Conseil Entretien
Tencel / Modal
All Akaso t-shirt tops for men and women are made either in Tencel or Modal. Both materials are organic made from wood pulp. The Akaso Tencel is sourced from the European company that invented Tencel. They produce this amazing super soft and anti-bacterial yarn via a closed loop cycle : all chemicals used to extract yarns from the wood pulp are re-used. There is zero negative impact on the environment.
Akaso Tencel is super light and very much indicated to wear during hot and humid days : it always stays fresh and clean on the skin.
Akaso Tencel is thin and light and a real pleasure to wear : avoid friction with belts that may have sharp edges which may produce small holes in the fabric. Akaso Tencel garments always have a loose fit to avoid any unpleasant surprises.
Machine wash your Akaso Tencel tops : put them in a washing bag to protect the fabric. Choose a delicate washing programme on 30C. Dry on a hanger in a damp place, like your washing room or shower room : the moist in the air will help to dry your Tencel top without any pleats. If after drying a pleat is present, do not iron, but rather use some steam : within a few seconds of steaming any pleat will disappear.
Cotton Sweatshirt
All Akaso sweatshirts are made from our signature deluxe 100% pure cotton with a very unique fabric structure, designed to last for many many years.
Machine wash at 30C. Reverse the garment inside out to protect the prints or embroideries. Put the wet garment on a hanger, pull the sweatshirt into shape. As such, no ironing is needed once the garment is dry.
Leather Goods
Akaso uses the finest Italian calf leather and lamb skins for all it's bags and small leather goods. For men's wallets Akaso uses patent leather. Every Akaso leather colour is in-house developed together with our tannery in Tuscany, where we select and inspect every single skin.
Knitwear Cleaning
Refresh
You've worn your sweater for a couple of days, or you were in a smoking room or close to a chimney. Your sweater is not dirty, yet you would like to refreshen it.
Washing is an option, however not always needed : hang your sweater in the open air for a day or night, especially when it's cold outside : ice cold air neutralises bad smells.
As an alternative, you can put your sweater in a fabric or plastic bag, and put this in your freezer for at least 24 hours. Defrost at room temperature.
Wash
The Akaso knit yarns are from the best Italian quality : they are all submitted to a thermic anti-shrinkage treatment. On top of that, once knitted, each Akaso sweater is washed before being shipped to our store.
In other words, when you follow the Akaso care instructions, your sweater will never shrink.
For sweaters whether they contain wool or not. Washing machine : you must select the wool programme. Choose temperature 30C. Attention : this is not the same as a regular washing programme at 30C. A wool programme is shorter and more gentle.
If you have never used your wool programme before, try it out first with a sweater you can afford to loose.
Use an organic or natural detergent. Do not use Woolite as it is much too aggressive for super fine wools.
Hand wash : dissolve your natural detergent in lukewarm water. Massage the water into the sweater. Let it rest for minimum 4 hours. Then take your sweater out of the water, rinse thoroughly with cold water. Then gently massage the remaining water out of your sweater.
Dry
Always dry your knit sweaters flat : stretched into its normal shape on a towel.
When stretching your sweater, do not over stretch it.
Do not dry directly on a heat source.
Any Akaso sweater will dry within a full day or night.
Then fold and store, ready to be worn again :-)
SOS Emergencies
If you have a snag or a hole in your sweater : contact us for help and advice.
Most repairs can be done by yourself, following our advice.
We have a repair service in Brussels.
Every skin has been tanned and finished to the highest standards : no care is required of your Akaso leather handbag or leather good during the first month's of use.
Cleaning
Treat the leather of your Akaso handbag as you would treat your own facial skin : before applying any nourishing product, we recommend to clean the leather first.
Just as your own facial skin, the leather of your bag is exposed to dust and air pollution which will deposite on the leather surface. If you use your bag on a daily basis we recommend to clean the leather every 3 to 4 months, using a specific shampoo formulated for leather cleaning. Do not use baby wipes or other substances which may contain small amounts of alcohol as these will dehydrate and deteriorate the leather. At the Akaso Brussels boutique you may purchase professional cleaning and nourishing products for leather.
The cleaning ritual will not take more than 15 minutes of your time.
Nourishing
After cleaning the leather of your bag, you may apply a nourishing cream on the leather once the leather is dry again. Nourishing the leather is not needed after every cleaning operation : once a year is enough. If your bag is exposed to harsh and extreme climate conditions and looks a bit 'poor', you may consider to nourish the leather twice a year.
Bags that have been stored for a long time in a box or closet do also suffer from dehydratation : do clean and nourish the bag before you use them.
As a leather nourishing cream we highly recommend the all natural and vegan Saphire Nappa Cream : you can purchase this cream at the Akaso Brussels boutique. You can use this cream for all your fine leather goods including shoes and belts. Apply small drops on the clean leather surface and massage into the leather using a textile cloth. We recommend to start with small amounts of cream in order to avoid over saturation. You may repeat the operation if the leather surface feels dry after the first round of cream. Once the operation is finished, allow the bag to rest for one hour : after which you can use your bag straight away.
Patent Leather
Used on the Akaso men's wallets. Patent leather has received a specific coating on the skin surface making the skin completely sealed. You can clean the surface with a soft cloth. Nourishing is not recommended as the skin will not absorb any product.
Suede
Some Akaso bags use goat suede for the inside lining. Akaso suedes have a repellent coating. Over time the suede may collect dust. To clean we recommend the suede shampoo of the French brand Saphire. Stains can be removed with the Saphire Gomadin gum. To restore the repellent apply the Saphire Suede repellent spray : this spray will prevent from stains to enter the suede fibre, making them easier to remove. All these products can be purchased at the Akaso Brussels boutique.
Repairs
Akaso has a repair service in Brussels. Some of the miracles that we can handle : shortening of shoulder straps, correction of (deep) scratches, zip and lining repair, etc.