We get lots of questions from our customers about how to properly care for their lingerie – especially the pieces that they love and want to last a long time. Since lingerie is made out of delicate materials that react different to heat and chemicals than other fabrics, you do want to be careful about how you wash your new purchases. Luckily, lingerie care doesn’t have to be hard if you know just a few basic things.
Heat is always bad
Lingerie can take a fair amount of abuse, but it doesn’t do well with high heat. Heat breaks down elastics prematurely and can help underwires lose their shape. In practice, this boils down to one big tip: don’t put your lingerie in the dryer, ever. Lingerie should be hung to dry or dried flat 100% of the time.
Use a gentle soap or a lingerie wash to clean your lingerie
Lingerie wash sounds fancy, but what it really means is a liquid soap that is designed to clean delicate fabrics. There are lots of great choices out there (and if you’re in a pinch, baby shampoo works pretty well as a substitute). We love Soak Wash because you don’t have to rinse your pieces after using it, but Eucalan is also great if you’re sensitive to scents. On the fancy end you can try Journelle’s house brand lingerie wash, which smells heavenly. However you do it, don’t get lazy and substitute your regular laundry detergent for lingerie wash!
If you do put your bra through the washing machine, be smart about it
You should always hand wash your lingerie. That said, we all know that everyone puts their bras through the washer some of the time – hey, no one can be perfect every time! If you do need to put your bra through the washer, use common sense. Wash it on the delicate or handwash setting in cold water, with lingerie wash instead of regular detergent. Be sure that you don’t put any other pieces in with it that can get snagged by the hooks if they come undone (try a lingerie bag to really protect things as well).
Don’t squash your bras into your drawers
This is another one that pretty much everyone is guilty of, but you really shouldn’t do it if you can avoid it. Storing bras badly can lead to fabric creases, tears in delicate fabrics and misshapen underwires. If you don’t have enough storage space in your dresser, those giant clear storage tubs can work really well and pack away nicely in a closet or under a bed.
Know when to give up on your favorite piece of lingerie
If your bra doesn’t fit anyone, is stained, is ripped or just generally beaten up then you just need to replace it. We all know how hard it is to give up your favorite bra, but a beat up bra isn’t doing your breasts or you any favors. Try to go through your lingerie once a year and be honest about what needs to be thrown out. After all, replacing your favorite pieces can be fun!
Even with all of those great tips above, if you ever have any questions about the lingerie that you’ve purchased from Foxy Lingerie, the materials they are made of, or how to best care for them, let us know and we will be more than happy to help!