How to wash a jute bag?

Whether you're storing your garden fruits and vegetables in a natural jute bag, or you've bought some for your home décor, in a vintage or, on the contrary, modern and colourful style, you might occasionally need to clean your bags.

So how do you do it – just a simple machine wash?
Well, no, because jute fibre is quite fragile.

Cold Water Cleaning

Natural jute fibre is quite sensitive to mechanical friction and heat.
Washing it in a machine at 40°C would damage the textile, making the bag brittle and frayed more quickly, and the fabric could also shrink.
Therefore, prefer washing with cold water.
Soak your jute bag for a maximum of 5 to 10 minutes (in a basin, a large bucket, or even the sink).
Do not wring the fabric by twisting it in all directions; this can break the fibres, and the fabric will eventually fray.
Hang your jute bag outdoors to dry slowly, without exposing it directly to the sun.

Gently Hand Wash

Avoid machine washing as much as possible, even on a delicate cycle.
If there are stains and marks you want to remove, gently dab and rub the jute fabric with a damp sponge.
If necessary, you can also moisten the sponge with a small amount of diluted ammonia.
Another solution is to soak the bag in cold water with a delicate laundry detergent or even a homemade detergent based on Marseille soap.
Gently rub and stir by hand to create suds and try to remove the stains, then rinse thoroughly with clear water.

Using White Vinegar

Economical, ecological, effective... white vinegar should be found in every home, as it is such a useful and versatile natural product.
It disinfects, deodorizes, and removes stains.
Mix white vinegar in a basin of cold water: 1 part vinegar to 4 parts water.
Do not add too much, as the acidity (between 8 and 14% depending on what you buy) could eventually damage the jute fabric.

Deodorizing with Baking Soda

Depending on the fruits and vegetables you've stored in your jute bag after a harvest, it's possible that some may rot and an odour could permeate the textile fibre.
This is particularly the case with potatoes. Jute is an excellent potato sack, but if stored for too long... they can start to rot. And the smell that emanates from them is quite stifling.
In this case, spread out your canvas bag and sprinkle it entirely with baking soda.

Indeed, baking soda is a natural and ecological product that can eliminate many unpleasant odours.
However, avoid combining baking soda and white vinegar.
White vinegar + baking soda = a super ecological and effective cleaner! But... the chemical reaction could damage the fibre.
Then, shake the bag, rinse well with clear water, and let it dry.

There you go, your jute bags should now be clean and fresh, ready to be used for a new agricultural harvest in the orchard or vegetable garden.