How to wash your swimsuits

Summer is coming and it is time to open your wardrobe and take out your swimwear and beachwear items which have been waiting there since last year. In the next few months there will be time for spending long days at the beach and taking refreshing swims at the swimming-pool: whatever your plans may be, in this article you will find some tips about how to wash your swimwear and beachwear items.

Sand, salt and sun seem to be the perfect recipe for happiness but when it comes to swimwear fabrics they can become a lethal mix which may damage fit, elasticity and color. That is why, after using them, you’d better wash your swimsuits immediately: this example of good practice, if followed correctly, may contribute to make them last much longer than one season. Like in all other cases, prevention is the winning weapon!

When talking about fabrics containing elastomer, it is recommended that you should take maximum care when dealing with finished garments, especially when washing, drying and storing them.

First of all, rule number one: never leave your wet, sweated or soaked with sunscreen products swimsuit in a plastic bag for long: plastic bags prevent air circulation and cause bad smell. Better to store your wet swimsuit inside fabric bags or, as an alternative, to wrap them in a towel or a bathrobe. After spending a long day at the beach, you’d better remove all sand from your swimsuits before washing, carefully checking it has not settled within the inner fibers.

If you choose to hand wash your swimwear, do not leave them to soak but rinse them immediately under cold or warm tap water (never > 30°). You do not need to use a specific detergent for swimwear, but in case you do, you’d better choose a delicate, neutral soap. Rinsing is really important because detergents tend to alter the fabric pH and, consequently, to interfere with the chemical bond between the dyestuff and the fiber, thus creating darker marks.

Once you have washed your swimsuit you need to squeeze it properly and hang it inside out, by putting pegs either on the straps or on the pad. If the weather allows it, let it dry in the open air but away from direct sunlight which may speed up color degradation. Fabrics containing elastomer shall display drying instructions stating they have to be hung so as to allow water to drip and disperse faster and in a more even way compared to swimwear which are flat dried, on a horizontal surface.

These are the essential steps for washing your swimwear. Let’s now move on to discuss how to remove stubborn stains from your swimwear.

Swimsuits, like any other garment, may get stained. Their enemies are:

• sunscreen: both creams and oils, especially if spray, may end up on your swimwear. You may want to spray your creams first onto your hands and then spread them on your skin;
• salt: it inevitably ends up onto your swimwear when at the sea;
• chlorine: even in this case, chlorine generates whitish spots.

How to remove sunscreen stains from your swimwear? And also, how to remove chlorine smell from your swimsuits? Washing your swimwear items immediately after using them may help removing creams and oils and also part of the chlorine smell.  Once formed, it is quite hard to remove such stains, especially because aggressive detergents and bleach are to be avoided.

Textile market leaders such as  Jersey Lomellina, test fabrics countless times when developing them so as to take into consideration all possible stress agents. For instance, Wonder by Jersey Lomellina is considered really innovative both in the beachwear and swimwear markets since it is highly resistant to chlorine, suntan creams and oils, it is moisture wicking and UV protective: an excellent mix of style and performance.

Jersey Lomellina beachwear fabrics can be machine washed and will not be damaged. Hand washing is preferable but washing machines may be functional in our everyday life or for a final washing at the end of summer.

How can you machine wash your swimwear? By selecting the most delicate program and without spin-drying them. What temperature to set to wash your swimwear, instead, depends on how you’d like to set your washing cycle: 30° or cold washing.

You just have to avoid leaving swimsuits inside the washing machine for too long; you’d better dry your swimwear by using a delicate tumble dryer as soon as possible.

We have seen how good maintenance is key for the duration of your swimwear. Taking care of your swimwear also means store all items in the right place while waiting for next summer.

Fabric containers, cardboard boxes or tissue paper are better options than hermetically sealed transparent bags. Also knowing how to fold swimsuits is important, since elastic bands mustn’t be stressed and pads have to be preserved, in case of padded bikinis tops. Last but not least, you need to make sure your swimwear is perfectly dry before putting everything away in winter.

These are our tips about how to wash your swimwear but, should you have more doubts or need more info, do not hesitate to contact us. We will be glad to help you find the best beachwear fabrics by Jersey Lomellina!