Lingerie Care - Airing Out Your Laundry

Learn how to properly wash and care for lingerie to make it last!

As an owner of a lingerie business, LaviniaLingerie.com, I speak with expertise. You should not put most bras and panties in the dryer. If you want to preserve the life of your intimate apparel, you or your housekeeper should really read their care labels. It is really shocking to see the level of abuse your underwear is taking! Indeed, I have witnessed the disgraceful treatment of both expensive and inexpensive lingerie. Washing machines and dryers, if used uniformly without regard to the type of garment, can degrade the elastic, lace, color, shape and seams of your undergarments. Have you ever wondered why the underwire of your bra has fallen out? Follow these few simple lingerie care suggestions and your intimates should last longer.

• Hand wash in warm water.
• While I agree that a delicate soap like Woolite is useful, it is not a necessity.
• Laundry detergents like Tide are fine, but bleaches should be avoided. Delicate fabrics and elastics do not perform well once they have been exposed to bleach.
• If you don't already own some, visit your local lingerie boutique or a home goods shop like Bed, Bath & Beyond to buy a few lingerie bags sheer mesh laundry sacks to protect your bras and panties from wrapping, twisting or hooking around other garments or the machine agitator. The bags are also great to wash and protect your stockings, pantyhose, slips and nightgowns. Once the garments are washed, you can easily grab the bags from the washing machine and avoid a potential mishap by putting them in the heat of the dryer. I can't stress this point enough.
• It's better to line dry your undergarments than using the dryer. Air them out and you will continue to benefit from the comfort, fit, support and style you originally invested in.