In the middle of the 18th century, American businessman and industrialist Levi Strauss introduced trousers made of strong cotton fabric to the public. American farmers immediately appreciated this convenient and comfortable clothing. They also liked the unprecedented strength of the new pants. Over time, trousers migrated from farms, becoming folk clothing. Nowadays it is difficult to find a person who does not have at least one pair of denim pants. There are several rules on how to wash jeans correctly and how to avoid shrinkage of cotton fabric.
How long do jeans last?
With daily (on weekdays) wear, they last about two to three years, and then, without losing color, they simply wear out and tear. I wash it weekly with a machine in the cotton washing mode at 60 degrees with other things.
Interesting materials:
How to remove duct tape from plastic? How to remove adhesive tape from a plastic window? How to remove Adobe key? How to remove a digital signature key from a computer? How to remove a registry key from the command line? How to delete a book from a Pocketbook e-reader? How to remove the header and footer on the first page? How to remove a header and footer from only one page? How to remove compound from the board? How to delete a contact from ukr net mail?
Proper washing of jeans
Denim clothing is famous for its durability and ability to acquire a special charm over time - it is not at all made worse by small abrasions on the fabric and uneven coloring. At the same time, it’s not difficult to ruin jeans: the wrong water temperature or an aggressive detergent can turn an item that is expensive in all respects into a faded rag. To avoid this, it is important to figure out how to wash jeans correctly: without bleach, in a delicate (manual) mode, fastening all the zippers and turning them inside out.
At what temperature should I wash jeans?
Denim is made from cotton fibers that have the ability to stretch when worn and curl back when exposed to hot water. Therefore, regardless of the presence or absence of synthetic impurities in the fabric, any jeans lose their shape over time, and then restore it after washing. The temperature at which jeans are washed directly affects the degree of shrinkage - the hotter the water, the more the fibers will shrink.
It’s important to know how to wash jeans so that one day you don’t end up with pants several sizes too small:
- To wash any denim items, the water temperature should be in the range of 30-40°C. In colder water, contaminants will be more difficult to remove, and after water procedures in boiling water, severe shrinkage is possible.
- During all stages of water procedures (soaking, washing, rinsing), the water temperature should be approximately the same.
What water should I wash jeans in?
The icons on the inside tag of the product will help you figure out how to wash new jeans. By deciphering them, you can find out at what temperature it is better to wash new clothes (in most cases 30-40°C), whether you can use a washing machine for this or whether you should give preference to the manual method. Dry cleaning of most denim products is contraindicated due to the fact that it can lead to discoloration and the appearance of stains on them. It only makes sense to dry clean items with a large number of decorative embellishments (rhinestones, appliqués, slits).
How to wash jeans without fading?
With each wash, some of the dye is washed out from the denim. This is an inevitable process that affects products from all manufacturers from any price category. Let's take a closer look at how to wash jeans so they don't lose color:
- Detergents should not contain chlorine or other bleaches. It is best to use special gels and powders for colored (black) items. For hand washing, shavings of regular laundry soap are suitable.
- During soaking and rinsing, you can add a small amount of vinegar and/or table salt to the water. This will help fix the dye into the fibers of the fabric and reduce leaching.
Do I need to turn my jeans inside out when washing?
Let's take a closer look at why you should turn your jeans inside out when washing. This recommendation is due to the following features of denim products: double dyeing of fabric fibers, the presence of many metal decorative elements (rivets, zippers, etc.) and the ability to shrink when exposed to water. Washing inside out and zipped up helps reduce dye washout, prevents uneven fabric deformation and maintains zipper functionality.
What can you wash jeans with?
Since washing jeans in a washing machine is much easier and faster than by hand, this method is most widespread. But starting the car for the sake of a pair, even your favorite trousers, is not always wise. What else can you add to their company? The best companion for them will be things of similar composition and the same color scheme. So, when washing light blue denim items, you can throw several light cotton T-shirts into the machine. Black jeans can be washed with socks or dark underwear. The main thing is to choose the right mode and not to overload the drum of the machine.
Features of washing in an automatic machine
Jeans are a rather heavy product that is difficult to wash and wring out by hand. The most popular way to clean cotton pants is by machine washing. To ensure that jeans do not lose their aesthetic appeal for many years, certain nuances should be taken into account.
Table 1. How to wash jeans in an automatic washing machine.
