How to hand wash underwear – 4 great tips

You’ve been shoving your bras in the washing machine for years. But then someone told you that there’s another way – a better way – a way that leaves your whites white, your laces lacey, and your underwires – underwirey? Or, at the very least inside your bra. Or maybe you never invested in that fancy pair of red silk underwear because you had no idea how to wash it? Well, let this be the end of it! Gone(!) are those dark days where you didn’t buy the panties because you didn’t know how to wash the panties. Finished(!) are the times you pulled your push up bra out from the machine to find the padding had mysteriously gone missing. It’s our 4 Great Tips on how to hand wash (and machine wash) your underwear. It won’t change your life. But it will make your bras last longer. And that’s nice, isn’t it?  

How to hand wash underwear  

Tip number one: wash your underwear – or at the very least, your bras – by hand. In the sink, in the bathtub – in the salad bowl if you really need to(!) – but wherever you wash your fancy laces and silks, definitely do it by hand. Why? It’s easier on the delicate fabric. And it’s better for the environment. Here’s how:  

1. Fill your sink, tub or salad bowl with lukewarm water. Never hot water. And not necessarily cold water. Think Goldilocks – it needs to be somewhere in the middle – just right. Side note: never wash your underwear in porridge. 
2. Add a gentle detergent. Free of alcohol and strong chemicals. These will harm the delicate lace or silk of your underwear. Alcohol can dry out the elastic in your bra.
3. Put your underwear in the sink, tub or salad bowl. Swish around gently and leave for thirty or minutes or so. Swish occasionally while you wait. Never scrub, rub or wring. 
4. Drain the soapy water. Then rinse the underwear with cold or lukewarm water. Gently squeeze to get rid of any excess. Never wring your underwear or squeeze too hard. 
5. Don’t mix white underwear and coloured underwear together or risk the colour bleeding.  

How to dry your underwear  

Tip number two: never dry your underwear in a tumble dryer. Lace, silk, cotton – all fabrics – last longer when they’re not subjected to high heat over long durations at regular intervals. If you want to dry your underwear after washing, just hang it on a drying rack. Preferably near (but not on) a radiator, in a warm, dry room, or by an open window with a breeze. Hanging underwear out to dry outside on a summer’s day sounds ideal, but beware direct sunlight which can cause discoloring. If speed is an issue for you, hanging your underwear next to a dehumidifier usually picks up the pace a bit.  

How to wash your bras in the washing machine 

Tip number three: don’t do it. But if you have to – because time, or energy, or life’s too short and the washer was looking at you with puppy eyes. Then do it this way:  

1. Select the gentlest setting your washing machine has. Like Silk Plus, or the Even-Butterflies-Could-Survive-This setting.  
2. Use a gentle detergent. Free of alcohol and strong chemicals. Same reason’s as before.  
3. Don’t use fabric softener for underwear. It’s bad for the fabric and bad for the environment.  
4. Don’t use the spin cycle. When the wash has finished, gently squeeze any excess water. Never wring or squeeze too hard.  
5. Don’t mix white and coloured bras and clothes together or risk the colour bleeding. 
6. Put your bras in one of those mesh washing machine bags for delicate’s to reduce wear. 

How to wash underwear to kill bacteria  

Tip number four: washing your clothes below 40 degrees centigrade will not kill any bacteria. So if you’re asking yourself what temperature to wash underwear, washing underwear like your pants and socks should ideally go in between 40 and 60 degrees centigrade to really ensure you kill the little nasties. Did you know? The average pair of pants contains 0.1 grams of feces and could hold up to 10 grams. (We read this in a Reader’s Digest article about a study led at the University of Arizona. So, seems legit. Here’s what to do to kill the little critters:  

1. Select 40 or 60 degrees on your washing machine. 
2. Use a gentle detergent. Free of alcohol and strong chemicals. Same reason’s as before. Bleach and chemical detergents don’t kill all the bacteria. It’s the hot water that does that.
3. Don’t use fabric softener. It’s bad for the fabric and bad for the environment, and it doesn’t kill bacteria. 
4. Don’t use the spin cycle. When the wash has finished, gently squeeze any excess water. Never wring or squeeze too hard. 
5. Don’t mix white underwear and coloured underwear together or risk the colour bleeding.
6. Don’t throw underwear in your regular clothes wash. It spreads bacteria throughout the garments on a low heat cycle.