While your athleisure may feel like the most durable pieces in your wardrobe, if they’re made of spandex, cleaning them is not as simple as just throwing them in the wash. To keep your spandex clothes in top form, heed these do’s and don’ts of caring for this fabric.

Do:

Handwash with mild detergent.

Handwashing spandex is best to keep the material’s elasticity intact. The mechanical movement of a washing machine can cause stretching. If you don’t have the patience for handwashing, place your spandex garments in a lingerie bag, and turn the wash on the gentle cycle.

Hang dry.

Laying your spandex clothes out to dry will also help maintain the clothing’s shape and flexibility. Throwing them in the dryer will jeopardize the integrity of the fabric because the heat will decay the spandex fiber, causing the material to break down. Your clothes will have the appearance of permanent wrinkles if this happens.

Keep spandex items separate.

Spandex is popular because this versatile fiber is easy to dye a vast assortment of colors. With that ability, however, this material is also prone to bleed when you wash it. Keep these fabrics separate so that you don’t ruin other clothes with an ill-placed dye stain.

Use baking soda to remove odor.

Baking soda—or sodium bicarbonate—is a mild alkaline powder that you can mix with water to slightly raise its pH. It acts as a natural antiseptic that will discourage the growth of odor-causing bacteria. This natural cleaner works wonders for spandex because it is a mild, odor-fighting cleaner that won’t harm the integrity of the fabric. For more pungent clothing, soak the spandex in a solution of water and baking soda overnight to allow its pH balancing, antibacterial properties to set in fully.

Don’t:

Use hot water when cleaning.

Spandex falls victim to the holy trinity of cleaning with hot water: it loses shape, it fades, and its color bleeds. Using cold water will save your items made with spandex from these mistakes during the laundry process.

Use fabric softener, chlorine bleach, or dryer sheets.

While spandex can handle the use of a detergent (unlike its predecessor, rubber), harsher cleaning products like bleach will destroy the fibers while attempting to remove stains. Oxygen-based bleaches will perform the same task without the severe side effects. You should also avoid fabric softener, as it leaves a residue on the spandex that dulls the sheen of the finish on the fabric. And contrary to its well-intentioned “odor protection,” this cleaning product often has the opposite effect on spandex and attracts bacteria that causes odor.

Iron clothes that are 100% spandex.

Ironing 100% spandex will melt the fabric. If it is a spandex blend fabric, however, you can use an iron as long as it’s constantly moving and set to the lowest heat setting.

Dry clean.

Similar to the use of bleach, the chemicals used for dry cleaning will deteriorate the fibers in 100% spandex fabric. Blend fabrics, however, can go to the cleaners, but make sure you have a tenured professional doing the job.

 

Proper care of spandex is worth it when you’ve chosen this versatile fabric the in the perfect pattern—which you’ll likely find at Spandex House, Inc. To discover a fabric that speaks to you for your next project, visit our store to peruse thousands of options. You can also visit our website or give us a call at (212) 354-6711 to place an order remotely.