wash & care

[Orb]

  I know, right!  There have been a few topics on wash and care.  I just wanted to start and make a space dedicated for that. 
  I'm still working some , in the field.  I have several "working bras".  I get home and tend to toss them in the wash.  I have many days that I'm a bit of a "slime ball".  I need the after work shower.  I wipe the brow, not the boob sweat while working.  My cups do that. Baskets.  For many of my nicer bras I hand wash and hang dry.  For the "working, 2-ply seamless underwire bras", I just toss in a mesh garment bag, wash and hang dry.  For the finer things like I said, I hand wash.  I found these bags to work well.  I place three bras in a bag and toss.
  Lets share a few washing tips for others.



https://www.amazon.com/Durable-Honeycomb-Mesh-Laundry-Delicates/dp/B08FSVQ24P

[brock123]

According to my wife, all bras should be washed on the "delicate" cycle and air-dried hanging by the gore, even sports bras. That said, she takes much greater care of her expensive VS padded bras; they don't go in a garment bag but they do get washed separately with other delicates and then hung to dry for 24/48 hours (apparently "outside" is better than "inside" but... #winter). Her sports bras are treated with (seemingly to me) reckless abandon and just "thrown in" to both the washer and dryer cycles, and ultimately find themselves just balled up in a drawer. -- you know, kind of like a man might do with them 

I have never graduated beyond the "sports bra" phase here, but I can attest to being called out by my wife multiple times for trying to follow the female garment rules as best I could (and apparently failed?). You're good with your husband needing to wear a bra, but you take issue with how he tries to emulate you in trying to clean them? LOL.

Whatever works for you and allows you to feel "clean" should be good enough for anyone else to accept.  If the bra has been "washed" and wasn't destroyed in the process, you're good.

[Johndoe1]

I too wash my everyday bras in a bag and delicate cycle and hang dry by the gore. For my more expensive bras, I hand wash them in cool water in the sink and lay them out to towel dry. Good bras are too expensive in general to be replacing them all the time.

[SideSet]

I agree about delicate wash cycle and air dry. Only thing I would add is for your underwires front load is best as the agitator in the top loads can sometimes damage wires 

[Evolver]

Whether they are mine or hers, bras are singularly put in a wash bag and put through a normal cycle. If there is more than one bra to a bag, they are put in there hooked up to avoid entanglement.

Wife wears bras far more often than me. She has had no reason to replace any for well over a year. Normal cycle in a wash bag has not destroyed them. This is what she nornmally wears, maybe padded bras are more susceptible to damage? :
Kiss Of Cotton Wirefree Bra In beige | Triumph Lingerie

[aboywithgirls]

I do the same as John. I will machine wash my every day bras and panties on a delicate cycle in a lingerie mesh bag. My more delicate or expensive things I always hand wash, pat down with a towel and air dry. Bras should be hung over a hanger at the gore. I usually will just lay my panties and nylons on a towel to dry.

[Orb]

One of the reasons I wanted this discussion is I remember reading a comment in a past section about when hand washing a special detergent was used.  For those that I hand wash is there a best soap/detergent?

[Johndoe1]

One of the reasons I wanted this discussion is I remember reading a comment in a past section about when hand washing a special detergent was used.  For those that I hand wash is there a best soap/detergent?

You can use Dreft, Ivory Snow, or Forever New or an alcohol free hand wash. Those are all good. You want to let your bra soak for a while, some say up to an hour, but I think it will depend on how dirty your bra is. Then gently rub the fabric to dislodge any remaining dirt. Rinse in lukewarm water and dry.

[blad]

I just like seeing my bras air dried on a rack next to my wife's. 

[SideSet]

And my pantyhose draped over the shower curtain rod to dry after washing.  You would think a woman lived there 😘

[Rich meier]

I do the same as John. I will machine wash my every day bras and panties on a delicate cycle in a lingerie mesh bag. My more delicate or expensive things I always hand wash, pat down with a towel and air dry. Bras should be hung over a hanger at the gore. I usually will just lay my panties and nylons on a towel to dry.

what is the benefit if using a bag.my late wife and my current one throws every thing together and wash  warm with everything else. I do mine and panties on cold and delicate and cold dry

[brock123]

I'm still fuzzy about proper sports bra care. I get that "real" bras, particularly underwire ones, have special needs, but these are basically poly/cotton/spandex garments not that dissimilar to things that are commonly "thrown in the wash", right?  I've not encountered any problems treating them that way (normal wash; low/medium-low heat tumble dry), but again my point of reference treats her sports bras like they were cotton T-shirts or blue jeans.

We do what we can since we were never taught properly   

[p.r.1974]

I grew up with mom perpetually having a bottle of woolite in the laundry room. Never asked what it was for. However, I have been using it for a long time. Otherwise I would echo Sophie and John.

[Johndoe1]

I'm still fuzzy about proper sports bra care. I get that "real" bras, particularly underwire ones, have special needs, but these are basically poly/cotton/spandex garments not that dissimilar to things that are commonly "thrown in the wash", right?  I've not encountered any problems treating them that way (normal wash; low/medium-low heat tumble dry), but again my point of reference treats her sports bras like they were cotton T-shirts or blue jeans.

We do what we can since we were never taught properly  

Sports bras are different than regular bras, but you still have to be careful with the hooks. They will catch on EVERYTHING! Plus the oils and salts from sweating will ruin the elastic in sports bras if you let them sit around damp. My fitter recommended that right after a workout, keep the sports bra on and go straight into the shower and lather it down with regular soap, no scented soap and then take it off and rinse it. If you are sweating a lot, it needs to be washed after every wearing. Don't use fabric softener on your sports bras. It leaves a residue on synthetic fabrics that compromises its moisture-wicking properties. If you machine wash the sports bra, don't use harsh detergent. Again, hook the hooks, bag it and toss it in on a gentle cool/lukewarm cycle. Hang or towel dry. You can hand wash them the same way as your regular bras. Again, no fabric softener. NEVER put any kind of bra in a drier. For underwires, they become brittle and break. Soft cup bras will shrink and the elastic will be ruined by the heat.

[Orb]

I do the same as John. I will machine wash my every day bras and panties on a delicate cycle in a lingerie mesh bag. My more delicate or expensive things I always hand wash, pat down with a towel and air dry. Bras should be hung over a hanger at the gore. I usually will just lay my panties and nylons on a towel to dry.

what is the benefit if using a bag.my late wife and my current one throws every thing together and wash  warm with everything else. I do mine and panties on cold and delicate and cold dry

  Rich,  the purpose of the bag is to protect delicates from damage.  I always hook the back hooks as they will hook on other things causing damage to it or the other clothes.  If not in a bag they can and will get tangled up in and around other clothes or around the workings of the machine.  I just replaced my bags as a zipper broke on one and the bras came out and had shirts wrapped around and through the shoulder straps.  One back hook came undone and was hooked on the cup of the other.  I'm just glad a wire didn't get brake  or poke out.