When you’re finished, rinse it thoroughly in cold water to remove all of the soap before hanging it up to dry inside or out to allow it to air dry more quickly than usual. The tips in this blog post will help your bathing suit survive more than just one season by cleaning and caring for it properly. A broken strap or small hole isn’t a reason to toss an expensive bathing suit.
Attend to sunscreen and deodorant marks on the spot. Katie Berry is a cleaning expert with 30 years of household management experience luvwyatt com and 12 years of writing about cleaning methods and routines for Housewife How-Tos. She is the author of several books about homemaking.
This can lead to damaging pilling and holes in your suit. In the interest of effectively prolonging the life of your swimsuit—whether it’s a $300 or a $20 one—we’ve compiled six must-know tips that our editors swear by. Whether it’s a string bikini or a sleek one-piece, here are TODAY’s top tips on how to clean your swimsuit. If your white swimsuit has started turning yellow or has some other kind of discoloration, you may be able to salvage it. Drain the water and rinse the suds off the swimsuit. You can also give it one last scrub to get any remaining dirt or sand off of it.
Put the bathing suit in a mesh laundry bag to prevent straps from getting caught. If there are times you feel your suit is just not getting clean enough, take the following suggested steps to protect your suit while machine washing. During the swimming season, make it a point to have more than one swimsuit that you frequently wear. For instance, spandex takes an entire day to return to its original position after use, so if you swim every day, each suit requires a day off in between uses. Your beach and pool towels should be washed after each usage if they become sweaty and sand-covered, just like your bathing suit should be. You can definitely get away with reusing your towel if it only becomes slightly damp.
Using a washing machine to clean a bathing suit should only be done if the manufacturer’s recommendations indicate that it can be washed in a washing machine. Many bathing suits are hand-wash only due to the delicate nature of the fabrics commonly used. Putting these suits in the washing machine can ruin or damage them very quickly.
Using white vinegar with baking soda to wash your clothes is a plastic-free and less toxic way of taking care of them since it eliminates unnecessary bottles of cleaner. Don’t place baking soda in a washer’s automatic dispenser. Instead, pour half a cup of baking soda directly into the washing machine with your load of dirty laundry so that it dissolves into the water.
Just add a half cup of detergent to a bucket of cold water and let your swimsuit soak in it. By following these simple tips, you can keep your white swimsuit looking its best. If you are using a washing machine, it’s a good idea to wash the swimsuit with similar types of synthetic fabrics. Turn the swimsuit inside-out, and treat the appropriate areas for sunscreen stains with a dab of gentle detergent.
Half a cup of baking soda added to a sink of cold water before soaking will both brighten a swimsuit and remove odors. Don’t hang up your bathing suit because it’ll stretch out the fibers. Instead, store the suit flat when it’s completely dry; any moisture may result in the growth of mildew. If you’re putting it away for the season, store the suit in a fabric garment bag. Don’t use plastic bags, which can also provide a breeding ground for mildew and bacteria. Yes, baking soda can be used to remove chlorine from swimsuits.
Avoid hanging your swimsuit on a clothesline or in direct sunlight. Instead, lay your swimsuit flat in a shaded area to dry. By switching up your suits, you’ll ensure that each piece can return to its original form and hold its shape better over a longer period of time. When storing your swimsuit, place it in a fabric garment bag to avoid letting any moisture in, and keep the bag in a dry area. Otherwise, you’ll be faced with the unpleasant sight and odor of mildew—and no one wants to deal with that hassle. Commonly used laundry detergents may stick on your clothes when they aren’t properly dispensed.
If you’ve managed to get sunscreen on your suit, some good old dish soap will take care of most stains before they settle into the fabric. Grab a clean, dry towel and apply pressure to the stain to soak up as much of it as possible. Spilled a drink or let some food dribble onto your suit? Sprinkle some baking soda on the stained area and let it sit for an hour before you wash your swimwear in cool water. A great swimsuit hack is to take it into the shower with you to get rid of chlorine, sand or any other issues, fuss-free.