How to wash a rhinestone hoodie while protecting its decorations

By Cleaning Notes

If the care label permits washing, turn the hoodie inside out, use cold water and mild laundry detergent, and handle it gently. Air-dry it if the label allows. Use a washing machine only when the garment’s instructions allow it—a delicate cycle does not override “hand wash only.”

The aim is to clean the fabric without unnecessary friction, heat or pulling on the attached decorations.

Check the label and rhinestones first

Read the washing and drying instructions before getting the hoodie wet. The fabric alone does not determine the method: the U.S. FTC’s care-label guidance says manufacturers need evidence that the entire garment, including its components, can withstand the recommended care.

• Machine washable: use the gentle routine below, within the label’s limits.
• Hand wash only: use the basin method, not a machine’s “hand wash” cycle.
• Dry clean only or do not wash: do not substitute a home wash. Show the label and decorations to a cleaner before treatment.
• Missing label, conflicting instructions or custom-added rhinestones: ask the brand or decorator for care instructions. Do not assume the original plain hoodie’s label covers decorations added later.

Inspect the design without tugging on it. If stones are lifting, threads are broken or settings catch on fabric, pause washing and ask the maker about repair first.

Machine washing, when permitted

Blingdazzel’s instructions for its heat-set rhinestone apparel recommend inside-out washing, cold water, a gentle cycle, mild detergent and a mesh laundry bag. Those are useful protective measures for a hoodie whose own instructions permit machine washing.

1. Empty the pockets and close any zipper. Turn the hoodie inside out carefully.
2. Place it in a roomy mesh laundry bag. Avoid cramming it tightly into the bag. As a precaution, keep it out of loads with exposed hardware or rough fabrics that could catch the decorations.
3. Choose cold water and a delicate or gentle cycle. Follow any more specific garment instructions.
4. Add mild laundry detergent at its labeled dose. Skip bleach, fabric softener and other laundry additives unless the garment maker explicitly approves them; Blingdazzel advises against these for its rhinestone pieces.
5. Remove it after the cycle and move to drying. Do not wring or twist it.

Hand washing, when required or permitted

Use a clean basin, cold water and mild detergent suitable for hand washing, following the detergent’s dose instructions.

Turn the hoodie inside out, lower it into the water and gently move it through the solution. Do not scrub the rhinestones, rub the fabric against itself or leave it soaking unless the maker specifically instructs you to. Drain the basin and rinse gently in fresh cold water, repeating until detergent residue is gone.

This approach follows the gentle handling in Rebel Athletic’s apparel care instructions, which specify inside-out hand washing, no fabric-on-fabric rubbing and fresh-water rinsing. Follow your own maker’s directions for washing time rather than borrowing another brand’s exact timing.

Dry without pulling on the decorations

Gently press out excess water without twisting. For a washable hoodie whose label allows flat drying, carefully turn it right side out and lay it on a clean towel or flat drying rack, supporting the hood and sleeves. Let it dry completely before folding it away.

Do not assume tumble drying is safe because machine washing is allowed. Blingdazzel recommends air drying and warns that high dryer heat can loosen its rhinestones; Rebel Athletic specifies air drying only. Follow the hoodie’s drying instructions, and keep it away from direct heat and strong sunlight while air drying.

Do not iron directly over the rhinestones. If the label permits ironing, work only on undecorated fabric within its temperature limit. If a stone loosens during washing, stop further laundering and ask the maker for a compatible repair method rather than trying to press it back on with an iron.