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Buying lingerie like bras, legwear, panties, and shapewear can become a costly investment if one keeps replacing them every few weeks or months. Good quality and well-maintained lingerie are essential to ensure health and prevent excessive expenditure. Delicate laundry can make women look amazing and feel confident, but they are prone to damage if not cared for well. Although most lingerie like a g string, thongs, corsets and bras are made of fibres that can stretch and lose their elasticity after multiple uses, the appropriate laundry procedures can ensure that they stay fresh for longer. The undergarments help one stay comfortable, confident and healthy. Therefore, they require the same love and care.
Care Procedure for Each Garment
When it comes to care and maintenance of lingerie, there are two schools; handwash-only and toss-in-the-washer, and there is room for both. The catch is that one needs to know which garment can go into the machine and which must be hand washed. Generally, it is best to handwash delicate items like lace bras, sheer bras and a g string. However, sturdier bras and thongs can go into the washing machine. The companies provide guidelines about the type of wash that works well with a particular garment. There would be instructions like handwash, machine wash, water temperature, no bleaching, no dryer, no ironing, no dry-cleaning in the form of symbols, which the buyers must follow.
Hand Washing Delicates Is Preferable
Experts recommend users wash underwear and another laundry by hand whenever possible as machines can stretch them out, tear the delicate material or affect the fitting. Hand-washing prolongs their lifetime. One can fill the sink with warm water and a bit of mild detergent. They must soak the lingerie for a few minutes, gently clean the fabrics, rinse with cool water and air-dry them. If the bras use their shape, they can reshape the cups before air-drying them. Bras that contain underwires are best cleaned by hand.
Machine Wash Care
When handwashing is not an option, washing them in the machine under 40 degrees and a mild detergent. Lingerie bags are an excellent option for light wear to prevent them from harm. Colour detergents are available for colour underwear like g string or a thong to retain their freshness. While washing sports bras, they must remove the padding and wash them separately. One can use optical brighteners with white underwear to restore their whiteness. They must also use bleach and softener only upon instruction. These chemicals can harm the garments, especially if they have metal wirings or padding.
Frequency of Wash
Health and hygiene are the top priority with lingerie and underwear. Therefore, one must wash them after every use. However, not all lingerie requires the same frequency of washing. For example, bras need breathing space to readjust themselves after a wash. Therefore, washing them every day could cause them to shrink. One can wash them every other week and ensure they have a spare for that duration. Summer can be hot in Australia, as the temperatures can range from 28 degrees to 40 degrees Celsius. It might get sticky and sweaty when one visits the beach or lives in humid areas, and they might want to wash their lingerie more frequently. In such situations, delicate handwash is the best option.
Storing the Lingerie with Care
Storage forms an integral part of lingerie care and maintenance. One must lay their underwear flat in a drawer and give them enough room to breathe. They must avoid storing them in humid places. One can keep the bras hanging in a row to ensure they don’t lose their original shapes.
Author name: Hannah Gilbert
