A piece of swimwear that fits perfectly and feels great in and out of the water is a wonderful thing. And if it’s a quality suit, it was a bit of an investment, too. Obviously, you’d like it to last as long as possible—which is why you need to know the best way to wash your swimsuit.
Chlorine and other pool chemicals, salt and other minerals, sand, sweat, sunscreen, tanning lotion, and other stuff your swimwear gets coated in takes a gradual toll on the material. It can cause it to fade, lose its elasticity, and become misshapen. Effectively and regularly cleaning these compounds off your suits is essential to prolonging its appearance, its fit, and its life.
But, just to complicate things, improper washing and drying can have the very same effects on your swimwear, especially if you wash it frequently.
So, to protect your swimwear from the elements it comes into contact with during your swims or aquatic workouts—and to prevent additional damage from the cleansing process itself—stick to the best way to wash your swimsuit.
Quick Tips for Washing Swimwear
- Rinse your swimsuit off promptly after getting out of the pool or leaving the beach to remove some of the damaging compounds on it.
- Don’t clean a quality swimsuit in a washing machine, because the agitating motion and laundry detergents are both damaging to the material.
- Instead, clean your swimwear by hand, using a specially formulated, chlorine-neutralizing product like Suit Solutions or Sand & Surf.
- Follow the package instructions of the swimsuit cleanser you use. Summer Solutions products are as simple as adding a small amount of the cleanser to a basin of water, swishing the suit around and working in the suds, and rinsing if using Sand & Surf (there’s no need to rinse with Suit Solutions).
- The best way to wash your swimsuit is quickly, too—which is easy with Summer Solutions products. Soaking swimwear loosens the material, and obviously it gets enough of that when you’re wearing it in the water.
- Air-dry your swimwear by laying it down on a flat surface and flipping it over when the side facing up is dry.
- Don’t dry swimsuits in a dryer or with a hair dryer, as the heat will damage the fibers of the material, causing the suit to deform and lose its elasticity. For the same reason, don’t dry it in direct sunlight (which can fade the colors, too).
- Don’t drape your swimwear over a pole or hang it to dry, either; over time, this practice stretches out the material.
