Few garments in a men’s wardrobe offer the same level of versatility as the polo shirt. Featuring a buttoned collar with short sleeves, it’s the perfect “grab and go” choice for nearby any occasion. If you’re going to invest in a polo shirt (or several), you’ll need to know how to care for it. Failure to maintain your polo shirt could result in damage such as discoloration, stretched collars, stains and more.

Read the Care Label!

As with most garments, it’s best to read the care label of your polo shirt for specific instructions on how to clean and care for it. Far too many men are guilty of overlooking care labels, placing their garments at a greater risk for damage. By taking a few minutes to read the instructions here, however, you’ll know exactly how to clean and care for your new polo shirt.

Spot Clean

Instead of machine washing your polo shirt after each wear, try spot cleaning it only when necessary. Most men wear undershirts with their polo shirts, so there’s really no need to wash them after each time that you wear them.

Tumble or Line-Dry

Polo shirts have a tendency to stretch when placed inside a machine clothes dryer. The heat weakens the fabric, allowing to stretch more easily. To protect against this phenomenon, it’s recommended that you line-dry your polo shirt after taking it out of the washing machine. If this isn’t an option, tumble dry it on a no or low-heat setting. The key thing to remember is that you want to minimize your polo shirt’s exposure to heat.

Flip the Collar Up Before Hanging

Ever notice how some polo shirts have awkward collars that are unevenly creased? This usually occurs as a result of the collar being stuck down for a long period of time. Before hanging up your polo shirt in the closet, pop the collar up to prevent this from occurring. And when you get ready to wear it, just pop it back down. Taking a minute or two to flip your polo shirt’s color up before hanging will help preserve its crisp, uniform look.

Fasten the Top Button Before Hanging

In addition to flipping the collar up, you should also fasten the top button of your polo shirt before hanging it in your closet. The purpose in doing so is to keep the collar crisp. You don’t have to necessarily wear your polo shirt with the top button fastened — not unless you want to — but rather hang it up this way.

Wearing wrinkles clothes is a cardinal sin of fashion. Whether you are going to work, a party, or just running errands around town, you’ll want to make sure your clothes are clean and wrinkle-free. Arguably, one of the easiest ways to remove wrinkles from clothes is to use a hot iron. But what if you don’t have access to an iron?

Hair Dryer

In the event that you don’t have access to an iron, you can remove wrinkles from clothes with a hair dryer. Either hang the garment on a clothes hanger or place it on a flat surface and drag the hair dryer slowly across the surface (about 2 inches away). The heat from the hair dryer should flatten some, if not all, of the wrinkles. Just remember to begin by using the low heat setting, and if that isn’t enough, gradually increase the heat until it does the trick.

Turn on The Shower

A second technique for flattening wrinkled clothes is to place them inside the bathroom while the shower is running. A hot shower will produce steam, turning your bathroom into a steam room. And it should come as little-ton surprise that steam is a helpful tool for eliminating wrinkles. When using this method, it’s recommended that you use the hottest water setting possible, keep the bathroom door and window closed, and make sure the vent is turned off. You want to keep as much steam as possible inside your bathroom for maximum de-wrinkling effect.

Tumble Dry

The next time you need a dress shirt pressed but can’t find the clothes iron, try placing the shirt inside the dryer on the tumble or no/low-heat setting. After about 10-15 minutes, the shirt could come out flat with fewer wrinkles.

De-Wrinkle Spray

Of course, another solution is to use a de-wrinkle spray, such as Downey Wrinkle Releaser. Products such as these contain special chemicals that are designed to “relax” fabric and flatten wrinkles. This doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s going to eliminate all wrinkles from your garment, but it’s certainly useful in situations where a few minor wrinkles are present. Carrying around a bottle of de-wrinkle spray is an excellent idea for hard-working men who are always on the go.

These are just a few simple ways to remove wrinkles from your clothes without an iron. Assuming you have the time, you can always take your wrinkled garment to a professional dry cleaner, which will not only clean but also de-wrinkle the item.