After a swim in the lake, ocean or pool your suit’s come in contact with heat, sun screen, chlorine, salt water and other items among the elements. It’s important that you wash your bathing suit after every wear.
Clean them properly to maintain their condition and help them last all summer, or longer!
Wash after every wear
If you don’t have the time or don’t want to launder your suit after every wear, at least rinse the suit with fresh water. You can do this while wearing it, for example in the locker room showers at your pool or gym, or by running it under water at home in the sink. Sunscreen and chlorine will rapidly cause discoloration and yellowing if left on the suit. Over time, bathing suits will lose color but rinsing after every wear slows down the process.
Wash in the washing machine on the gentle cycle.
Launder in the machine with cold water, gentle detergent and on the delicate cycle. Or, even better, hand wash the suit if you have time. You can use mild hand soap, lingerie soap, or mild detergent. You can even try Blue Dawn Dishsoap – this seems to work wonders on everything! Swimwear should be treated gently so after the suit is washed, we recommend laying flat to dry.
Lay the suit flat to dry
Avoid drying your bathing suit in the dryer. The heat can weaken the fibers in swim fabric. The heat coupled with the tumbling could also misshaped your suit. Gently squeeze out the excess water – do not wring out the suit or you’ll stretch it out – and lay it flat to dry. Suits are made to be quick drying so laying it flat to dry won’t set you back much time waiting for it to dry. It should be dry within a few hours.
Spot treat stains
Stains on your suits are most likely sunscreen, beverages, food, etc. Try white vinegar – another amazing multi-purpose cleaning product – and dab gently to absorb the stain. You can also try some lingerie soap on a damp washcloth and dab the stain.
What other methods do you use to keep your bathing suits in like new condition all season long? Do you maintain your suits year after year or do you purchase a new one each year?
– S.O.
