How to Wash a Dog Bandana (and Keep the Print Sharp)

A dog bandana has a hard life. It goes where the dog goes, which means the muddy walk, the wet dog shake, the lake if there's a lake, and whatever the dog rolled in while you weren't watching. It is going to get dirty. That's the job. The only thing worth getting right is how you clean it, so it lasts and the print stays sharp.

First, wash it more often than you think. A bandana sits right against the neck, where a dog's coat is warmest and oiliest, so it picks up grime faster than a collar does. Every week or two is about right, sooner after anything memorable. The easiest way to stay on top of it is to own two or three and rotate them: one on the dog, one in the wash, one waiting in the drawer.

When it goes in the machine, a few small things protect it. Wash it cool, on a cold or 30-degree cycle, because hot water is what fades a print and shrinks cotton. Undo the press-studs first so they don't snag. Drop it in a mesh laundry bag if you have one, which stops it wrapping itself around heavier clothes. Use a mild detergent, skip the bleach, and skip the fabric softener too. Softener leaves a film that makes cotton less breathable, which rather defeats the point of buying soft cotton in the first place.

Stains want catching early. The usual three are mud, grass and food. With mud, the instinct is to attack it wet, which is exactly wrong. Let it dry completely, then brush the worst off before it sees any water. Grass and food lift more easily: work in a little detergent with a finger, leave it ten minutes, then wash as normal. A stain dealt with the same evening is a quick job. The same stain found a week later, set hard, is a different story.

Then dry it in the air. Hang it up rather than tumbling it; air-drying is gentler on cotton and print both, and a bandana is small enough to dry quickly anyway. If it needs pressing, use a cool iron on the back of the fabric, never straight onto the design.

Cotton tells you when it's done. It thins, goes soft and pale, and eventually frays along the folded edge. A bandana that's reached that stage has had a good run, and when the snap fit stops gripping or the fabric feels worn through, it's time for a fresh one. Plenty to choose from in the Farnup range, or a custom print if the next one should say something of its own.