When you get your new lingerie home, you’ll want to wash it before wearing it. You might also want to wash it after every use. Washing lingerie, however, is not the same as washing your underwear and pyjamas.
Treat your lingerie like you treat your most special garments – treat it well and it will stay with you for a long time to come.
Here are some tips for caring for the beautiful lingerie pieces you get from Wild Cherry:
- Never use bleach. It is much too harsh for delicate lingerie.
- If a label says to “dry clean only” or “hand wash only” follow those instructions. Not only will the garment wash better, but it will also likely last a lot longer because you took care of it in the manner the manufacturer suggested.
- If you wash your lingerie in the washing machine, always use the delicate cycle and try to hang dry whenever you can. In fact, drying your lingerie can cause shrinkage of up to 20%. You definitely want to avoid that.
- If you must use the dryer, use the delicate cycle on the dryer or the air dry option. Most lingerie is thin and light enough that it will dry without a great deal of effort.
- When lingerie is wet, avoid wringing to dry. This can lead to wrinkles that are hard to get out. You can’t iron your lingerie, so you want to avoid wrinkles. If you want to dry the lingerie pieces a little bit before hanging them, you can place the garment between two dry towels and gently blot before hanging it up.
The 411 on hand washing lingerie
Hand washing lingerie doesn’t mean you should squirt dish soap on the pieces, soak them in hot water, wring dry and hang. That’s sure to shorten the life of even the best pieces of lingerie.
Instead, follow these simple instructions:
- Fill a small sink with a mild detergent; Woolite works well. Avoid traditional detergents because most have harsh chemicals that can damage your delicate items.
- Place your garments in the sudsy sink and soak for 3 minutes.
- After 3 minutes, swish the garment in the water and let the water out of the sink.
- Once the water is out of the sink, rinse the garment (or garments) under tepid or cool water and gently squeeze until all the detergent is out.
- Hang dry.
The 411 on washing specific fabrics
The majority of your lingerie pieces will probably be in cotton, polyester, nylon and silk. Here are some specific tips for each.
Cotton
If your garment is all cotton, you can wash in the washing machine, but if it’s a blended piece, use the instructions for more delicate pieces.
Silk
Most silk is not washable; only silks that are pre-washed are washable. Read the label to find out which kind you have.
If your silk is washable, follow label instructions carefully.
Never use chlorine bleach on silk.
Nylon
Most items that are made from all nylon can be washed in the washing machine, but if your nylon lingerie is very delicate, wash it by hand.
If you need to iron your nylon lingerie, use a warm (not hot) iron.
Polyester
Most polyester items can be dry-cleaned. If you have a special garment that you love and want to protect, dry cleaning might be a good option.
You can toss a polyester lingerie item into the dryer if you need to, but use a delicate setting and remove immediately when dry.
Taking care of lingerie is an easy task, but always be respectful of the fabric content and the delicate nature of the garment.