Parameter | Peculiarities |
Machine wash mode | |
Cotton | Suitable for products without additives. Involves exposure to high temperatures and intense spinning. |
Denim clothes | Only some washing machines have this mode. Suitable for caring for any denim products. |
Sportswear | The mode that should be selected in the presence of intense dirt or a pronounced unpleasant odor. |
Delicate wash | The parameters are suitable for caring for female models decorated with rhinestones or embroidery. |
Temperature | |
70-90°C | The optimal solution for thick clothes made of natural cotton with high-quality dye. |
40°C | It will allow you to thoroughly clean any denim product, minimizing the risk of shedding and shrinkage. |
20-30°C | Gentle care for items decorated with fragile decor. |
When washing, you need to pay attention to the fittings. If cotton trousers have large buttons or metal inserts, then it is worth setting the minimum number of turns. Such elements can not only deteriorate themselves, but also cause a breakdown of the automatic washing machine.
We recommend:
How to wash white panties
How to properly machine wash
We figured out how to wash jeans by hand, but why do we need a washing machine in the house? The device simplifies the life of housewives, but washing in a machine for fibers of this type is not recommended. With the right approach, cleansing is carried out once a month, but it is strongly recommended to air dry your jeans.
Delicate mode, temperature no higher than 40, liquid detergent will help avoid deformation and loss of color when cleaning in the machine. An additional rinse will definitely wash away any remaining gel, and the color fixer will preserve the color. It is better to remove the spin altogether.
Before putting the product into the drum, you must turn it inside out, fasten the zippers and buttons, carefully check the pockets and empty them of foreign objects.
Drying and ironing to shrink jeans
If, after prolonged wear, a denim product has stretched and lost its shape, then washing and ironing will come to the rescue. To make your jeans fit, you need to:
- Wash the product in hot water. Care should be taken with paint. If the product sheds heavily, the exposure to high temperatures should be short-lived.
- Drying. It is better to dry thick cotton trousers in warm weather outside in the shade. Do not place the product in direct sunlight or near heating appliances.
- Ironing. To give the jeans the desired shape, after complete drying, it is recommended to steam them through a damp cloth. You can iron the item with a hot iron. It is important not to run the soleplate of the iron over the metal fittings on the product.
Rate this post
Is it possible to wash jeans every day?
Pants made of thick cotton are not clothes that need regular washing. Moreover, frequent exposure to detergent water can cause damage to clothes and cause color loss. According to statistics, half of people wash a pair of trousers after only 5 wears, and another third wear cotton trousers up to 9 times before washing them. How to extend the wear life of jeans from one wash to another:
- It is advisable to maintain a weekly interval between washes. After each wear, thick cotton trousers can be hung out in the fresh air for a short time. This will allow the fabric to dry and remove any accumulated odors.
- Remove stains with a sponge. If a stain appears on freshly washed jeans, it is better to remove it with a sponge soaked in soapy water or dishwashing detergent. Complex stains are treated with ammonia or vodka.
- Use a steamer. A steamer allows you to restore the brightness of color and freshness of fabric. If there is no special device, then you can lightly moisten the cotton trousers from a spray bottle with water and some conditioner added. Afterwards, the product should be ironed through gauze or thin material.
It should be remembered that in some cases you can replace the usual washing with freezing. Denim trousers are wrapped in plastic wrap or placed in a ziplock bag. The product is then left in the freezer overnight. When exposed to cold, trousers acquire amazing freshness without jeopardizing their own fibers.
If it is not possible to wash or washing is prohibited
It is worth listening to the opinion of famous denim designers, such as the creator of the Levi's brand, Levi Strauss: to make jeans last for several years, wash them once every 2 months. There is no point in taking this advice to the point of absurdity, because today the fabrics of jeans vary greatly in composition, and the thing is so comfortable that you want to wear it every day. But you can take note of some tricks that will reduce the number of washes.
Dry cleaning
Folk remedies for dry and wet cleaning are salt, soda, hydrogen peroxide, ammonia, vinegar solution and others. Can be used without water. To remove traces of the product, use a vacuum cleaner, an alcohol wipe, or simply wait until it dries.
Features of denim
Classic denim is made from cotton twill weave. This fabric is very dense, with a characteristic relief, comfortable to wear. Denim is often supplemented with threads with a synthetic base: this adds new properties. Stretch jeans with polyester have excellent stretch and fit perfectly to the figure.
Caring for natural and blended denim consists of a number of rules. The most basic ones are always indicated on the label.
How often to wash
Although no one forbids washing jeans every day, frequent contact with water and detergent will cause the fabric to lose its elasticity and color faster. The less frequently we wash our jeans, the longer they last. But this does not mean that you need to stay in your pants for a whole month, and only then wash off the ingrained layer of various dirt. Washing is always commensurate with wear: worn a little, then washed.
It is better to wash new jeans immediately after purchase. Local stains should be washed by hand in a basin, so as not to spin generally clean trousers in the drum.
Advice A sure sign that jeans need cleaning is a stretched waistband or slightly protruding knees. After drying, the shape will be restored.