Burlap coffee sacks are great fabrics that you can use in different kinds of DIY projects and crafts. However, the coffee sacks can have unpleasant odors or hold onto debris or dirt. Therefore, they need cleaning to keep your coffee bags in a more durable condition. Not to mention, cleaning them is a critical step before storing them for the next season. Usually, uncleaned coffee sacks with leftover residues will attract insects that may damage your coffee bags to an unrepairable state. Here’s a guide on how to wash burlap coffee sacks.
How to Wash Burlap Coffee Sacks
There are several ways to wash your burlap coffee sacks. You can either machine wash or hand wash them. However, machine washing the coffee sacks is not recommended since the natural jute fibers in the sacks are easily damaged by the harsh atmosphere in the machine. Not to mention, your washing machine may damage in the future since burlap material produces large amounts of lint.
With that said, we’ll guide you on how to hand wash and machine wash burlap coffee sacks. Read on!
How to Hand Wash Burlap Coffee Sacks
- Fill the sink or tub with cold water. Hot or warm water may cause shrinkage to your burlap coffee sack.
- Add a cap full of detergent to the water.
- Submerge the burlap coffee sack into the sudsy water.
- Turn over the burlap coffee sack and squeeze it several times using your hands. This ensures that you’ve removed any dirt or debris in the sack. In addition, it will allow the detergent to get into the fabric.
- Allow the burlap fabric to sit in the water for five minutes. This ensures that any dirt clinging to the fabric is flushed out. In addition, don’t allow the fabric to sit in the water for long since it may begin to fray.
- After waiting for five minutes, remove the fabric from the water and rinse it well using cold water. As your rinse, turn over the fabric to ensure leftover detergent is rinsed away.
- After rinsing the burlap coffee sack, squeeze out excess water. You can do this by rolling the coffee sack between a dry towel so that the towel can soak the excess water.
- Dry out the burlap coffee sack outside in the shade so it dries faster. Direct sunlight can make your coffee sack fade.
How to Machine Wash Burlap Coffee Sack
- Put the burlap coffee sack in the washing machine without another laundry. As mentioned earlier, burlap produces a lot of lint that may cover the other laundry.
- Add half the laundry amount you would add for a normal load.
- Use the delicate setting on your washing machine to clean the burlap coffee sack. The delicate setting prevents the fabric from fraying and unraveling.
- When the coffee sack has washed, hang it on the clothesline so that it can dry. Don’t machine dry the coffee sack since the dryer may be harsh on the burlap fabric.
- After drying, take the sack outside and shake it well to remove any excess lint.
How to Clean Smelly Burlap Coffee Sacks
To clean smelly burlap coffee sacks, sprinkle some baking soda onto the burlap coffee sack and put it outside but not under direct sunlight. After a few hours, turn it and apply some baking soda on the other side.
If the odors are persistent, apply some vinegar or lemon juice to the fabrics and put them in indirect sunlight. The acids in the vinegar and lemon juice will help remove the odors without destroying the fabric. After removing the odors using your preferred treatment, rinse the burlap coffee sack as you would when using the hand-washing method.
How to Store Burlap Coffee Sacks
As mentioned earlier, ensure that your burlap coffee sacks are clean and dry before storing them. If you want to avoid creases or wrinkles on your coffee sacks, we recommend rolling them. After rolling the coffee sacks, store them in a cool place that’s clean since burlap can mold quickly once they draw moisture from the air.
In addition, don’t store the clothes under direct sunlight since they can fade as well as leave the coffee sacks brittle and delicate when you need them next.
Equally important, if the coffee sack is wrinkled you can iron it out while it’s damp. Not to mention, try out different iron temperatures (starting with low temperature) on the coffee sack until you find the temperature that suits it.
