, which should be followed properly. 

Product Maintenance Instructions & Guidelines 
Step 1, Washing:
    ● Be sure to wash your clothing according to the correct guidelines on the product’s care label.
    ● Incorrectly washing or over-washing your products can cause harm both to our products and the environment.
    ● Before your products are washed, they should be classified according to their product features.
          ● This classification should be according to their sensitivity:
                ● Those which are to be hand-washed
                ● Those which are to be washed in the washing machine in Delicates cycle and
                ● Those which are to be washed normally in the washing machine.
Delicate fabrics such as wool or silk products or products with printings, embroidery and handwork should not be washed together with normal cotton products.
You should also separate products according to colour, particularly into three categories:
    ● Whites
    ● Darks
    ● Bright colours
Remember that products with different features or colours can potentially stain or deform each other.
    ● When washing products, the appropriate amount of detergent should be used. Contrary to the common belief, too much detergent can actually wear out our clothes, rather than making them cleaner.
    ● Choosing detergent is the most important part of washing. It is recommended to choose different detergents for white and coloured clothes. As detergents for white products contain bleaching agents, this can cause coloured products to fade.
    ● When washing coloured clothes, it is recommended to use colormatic detergent.
    ● For intensified detergents, close attention should be paid. Excessive usage of intensified detergents may cause clothes to wither or wear out in a very short time.
    ● Don’t forget that products have washing-lives, depending on usage. For this reason, products should not be washed if they are not very dirty. Aeration and brushing applications may replace washing.
    ● When washing, washing machines should not be filled with an excessive amount of products, because products will not be thoroughly washed. On the other hand, the machines should not be operated with too few products. Washing with just a few products is incredibly wasteful, unnecessary and harmful to our environment.
    ● Washing temperatures should be as described on products’ care labels. Contrary to common belief, products can be cleaned sufficiently even with low temperatures.
    ● Do not forget that washing with high temperatures may cause products to shrink, wither, or get stretched out.
    ● Washing durations should be chosen according to the recommendation on the care label, ideally for the shortest session possible, to reduce waste. Washing duration is just as important as the detergent and temperature.
    ● Wash your products inside out.
    ● Be sure that your products are well rinsed, because soap powder or detergent residues on clothes may cause partial fading.
    ● Right after the washing procedure has been completed, the clothes should be taken out of the machine and be dried according to the recommended method.
    ● It should not be forgotten that clothes left in the machine for a long time can stain each other.
    ● Since water hardness causes improper washing of clothes and can potentially turn your products grey, be sure that the water used is good quality and not hard water. The recommended water hardness should not exceed the German hardness unit 3 dH.
    ● Particularly when washing coloured clothes, pay special attention to not use bleaching agents. LC Waikiki  recommends to never use bleaching agents, even in white clothes. This is because using bleaching agents shortens the physical life of clothes and causes harm to the environment.
    ● When it is recommended to hand-wash your products, please wash them with lukewarm or cold water.
    ● Before you hand-wash your products, be sure that the soap or detergent is well-dissolved in water. Soap or detergent residues can remain on products after washing, which can cause your clothes to wither.
    ● If your product has buttons/zippers/etc., close them all the way up before washing.
    ● Before washing your products, take removable accessories off.
    ● Be sure to separate and wash your products according to colour as much as possible. Due to misuse and an improper washing process, clothes which are not washed together with similar colours may look distorted over time.
    ● If your product has several parts with different colours that can be separated, be sure to wash the separate parts of your products with similar colours, to avoid damage.
    ● Be sure to wash lint-free products separately from others to avoid damage.
Step 2, Drying:
    ● Dry your clothes according to the recommendations in the care and maintenance instructions.
    ● Do not dry your clothes under direct sunlight. Direct and long sunlight exposure may cause your clothes to wither.
    ● Do not dry your products on radiators or heaters because this may cause deformations of the product.
    ● Dry your woolen or partially-woolen knitwear by forming them by hand, laying them on a flat surface and under room temperature. If you hang them to dry, this may cause deformation.
 Step 3, Ironing:
    ● Before you begin ironing your products, classify them according to the temperature levels written on care labels and begin with the products which are to be ironed with lower heat.
    ● For optimal ironing, it’s best to iron your products when they are slightly damp. Remember that slightly damp ironing ensures clothes will not burn or get ruined.
    ● Be sure to iron your products inside-out.
    ● Be especially careful to iron the areas with printings, embroidery and handwork gently and inside out.
    ● Try not to iron the zipper on products that have a zipper.
    ● Do no iron the plastic labels on your clothes.
Dry Cleaning:
    ● Because chemicals used during dry cleaning process can be harmful to our environment, LC Waikiki  aims to ensure that the majority of our products can be washed at home and do not need to be dry cleaned.
    ● Because of this, the only products that we recommend to be dry cleaned are products which are too sensitive to wash at home (products with padding, stiff cloth or very sensitive handwork). 
    ● Only if your product’s care label recommends you to dry clean, you may have your products dry cleaned.