The best part about summer isn’t the beach or even the drinks – it’s the bathing suits. Whether you have a two-piece bikini or a string set, it can be quite tricky to keep it in its best condition.
But do you even know how to wash bathing suits, to begin with? The process isn’t just limited to simply throwing the outfit into the washing machine. Some fabrics might not even be suitable for machine washing.
So, how do you know what to do for which suit? Don’t fret – leave it to us. We have got it all covered in this post, so you can relax and sip your iced tea away while reading this.
Can You Put a Bathing Suit in the Washing Machine?
You can do so, but the question is, should you? We mean, unless your bathing suit comes with a label on it, there’s no need to throw it in the washer.
Unwanted machine usage can damage the bathing suit in the long run. The color might also start to fade eventually. Machine washing is way too hard on such outfits, which are usually made from very fragile fabric.
For example, many suits come with elastic strings or fibers holding the outfit together. Machine washing can be too harsh for these parts and even tear them apart.
The strong tumbling can also stretch and pull on the bathing suit fabric, which in turn will loosen the fit.
Why You Should Hand-Wash Bathing Suits?
Unlike machine washing, hand-washing your silk bikinis or satin sets can be much gentler on the fabric. Not only does this washing keep the color intact, but it also reduces the chances of wear and tear. Your outfit won’t have micro-abrasions all over it.
You can also control the amount of detergent required for different sections of the bathing suit. This way, you can always go in with a bit more detergent for specific regions if needed.
How Often Should You Wash Your Bathing Suit?
It would be best if you wash your bathing suit after every use. You’ve had lots of moisturizer and SPF on your skin on the beach. All this product can stick to your bathing suit and create buildup.
Not only is that gross on the fabric, but it can cause allergies and rashes if you put the outfit back on without washing. The chlorine in the water (if you were in a pool) can also be very harsh on the swimsuit as well.
To get rid of the oil and chlorine buildup from the bathing suit, make sure to give it a nice rinse after every wear.
How to Wash Bathing Suits in the Right Way?
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how you can take care of your precious bathing suit in the right way.
Submerge in Cold Water
Before you rinse your swimsuit, it’s recommended that you keep it submerged in cold right after you take it off. The cold water will counterattack the heat trapped inside the fabric. A 10 minutes cold bath is ideal for spandex bathing suits.
You can also just put it under cold, running water if you don’t want to keep it submerged for long. Once you’re done with this, transfer the outfit to warm water.
Add Soft Detergent
Here, add some detergent to the bowl/bucket you have the bathing suit in. Make sure only to use mild product here, as you will have to keep the outfit submerged for half an hour straight. Let it sit there and soak up the solution for a while.
Rinse with Cool Water
After the bathing suit has soaked up enough detergent, gently start rinsing the product off the outfit under cool, running water. You don’t want to rub harshly against the fabric. Just do it slowly, and focus mainly on the areas that tend to stain a lot.
Once you’re done with the rinsing, take it out of the water and squeeze the excess moisture out of the bathing suit.
If you want, you can also pat the outfit down with a towel as well. That is a much gentler alternative to squeezing water out, albeit a bit time-consuming.
Leave it hanging outside (not under strong sunlight) or on a flat surface to dry out. If you plan on keeping it outside under the sun, make sure to bring it in immediately once it seems dry enough.
You do not want it to go all crisp from the heat, as that can cause discoloration as well.
Why Do White Bathing Suits Turn Yellow?
Discoloration is one of the worst things that can happen to a bathing suit. In this case, yellowing is the most common scenario. But why do white bathing suits even turn this color?
The simple answer to this is chlorination. A chlorinated swimming pool can cause bathing suits to become yellow. Other than yellowing, prolonged exposure to strong chlorine directly can weaken and break the fibers in your bathing suit.
How to Whiten a White Bathing Suit Again?
But all is not lost. You can brighten the whiteness of your bathing suit again with only a few simple tricks.
Stain Removers
One way you can de-yellow your white bathing suit is to use a stain remover on it. If you don’t own one in your pantry, you can find it in any convenience store.
Commercial stain removers can cut through bleach, moisturizers, and even SPF lotions. It can get rid of all stains and buildup. The only catch here is that they can be pretty expensive, so people tend to DIY the remover at home instead.
DIY Bleach Remover
For this, you only need a couple of items that you probably have lying around at home anyway-
- Dish soap
- Glycerin
- Plain water
- Spray bottle.
Mix 1/4th of dish soap with the same amount of glycerin. Add in 1 ½ a cup of plain water, and give everything a good shake. Once the mixture is thoroughly combined, pour it all into a spray bottle and use it whenever required.
For usage, we recommend spraying directly onto the heavily stained regions. Leave it soaking like that for around an hour and a half if the yellowing is too strong.
Wash away with cold water once the time is up. There is no need to use any other product to rinse the bathing suit with. But you can use a mild detergent to remove the smell of bleach mixed with the DIY stain remover.
You can choose between hand washing or machine washing for this removal. However, we think it is better to stick with the former method anyway.
Conclusion
Now that you know how to wash bathing suits, we bet you find it as easy as we do. But it would be best if you tried to maintain the tricks and tips you’ve learned here for life. Always remember to use cold water to rinse through the outfit and wash after every use.
You do not want the oil and lotions to stick to your bathing suit and create grimy buildup. If possible, do a stain remover once a week (especially if you frequently go to the swimming pool).