How to Wash Corduroy

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Last Updated on September 22, 2026 by Umar Farooq

Inside out, fastened, cold gentle cycle, mild detergent, no softener. Do not fill the drum — the pile is crushed by pressure, not water. Keep towels and fleece out of the load. Air dry, brush the nap up, steam rather than iron.

Why the pile is the whole problem

Corduroy is “a cotton fabric with a distinctive ribbed surface, known as ‘wales'” (Cordings). Press them flat while wet and they dry flat; a stuffed drum applies more sustained pressure than a hot wash. Cordings: “Don’t overload the machine: Give corduroy room to move to avoid crushing the pile” — the two-thirds rule.

A cut pile also works like a brush. The Laundress: “Corduroy attracts lint, which is difficult to remove once it has attached itself to the nap” (The Laundress). Whirlpool: “Sort lint-producing fabrics (towels, chenille) from lint takers (corduroys, synthetics, permanent press)” (Whirlpool).

How corduroy wales are crushed and how lint gets trapped in them Corduroy is a cotton base cloth with tufts of cut pile standing up in parallel ridges called wales. In good condition the tufts stand upright and the fabric has depth and sheen. Two things destroy that. Pressure while the fabric is wet, from an overloaded drum or a high spin pressing the load against the drum wall, folds the tufts over and they dry in the folded position, which reads as a flat shiny patch. Loose fibres shed by towels, fleece and sweaters in the same load drop between the standing tufts and lodge at the base of the wales, where they are held mechanically rather than sitting on the surface, which is why a lint roller struggles to lift them out. Washing inside out, leaving room in the drum and keeping lint-shedding fabrics in a separate load prevent both. Brushing along the direction of the wales lifts crushed tufts back upright. The wales, in three conditions Upright pile depth, sheen, soft handle Crushed by pressure packed drum or high spin, dried flat Lint in the base held between tufts, not on the surface Inside out + a half-empty drum + no towels in the load prevents both failures. Brushing along the wales lifts crushed tufts back upright; a lint roller cannot reach the base.

How to wash corduroy, step by step

  1. Check the label. Cordings: “some tailored items (especially jackets) may be dry clean only.”
  2. Inside out, fastened. Cordings: this “protect[s] the wales from flattening or excessive rubbing during washing.”
  3. Sort it away from lint. The Laundress: “do not wash with materials that produce lint (such as fleece jackets, towels, and sweaters).” See sorting.
  4. Cold, gentle, mild detergent, no softener. TWOTHIRDS wants 30°C or below (TWOTHIRDS).
  5. Leave the drum half empty. The step everyone skips; the one that decides the result.

Drying and ironing, where the sources split

The Laundress allows the dryer: “Corduroy can typically withstand tumble drying with low heat.” Cordings does not: “Avoid the tumble dryer: High heat can shrink the fabric and damage the pile.” TWOTHIRDS agrees: cord “should always be air dried”.

Two to one against, and the two against it make the garments. Either way, brush the nap before it dries — Cordings says shiny pressure marks “can be gently lifted by brushing with a soft clothes brush in the direction of the wales.”

On ironing, The Laundress: “Never iron, as ironing will crush or flatten the natural pile.” Cordings permits it inside out on low with a cloth, but prefers a steamer, which “revives the nap without flattening it.”

FAQ

Can you machine wash corduroy?

Usually — cold, gentle, inside out. Cordings excepts tailored jackets.

Can you put corduroy in the dryer?

The Laundress says a low tumble is fine if you remove it damp. Cordings and TWOTHIRDS say air dry.

Why does corduroy attract lint?

The cut pile traps loose fibres at the base of the wales, where a roller cannot reach.

Can you iron corduroy?

Steam it instead. If you must, Cordings says inside out, low heat, cloth between.

How do you fix flattened corduroy?

Brush along the wales with a soft clothes brush, or steam it and tease the pile up.

Does corduroy shrink?

It is cotton, so heat shrinks it. The Laundress suggests washing and drying hot deliberately before altering trousers, so it shrinks first.

Protect the pile, skip the iron

Corduroy’s enemy is pressure, not water. Cold, inside out, half-empty drum, towels elsewhere, steamer not iron. Crushed pile usually brushes back; lint in the ribs does not.

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