Spilling the Tea: How to Keep Your Lingerie Pristine

Lacy, racy, fishnets, corsets, sheer, and oh-so-dear...

Our lingerie is the closest thing to touch our skin and it will always be something women hold near and dear to their hearts. After hours of scrolling through your favorite online lingerie shop, it feels like serendipity when you finally set eyes on your soulmate – it could be that lace bra and panty set or that wet look teddy, or a strappy bodysuit. We always know when it’s love at first sight! Our intimate apparel always proves worthy of our investment when it benefits both our inner and outer beauty. Not only does it highlight the beauty of our body, but it also makes our insides all tingly from the confidence and happy hormones we emit from wearing it!

Our lingerie love story, however, is sometimes cut short because of a hole, rip, or stain. It can cause major heartbreak, especially when you dole out hard-earned money for a taste of that tailored luxury.

Make your relationship with your intimate apparel more than just a short-lived affair by knowing proper cleaning.

Laundry of your lingerie does not have a universal approach. Here’s a round-up of helpful wash and care tips to help you love your lingerie a little longer!

Your Delicates Are Always a Delicate Matter – Treat Them with TLC!

Hand-wash it or...

A bit of elbow grease is needed to have full control over the preservation of your precious lingerie. Hand washing is recommended for flimsy fabrics like mesh, lace, and silk. Use a light hand when squeezing, swishing off the dirt and residue off your lightweight pieces like your hosiery, or sheer lingerie. If there are stubborn stains, you can soak them in mild laundry soap before giving it a gentle rub. The extra labor will all be worth it because it adds to your lingerie’s lifespan!

...toss it in the washer or...

When the girl bosses of the world already have a lot on their plates, hand washing is sometimes out of the question. You can still make machines do the work but make sure you have a mesh lingerie bag or any laundry bag you can use. Machines can be abrasive to underwires and pads so set the spin cycle to the most gentle setting. Do not forget to hook your bras and straps so that they do not get caught on other fabrics while tumbling in the washer.

...take it to the dry cleaners.

If you have extra dough to spare, you can take your expensive silk and embellished lingerie to the dry cleaners. Instead of soaking it in water, this method will use a special solvent that treats specific garments and materials. If you have an item that has a lot of hardware, embroidery, and jewels, dry-cleaning will not compromise its integrity.

Authentic leather usually only require spot cleaning, but when it is heavily stained, you can opt to take it to dry-cleaners so that they won’t lose their structure and shrink!

Separate & Segregate

The golden rule of laundry is to separate the colored from the whites. The same rule applies to your lingerie. What a disaster it will be when you mix your blood-red bra with your nude bottoms! Talk about a crime scene!

Not only is it important to separate them by hue, but segregate your intimates from your regular clothes. Since these are in direct contact with our bodily fluids, you would not want them mixed with your shirts and pants.

Warm water kills germs

Not hot, we repeat, not hot. Lukewarm or room temperature water will more likely kill bacteria and germs, as well as remove stains as compared to soaking them in cold water. Hot water might give you a whole new sized lingerie afterward so take caution.

Dry Up

Air drying is recommended to keep the structure and shape of your bras and panties. Padding and elastics can be stretched, shrunken, smushed, or downright slaughtered when left spinning in a dryer with intense heat.

Unlike your jeans, laundering your lingerie has to be done regularly. With the exception of bras, which can be washed after 3-4 uses, panties, and your other skivvies will require frequent washing.

The Cycle Starts with Reading the Fine Print

Every package comes with a love letter. Take the time to read the description, just in case the product has specific care instructions. It will be stipulated whether or not it should be hand wash only, dry clean only, or whatever goes!

Take care of your intimates, or risk exposing your dirty laundry, or be naked tomorrow – your call! When you give your lingerie enough love, attention, and proper care, the more you can enjoy a long-term relationship with them! That extra effort will result in a different feeling once you have pristine and spotless lingerie touching your skin. Say goodbye to lumpy bras, ‘bacon’ elastics and hosiery runs and rusting hooks and clasps!