Treat stains immediately, if possible. The sooner you treat a stain, the easier it is to remove.
You can buy stain removal products at most general stores.
If you don’t plan on washing the entire shirt, rinse the stain removal product off under cold running water.
You can also try adding some all-fabric bleach to your laundry cycle. This may take out stubborn stains if you don’t have a gel pen. Non-chlorine or all-fabric bleach may still damage some polo shirts, so you may want to test the product on an inconspicuous spot first. Oxygenated bleach is useful for brightening shirts that look dull. It’s used the same way as non-chlorine bleach.
Your best chances of removing unwanted dye is right when you notice the stain. Once the dye dries, removing it is unlikely. You may also be able to remove dye stains on your own with rubbing alcohol or bleach.
All polos can be washed and dried the same general way, which is with cold water and low heat.
You may also be able to fix a floppy collar by spraying it with starch and ironing it.
Polos with white stripes are typically safe to wash with both white and colored clothing. Be careful with red clothing or red-striped polos. Red dyes are the most likely to bleed. You may want to avoid washing red clothing with polos or red-striped polos with white clothing.
Be careful if you use a powdered detergent, since a lot of them are too harsh to be used on polo shirts. You can use bleach on white polos. Check the shirt’s tag. It will likely instruct you to use non-chlorine bleach.
Avoid warm water, since it will wear out your polo shirts over time. Cold water will still get your shirts clean. You can hand wash polo shirts in cold water, but this isn’t recommended since it can cause the dye to bleed a little.
Remember to keep the polo’s collar up while drying so it retains its shape. If you have the time, you can avoid the risk of damage to your polos by skipping to air drying.
Most wear and tear from machine drying won’t show up right away. The polo may shrink at first, but the heat also can wear out the fabric over time. Instead of machine drying the polo now, you can also choose to throw the polo into the dryer for the last 2 or 3 minutes of the drying process.
If the polo is completely dry, you won’t have to worry about water damage. However, still try to put the shirt away as soon as you can.
Direct sunlight weakens and discolors fabric over time, so avoid drying your polos in it. You can also spread the polo on a drying rack instead of a towel.
A polo that has been partially dried in a drying machine may finish drying in about 15 to 25 minutes, although this varies depending on your environment. If the shirt seems to be drying slowly, try flipping it after 15 minutes. This encourages both sides of the shirt to dry at an even rate.
