Material
Viscose
A cellulose fibre that loses much of its strength when wet, marks with water, and shrinks with heat, so treatment is cold, brief and fully supported.
- SurfacePorous
- WashingHand
- Colour run riskHigh
- Reviewed7 September 2026
What viscose can and cannot take
- Heat Avoid
- Water and soaking Use with care
- Acids, including vinegar Use with care
- Strong alkalis Use with care
- Solvents Use with care
- Chlorine bleach Avoid
- Abrasives Avoid
Always test on a hidden area first and let it dry before you treat the visible mark.
General rules for viscose
Handle wet viscose as little as possible and support its weight when you do. A wet viscose garment held up by the shoulders will stretch and stay stretched.
Cold water, short soaks and no wringing. Half an hour is the limit specialists give, and it is a real limit rather than a suggestion.
Dry it flat in its own shape, away from heat, and steam rather than iron it afterwards.
Check the label
Viscose loses a large part of its strength as soon as it is wet, which is the single most useful thing to know about it. Fabric care specialists hand wash it in cold water, soak for no more than 30 minutes, press the water out rather than wringing, and keep it out of the tumble dryer because it shrinks.
Stains on viscose
- Baby sick Lift the solids and rinse in cold water. Viscose weakens substantially when wet, so keep it brief: specialist...
- Blood Blot first, then use cold water and a tiny amount of compatible detergent. Work from the edge, rinse or blot...
- Body oil Dry blot viscose, then wash only if the care label permits it using diluted delicate detergent. Do not apply...
- Breast milk Dry-blot first. Use this route only on an unstructured item whose whole label expressly permits hand washing....
- Bronzer Lift loose bronzer from viscose before it is rubbed in. Blot cream bronzer, follow the material or care label...
- Coffee Blot without rubbing. Support the fabric and check the care label before adding water. Use a brief fibre-appr...
- Concealer Lift the concealer, flush Viscose from the back with cool water, pre-treat the oily residue with one drop of...
- Cooking grease Lift and blot cooking grease from Viscose, absorb the oil, pretreat both sides with washing-up liquid for 10...
- Deodorant Rub a fresh white deodorant mark off viscose while it is dry. For residue that remains, follow the care label...
- Hair dye Blot hair dye from Viscose, test the mildest compatible cool detergent route, clean inwards, remove residue a...
- Lipstick Lift lipstick from Viscose, work from the reverse with a drop of washing-up liquid, rinse cool, wash to the c...
- Motor oil Blot motor oil from Viscose, absorb the residue, pretreat both sides with a little washing-up liquid, wash to...
- Nail polish Lift accessible free polish without rubbing and keep the item dry. The fibre, finish or construction makes a...
- Period blood Lift any tissue with a spoon edge, then blot. Use cold water and a tiny amount of compatible detergent for th...
- Pet urine Blot until nearly dry, then use only the cool-water quantity viscose can tolerate. Use a labelled pet urine e...
- Sweat Blot Viscose, follow its care label and use one supported cool hand rinse only if permitted. Keep rubbing and...
- Tomato sauce Lift tomato sauce from Viscose, then wipe or blot inwards with a tested cool detergent solution. Remove resid...
Viscose is cellulose that has been dissolved and reformed as a fibre, which makes it drape like silk and behave like nothing else in the wardrobe.
Wet strength is the key fact
Viscose weakens substantially when it is wet. Threads that would take handling dry will break, and the fabric stretches under its own weight. That is why the specialist advice is short soaks and pressing rather than wringing.
It shrinks with heat
A tumble dryer shrinks viscose, sometimes dramatically, and the shrinkage is not recoverable by stretching it back.
It water marks
Like silk, viscose shows a ring where a wet area meets a dry one, so treating a whole panel is safer than treating a spot.
It is often blended
Viscose appears in blends with polyester and elastane, which changes the strength picture. The label is worth reading before deciding how gentle to be.
Sources
What we checked and when. Where a manufacturer instruction disagrees with anything here, follow the manufacturer.
-
How to wash viscose, The Laundress
specialist
Fabric care specialist guidance that viscose weakens when it is wet so it is hand washed in cold water, soaked for no longer than 30 minutes, pressed rather than wrung, laid flat or hung to air dry rather than tumble dried because it shrinks, and steamed rather than ironed directly.
Checked 7 September 2026
-
How to remove baby formula stains, Purex Stain Lab
manufacturer
Manufacturer guidance identifying breast milk, formula and baby spit-up as protein stains, explaining the role of enzymes, and warning that the mark should be checked before any drying heat because heat sets what remains.
Checked 7 September 2026
-
How to remove stains from baby clothes, Persil UK
manufacturer
UK manufacturer guidance to act quickly on formula, blot when immediate washing is impossible, rinse under cool water, soak for at least 15 minutes where the care label permits, pre-treat with detergent and then wash to the care label.
Checked 7 September 2026