Lingerie Lowdown: How to Wash, Dry and Store Your Most Delicate Pieces

We all know how delicate lingerie is. With intricate components—like tiny woven elastic, cotton and lace—there is a lot to consider when washing it. To extend the lifetime of these garments, it’s best to hand wash, as machine-washing lingerie weakens materials like elastane, which is important for support. More delicate components like lace and embroideries will also last longer if they’re washed gently by hand. For more intel, we tapped cleaning expert Melissa Maker, YouTuber of Clean My Space, to find out how washing these pieces should be done. We then went to Frederika Zappe, national fit specialist for Eveden, to learn the proper ways of storing these precious items. Here is the lingerie lowdown:

How to clean/wash it:
1. Hand wash lingerie by filling a basin with warm water and add a teaspoon of detergent. Most specialty stores strongly recommend a lingerie wash to help maintain the life of the lycra in your bra. If you see runs in the back of your bra, your detergent is eating away at the lycra.
2. Pre-treat any stained areas with the same detergent by simply applying it straight onto the stained areas.
3. Allow garments to soak for 30 minutes, and then before rinsing, gently roll the pieces between your hands to clean.
4. Rinse by emptying the basin and running lukewarm water, pressing the garments between your hands to remove suds (not wringing).
5. Hang or lay flat to dry.

Note: dry-cleaning is not recommended, nor is bleaching, ironing or tumble-drying. They will damage delicate fabrics.

How to store it:
Non-moulded bras can easily be folded in half and stored in your drawer. You should never fold your moulded cups into one another. It’s a good idea to hang your contour/moulded bras over a hanger in your closet to keep them from denting.

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