How to Wash your Jeans Without Damaging Them

Jeans are expensive. The best denim can end up taking up to $300 from our pocket. Still many time we throw them away prematurely simply because they faded.
This happens because, after we wear them a few times, we throw them in the washing machine.

I’m not going to talk about the amazing outfits that you can pull off starting with a simple pair of jeans. I’ve already done that and, if you browse around the site, I’m sure you’ll find plenty of inspiration.

Today I want to solve a different problem. Ever had a favorite pair of jeans? If you’re like me, you probably wore it day after day. How about if I told you how to take care of those jeans, prolong their life and keep them clean?

I will give you some tips for keeping your jeans’ color for longer periods of time. The basic idea is to wash them as rare as possible, not once a week or month, as some would say.

• If you’ve been to the clubs with them and they now smell like cigarettes, take them outside for a few hours.
• If you’ve stained them, try and remove the stain as soon as possible, before it runs dry. Wash only that portion, not the entire piece of clothing.
• Hand wash them in cold water. It shouldn’t take long because, in most cases all you want to do is take out the smell.

If you’re not comfortable with the idea if washing them yourself, take them to a dry cleaners. It will save you time and trouble. Yes, jeans can be dry-cleaned (unless specified otherwise on the label).

What do I do if I decide to machine wash them?

• • When it comes to washing, I recommend that you turn them inside out. This will protect the denim and thus, the color.
  • if this is the first time you wash them you should put them in the washing machine alone. That’s right, no other clothes in there! At the second wash you can combine them with other clothes.
  • Set the washing machine to use cold or slightly warm water. Cold water will help in maintaining your color.
  • Use detergent that helps preserve color.

Is not washing the answer?

Not washing them is NOT the answer, especially if they start to smell. Walking around in smelly or dirty clothes is a no-no, and I’m not even going to talk about this. It’s just plain wrong, and I hope you never-ever do it.

In fact, the moment you see that one of your clothing items has stains on it or a weird smell, I recommend you put that item directly in your laundry basket. Do whatever it takes to take the smell and/or stains out, or you’ll project a personal image that will be very hard to repair…

If you thought my advice about jeans was valuable, I would like you to take a look over the Be stylish! manual where you will find plenty of other advice, including:

• • • how to choose the right pair of jeans depending on your weight, height and proportions,
    • how to make sure the quality of the denim and the stitching is good,
    • how to remove different types of stains from clothes.