We all love our ugly Christmas sweaters – so much so that we wear them non-stop throughout the holiday season. We wear them to our office parties, family parties, and any other gathering we attend to add a little bit of extra fun to the holiday season. And once the holiday season is over, it’s time to put them back into the closet until next year. But before we pack them away for the winter, spring, summer, and fall, they need to be washed.

So what’s the best way to wash all of our favorite ugly Christmas sweaters (and any type of sweater for that matter)? Here’s a step-by-step guide:

How to Wash Your Ugly Christmas Sweater

1. Hand wash or wash on gentle: While how you wash your sweater is largely determined on the material it’s made from and any extra bells and whistles that may be attached to it, in most cases it’s recommended that you either wash it on a gentle cycle with cold water or hand wash it with cold water and a sweater-friendly laundry detergent. If you’re hand washing, make sure that you thoroughly swish the sweater through the sink so that the entire sweater is adequately cleaned. It’s also good practice to let the sweater soak if hand washing before rinsing.
2. Dry the right way: If hand washing, remove any excess water by dabbing it with a towel after rinsing. Try not to ring water out of the sweater, as it’s possible that you could stretch out the fabric as a result. Roll the sweater up in a dry towel to finish drying. You could also lay it flat to dry (regardless of whether you hand washed or machine washed). Don’t hang to dry or else the fabric could get stretched out.
3. If your sweater is heavily soiled with stains or dirt, then it might be best to take it to a specialty dry cleaner to ensure it’s thoroughly cleaned. In most cases, however, it is possible to clean at your home or the laundromat.

It’s the holiday season, and part of what makes this “the most wonderful time of the year” is none other than the ugly sweaters we like to wear. Follow the steps above to properly clean your ugly sweaters so you can enjoy your timeless holiday classics for many more years to come.