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Strategies for Cleaning and Maintaining Your Swimsuit

 

Swimsuits are one of those strange consumer items: for so little fabric, they’re often quite expensive! That’s why it pays to learn how to care properly for your swimsuit, especially during the summer months, when you’ll be wearing it most frequently—wear also meaning “wear and tear.”

Tips for buying your swimsuit:

• Needless to say, the better quality the swimsuit is, the longer it will last. A higher spandex content means that the suit will maintain its shape longer. And if you know you’ll mostly be using it in pools, you can look for a chlorine-resistant suit.
• A higher Lycra® content also signifies a sturdier swimsuit, and these generally look more slimming to boot.
• If you know you’ll be active in the suit, make sure you keep that in mind when purchasing, because buying a suit that isn’t made for athletics or watersports means it’s unlikely to survive the stress.

Washing:       

• The first order of business after wearing your suit is to wash it in tap water, which will remove some of the sweat, oils, sand, salt, chlorine, etc. These substances work to break down the suit, and, if left too long, they’ll also harm the fit and elasticity.
• As for a proper wash, don’t use a washing machine with swimsuits containing spandex or Lycra—this will gradually destroy the suit. Use a regular liquid detergent and scrub with your hands, turning the swimsuit inside out. Same goes for drying: let it hang or lie flat to dry, and don’t expose it to the sun.

Other maintenance strategies:

• Try not to overuse the suit: once you wear it, give it 24 hours to regain its original shape.
• When you’re at the pool or on the beach, sit on a towel whenever possible. This helps protect your suit from snagging on rocks or the uneven ground, which can tear and abrade the fabric.
• Avoid contact with suntan lotion as much as possible.
• After the suit begins to bag or lose its shape, despite your great caretaking, it’s probably time to look for a new one.

Men’s swimwear:

• Buying for men comes with some different considerations. Depending on the purpose of the swimsuit—swimming, tanning, casual wear—there’s a wide range of different fits and types.
• Because they aren’t formfitting, some men’s suits will be blends of polyester and cotton, which can be machine-washed normally. But still keep in mind other tips for keeping the suit healthy.
• If you opt for an athletic suit, they’ll likely be a blend of nylon, spandex, and/or Lycra, so remember to wash by hand and rinse as soon as possible after wearing.

Lastly… AVOID HEAT:

• This means saunas, hot tubs, steam rooms, and so on. The combination of extreme heat and the substances in hot-tub water will wreak havoc on the fabric and material of your swimsuit.
• When you know that you might be exposing your suit to heat, try and use an old one or something that you don’t mind getting worn, because this sort of stressor can ruin new suits very quickly, especially if they’re made of more expensive materials like spandex, Lycra, or nylon. 

The bottom line: swimsuits are expensive, can be hard to buy, and they’re meant to make you look your best. Help them do this by taking good care of your suit.

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