Fashion

How To Properly Wash Your Bathing Suit

by Emily McClure

Once you've found your new summer swimsuit, it's time to figure out how to keep it clean. From chlorine to sunscreen and everything in-between, there are several things that could be wreaking havoc on your suit. Keep everything clean and looking it's best by learning how to properly wash your bathing suit. Spoiler alert: Washing your new suit shouldn't involve a washing machine. Swimsuits are made from delicate fabrics and materials that don't hold up well to wear and tear. In order to keep your suit's ideal shape intact, avoid washing it in a machine as much as possible. Hand washing is definitely your suit's best friend.

As anyone can tell you, misshaped bathing suits can be the worst. From baggy bottoms to sagging cups, your bathing suit will definitely show if it's been mishandled. An easy way to keep the suit's shape is cleaning and drying it properly. This allows the suit to regain it's shape and snap back into place without being overly strained. It may sound like a lot of work, but in a few simple steps, you can clean your bathing suit and prolong the life of this summer clothing staple. Wondering what you need to do? Here are nine things to keep in mind when cleaning your bathing suit.

1. Rinse, Rinse, Rinse

While there's no need to place your bathing suit in the washing machine each time you wear it, you should rinse out your suit with cold tap water after each wear, according to StyleCaster.com. Rinsing the suit helps to remove any sunblock, sweat, chemicals, or debris that could be lingering around in the fabric.

2. Be Sparing With Soap

After a few wears, POPSUGAR suggested hand washing the bathing suit using a mild detergent. Laundry soap that is formulated for lingerie or delicates works best, however, a mild hand soap can get the job done as well.

3. Dry Properly

Drying your bathing suit properly is integral for keeping the suit's shape intact. So, instead of ringing the water out, the Huffington Post suggests to place the suit in a towel and roll it up. This allows the water of the suit to be wicked away without distorting the shape of the swimsuit.

4. Dry Indoors

While it may seem reasonable to hang your suit out in the sun to dry, the damaging UV rays can actually cause the suit's fabric to fade, according to Swimoutlet.com. Instead, try the towel trick, or lie your suit flat on a towel and allow it to air dry.

5. Don't Use Hot Water

According to the Huffington Post, hot water can damage your swimsuit. Keep your swim looking it's best by always using cold water to clean the fabric.

6. Machine Wash Sparingly

Washing machines can definitely take a toll on your swimsuit. From twisted padding to stretched out bottoms, there are plenty of ways that your washing machine could be ruining your bathing suit. In order to keep it's shape for longer, be very sparing in the amount of times that you machine wash your swimsuit.

7. How To Wash In A Machine

If you do need to machine wash your bathing suit, the SwimOutlet.com suggested adding two towels to the load to protect the delicate swim wear.

8. Skip The Dryer

Holy shrinkage, Batman! Machine dryers are known to wreak havoc on delicate swimwear. Keep your suit looking it's best by always air drying your suit.

9. Remove Stains Properly

Notice a stain on your bathing suit? StyleCaster.com recommends sprinkling baking soda on the stain, and letting the powder soak in for one to two hours before rinsing with cold water.

Voila – a completely clean bathing suit!

Images Pixabay (10)