The care follows the fibre. Cotton can take heat that would melt nylon or felt wool.
The idea
Sort the wash by colour and by fibre before you add water. Read the care label. It tells you the wash, whether bleach is safe, how to dry, and the iron. Cotton can take a hot wash and a hot iron. Linen likes moisture and a hot iron. Wool is washed cool, with little rubbing, or the scales lock and the garment felts. Dry wool flat so it does not stretch. Silk is washed gently, without a strong alkali, and ironed warm. Nylon and polyester are washed warm and ironed cool. A hot iron melts them. Test the iron on a hidden part when you are not sure.
Treat a stain before the garment goes into a hot wash. Blood, egg and other protein stains are rinsed in cold water first, because heat sets the protein. Grease may need a grease solvent used with care, then a wash. Do not mix cleaning chemicals, and do not invent a recipe. Store clothes clean and dry. Damp cloth mildews. Wool needs protection from moths. Hang a garment so the shape is kept, or fold it if the fibre creases less that way. A reason should name the fibre. "Wash it well" is not a method.
Match the care to the fibre. Hot water for wool, or a hot iron for nylon, is the wrong answer even if the rest of the sentence is neat. Protein stains and grease stains are different. Storage is part of care when the question asks how to keep the garment. Do not invent a temperature or a product name you cannot defend.
Practice questions
These are practice questions in the style of the paper, with a model answer and a mark scheme. They are not a promise of what your paper will ask.
1Question 1
4 marks
(a) State how the wash for wool differs from the wash for cotton. (2 marks)
(b) Give one reason for that difference. (2 marks)
Model answer
(a) Cotton can be washed hot and agitated. Wool is washed cool, with little rubbing.
(b) Heat and rubbing make wool fibres lock together and felt. Cotton does not felt in the same way.
Mark scheme
Cotton: a hotter wash, or more agitation, is acceptable1 mark
Wool: cool water and little rubbing1 mark
Wool felts, or the scales lock, with heat and rubbing1 mark
The reason is tied to the fibre, not to a slogan1 mark
2Question 2
2 marks
Explain why a blood stain should be rinsed in cold water before a hot wash. (2 marks)
Model answer
Blood is a protein stain. Heat sets protein, so a hot wash would fix the stain in the cloth. Cold water lifts it before that happens.
Mark scheme
Blood is protein, or heat sets the stain1 mark
Cold water is used first so the stain is not fixed1 mark
3Question 3
2 marks
State two rules for storing woollen clothes. (2 marks)
Model answer
Store them clean and dry. Protect them from moths. They should not be put away damp.
Mark scheme
One rule, such as clean, dry, or protected from moths1 mark
A second rule, different from the first1 mark
Practise Clothing and Textiles with Anna
More questions on this topic are inside glearn, marked as you answer, with the reason written out. The first ones need no account.
Nylon is thermoplastic. A hot iron softens it and can melt the cloth. Cotton can take a hotter iron. Read the care label, and test a hidden part when you are unsure.
How do I treat a protein stain?+
Rinse it in cold water before any hot wash. Heat sets protein, so a hot wash first fixes the mark. Grease is a different stain and may need a solvent. Do not invent a mixture of chemicals. All WASSCE Clothing and Textiles past questions