Tzitzis care 101

Moms share their best tzitzis care tips and techniques.

Miscellaneous messages from moms like you

• To keep your little boys looking neat, cut the too-long strings. Confirm with your LOR the best way to do this (using a ceramic knife/scissor).

• Don’t wash tzitzis so often! The strings won’t stay bright and white regardless, and the beged (if it’s worn between an undershirt and shirt) shouldn’t need frequent washes.

An ounce of prevention

• Before your child wears the tzitzis, gather the strings and put in a cup of boiling water for a few minutes,  soaking the knots. Once dry, this kind of “glues” them in place. Clear nail polish also works for this - paint it over the knots and/or the end of the strings. Reapply as needed.

When washing, contain the strings

There is a product made just for this purpose, but here’s how JAM readers do it:

• Wash in a mesh bag like this one

• Put your hand inside a white sock (worth buying a pack just for this). Grab all the tzitzis. Pull them back inside the sock. Tie the sock in a knot with the tzitzis inside. (The knot will loosen in the wash.)

• Take a pair of opaque white girls tights (other readers use stockings) and gather all 4 corners and put them into one leg of the tights. Knot the top where the leg meets the seat of the tights. Then put another pair in the other leg and do the same. I then put them in a gentle cycle and hang to dry.

• Bundle up the tzitzis strings so that you have a nice “folded” pile of strings about 3-5 inches long and tie a pony tail holder around. Put in a mesh bag and wash!

• Fold the strings neatly INSIDE the begged, ROLL UP, then put in a mesh bag and wash only on 600 rpm at most! And if they come out straggly, we just re-wet them to straighten them out (I think that might only work for the thicker, older-boy kind).

  I like to remind myself: tzitzis are a badge of honor! They should fill us with pride.