KissMeGoodnight Article Series: Lingerie
Wearing Lingerie: Sizzling Secrets 

How Do I Wash & Clean Lingerie?

With all the different types of lingerie out there today and all the possible fabric types there is not a one size fits all washing style. The safest bet to washing your lingerie is to wash it by hand or on the delicate cycle of your machine. Only use mild detergents and/or just fabric softener. Either way you need to be aware of what type of material you are dealing with. Some fabrics are much easier to damage. This is especially true for laces and mesh. They snag easily when mixed with other items and should be washed alone or by had to help preserve them. Some lingerie must be dry cleaned so make sure o read the tags before you tear them off. You might even want to consider make a note on the washing instruction of your lingerie to have as a handy reference if you forget what is what. Another reminder is that the more you wash and dry your lingerie in a machine the less time it will last. Garments lose their elasticity and begin to fade and peel with repeated washings and dryings. Therefore, that is why hand washing is the best road to travel.

When handling rayon, polyester, and other synthetic blends, you want to know that they can be machine washed and dried. This is good, but still should only be done once in awhile to preserve the garment. The best method for washing these is in the sink with warm water and some Wool-lite or mild detergent like Ivory. Anything too harsh can make the color bleed from your lingerie and unravel the threading. Not to mention garments that have padding or wire in them will wear out quicker with machine washing. The wiring can actually be agitated out of the garment and padding can become distorted leaving it useless. When do decide to do the machine wash every now and again put your washing setting on delicate and don’t add any heavy clothing to the cycle. When drying put on low heat or cool and only for about 20 minutes or hang to dry. This will keep the threading from getting brittle and the lingerie from falling apart.

Cotton can be very tricky to wash and dry. The type of cycle you put it on will completely depend on how much of the garment is actually cotton. The more cotton there is in it the more careful you need to be. Cotton is one of those fabrics that when dried can shrink and distort immensely. In fact cotton likes to shrink in such a way that they garment becomes shorter and wider and even sometimes uneven. This might be fine for your bum around the house T-shirt that is already three sizes too big. However, this will not be a good thing for your panties, bras and sexy outfits. It will make a huge difference if the lingerie has already pre-shrunk or has other synthetic fibers woven into it. Washing your cotton lingerie in warm or cold water will be fine and should not fade the color or make the fabric more susceptible to damage. Just be sure to use a mild detergent. The best way to dry cotton is to hang dry or lay flat. This can cause some mild stiffness to the lingerie. So after the garment is dry or when it is still damp press it with a hot iron to soften it up and get any wrinkles out.

When you are getting ready to wash those delicate silks you may want to consider dry cleaning for their best safety. If you are daring and careful you can wash these items by hand in a tub or the sink. You need to make sure you can do this right. Make sure to use Wool-lite or even better Ivory soap. Make sure to use cold water so the colors don’t run as well. Let the lingerie soak for 20 minutes or so and check to make sure there are no stains. If you see any stains very gently run the fabric together, but do not rub it excessively. To dry wrap it in a towel till it is damp and press dry with a Medium heat iron. Silk should never be air-dried so make sure that you leave it in the towel before pressing.

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KissMeGoodnight.com : 2006

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