When you
splurge on undies made of ultra-delicate materials like lace or silk, the
last thing you want is for your washing machine to totally ruin 'em after only a handful of wears. Don't let your laundry woes stop you from treating yourself to something a little pricier, though—just switch up your cleaning routine.
Instead of just tossing your fancy unmentionables in with the rest of your clothes, go the hand-wash route—and, maybe even more importantly, rethink your detergent. Designer Yasmine Eslami told The Strategist she always cleans her delicates sans washer and instead uses a bar of soap—L’Occitane's Shea Butter Extra-Gentle Soap, specifically—to get the job done safely. With a list of gentle ingredients that are just as kind to your clothing as they are to your skin, your undies will be in good hands—literally.
Designer Yasmine Eslami says she always cleans her delicates sans washing machine and uses a bar of soap—L’Occitane's Shea Butter Extra-Gentle Soap—to get the job done safely.
To hand-wash your undies, first fill up your sink with "room-temperature water, definitely not hot," Eslami says, all while making it nice and sudsy with the bar of soap. Then instead of rubbing your underwear, be extra gentle: Cleanipedia recommends repeatedly (and very lightly!) pushing each pair down and letting it float back up to the surface again. That will get rid of any grit and grime and keep your clothing squeaky clean. After letting them soak for an hour, rinse with cold water and you're good to go.
Sure, no one really wants to take the time to hand-wash their underwear. But if you do, you'll be able to make sure you get the most bang for your buck. Plus, has there ever been a cuter laundry lineup hanging out to dry? (No, no there hasn't.)
Zippers are a likely culprit of your favorite clothes getting ruined in the laundry. Or, check out the baking-soda hacks that will keep your laundry smelling super fresh.
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