Wear and Care: How to Wash Delicates, Shapewear and More

Don’t have time to read our entire guide? There’s so much to know about keeping certain fabrics and garments in great shape, but if you follow these 10 commandments, you should run into zero issues as you clean, dry and store your favorite pieces!

• 1. Thou shalt not use hot water.
• 2. Thou shalt not use bleach or harsh detergents.
• 3. Thou shalt not scrub too vigorously.
• 4. Thou shalt not over-soak.
• 5. Thou shalt not go too long without washing.
• 6. Thou shalt not machine-dry.
• 7. Thou shalt not iron.
• 8. Thou shalt not stuff in drawers.
• 9. Thou shalt not dry in a wet environment.
• 10. Thou shalt not stress too much over care!

Washing your bras and other undergarments frequently is important to helping ensure that they stay fresh and clean. The fact is that these items are in a prime position to absorb sweat (and start to smell) all day long. As a result, you need to get on a good washing schedule so your items maintain their perfect shape and appearance.

• Always Read the Care Tags aBefore you do anything, make sure you reference the garment’s care tags. There is a near-universal symbol convention that makes figuring out the care requirements of any garment a breeze. The symbols on the care tag will indicate how to wash, what kinds of detergents you can (and can’t) use and whether or not it’s safe to dry and iron your items. You may even want to hang a poster in your laundry room for reference.

• Know Your Fabrics: Another important thing to do is to get to know different fabric types and how they should be cleaned. For example, our latex shapewear has special care instructions (it needs to be washed in warm water with baby shampoo and stored in a place with no sunlight). Get to know the different fabric types so you have a general idea of how they should be cleaned.
• Start with a Gentle Soak: To clean your delicate items, always start out with a quick, gentle soak in cool or warm water to loosen any stubborn dirt or stains. However, be sure that you don’t leave garments in any water for too long or you risk the colors fading. Be sure to give attention to any stains beforehand, rubbing them lightly with soap and your fingers.
• Wash Frequently and Rotate: How often to wash bras is a hot topic, and it’s easy to see why. On one hand, you want to wash frequently enough to get rid of sweat stains and gross odors. On the other hand, you don’t want to wash too often for fear of wearing out your garments and shortening their lifespan. We recommend washing bras and shapewear frequently, but not every time you wear them. Try to rotate your bras and wash them every three to four wears.
• Hand Wash in Cold or Warm Water: For the best results, anything marked “delicate” should be hand-washed with cold or warm water. Never wash any fragile pieces with hot water or put them in a hot dryer. The simple fact is that heat is the enemy of many fabrics, and washing your clothes in cold water will help them last longer by preventing the dyes from breaking down and safeguarding fibers from shrinking.
• Always Wash Gently: Always wash your delicate items gently using a mild laundry detergent. And, remember, even hand-washing can be too vigorous for certain pieces! You don’t want to scrub your garments too hard because too much friction and pressure could damage the fabric and make them age faster. Remove stains and buildup gently by swishing the fabric between your hands under water.

• Machine-Wash with Care You can wash your delicates, undies, shapewear and more in the washing machine so long as you practice extreme care and use your machine’s most delicate settings. Here’s how to wash machine-safe delicate items:

• Wash with similar items of the same or similar colors. This will help prevent damage due to bleeding.
• Use a delicates bag—a fine weave mesh bag that adds a layer of protection around your fragile items—for underwear and bras. If you don’t have one, you can use an old pillowcase tied in a knot.
• Never wash delicate garments with bleach, chlorine or fabric softeners. These will deteriorate the fabric faster.
• When washing bras and shapewear, make sure everything is zipped, buttoned or snapped beforehand to prevent garments from getting tangled with one another.
• Use your machine’s cold or delicate cycle to ensure that you’re not exposing your items to high heat or any rough tumbling action that could cause permanent damage.

• Fill them with socks. Don’t let your bra cups flatten under the pressure of your luggage! Stuff them with socks or other items (only those that you don’t mind wrinkling) to help retain cup shape. You can also buy special bra cases for when you travel to keep them neatly separated.
• Don’t stack anything on top of bras, as this can cause the cups to flatten and it may be hard to get them to bounce back when you arrive at your destination and want to wear them. The same goes for bikini tops that have molded cups or underwire!
• Pack light bras and shapewear with no cups or wires so that you don’t have to worry about messing them up in transit. Sports bras and comfortable bralettes are always a great option for this!