HALF of the population wear them on a daily basis – but new research shows we’ve been washing our bras all wrong.
And it turns out we should all be freshening the essential undies way more than we are.
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More than 30,000 people search Google for advice on how often they need to wash their delicates.
It’s a contentious topic for many – so the experts at luxury lingerie retailer Pour Moi have launched a ‘Clean Bra Calculator’ to help put the debate to rest.
And the research revealed almost of half of folk who responded only wash their bras once every three weeks.
Now experts reveal we should be washing our bras after every third wear.
Emma Woodrow, Pour Moi’s in-house bra guru, says: “As a general rule, bras should be washed every three wears to ensure the cleanliness of your garments, without over washing and compromising the integrity of your items.”
The team says that no one rule fits all – if you work long shifts where you are fairly active and on your feet a lot, you will need to wash your bras more than someone who only wears it for a few hours a day and is fairly sedentary.
The new calculator considers your personal lifestyle factors, like how many days in a row you wear the same bra and how active you are on an average day, through to how often you shower or bathe and if you’re a fake tan-wearer or body lotion user.
By calculating over 15 data points, the tool will generate bespoke advice for how often your bras need to be washed.
And while you should aim to keep your delicate items as clean as possible to avoid a build-up of odour and damaging bacteria, Pour Moi experts say it’s important to wash them correctly to ensure they stay in their best possible condition.
And it turns out lots of us are making a major mistake.
Emma said: “Over washing your bras can damage the fabric and weaken the elastic that helps to hold everything in place, particularly if you are guilty of throwing them into the washing machine and tumble drier.
“Hand-washing is our recommended way to keep your favourite pieces of underwear in perfect condition for as long as possible.
The main reason she recommends avoiding machine washing and tumble driers is because washing at too high a temperature can harm the elastic fibres over time, bra hooks may get caught in the drum causing them to bend or break, and the spinning motion can cause straps to catch around clothes and unnecessarily stretch.
Washing by hand avoids all of the above and will clean your bras without the worry of damaging them.”
BRA WASHING GUIDE
EMMA Woodrow’s best care guide for hand-washing bras:
- Fill a sink with cool water and drop in some hand-wash mild detergent.
- Pop in your dirty bras (ideally with the clasps fastened) and give them a little swirl around in the water.
- Soak for 10 minutes, then gently rub them all over, concentrating on the underarms and back band.
- Rinse in cool, clean water, then give a gentle squeeze to remove some of the water (but don’t twist or wring to prevent damage).
- Lay the bra on a clean, dry towel and roll it up to soak up even more excess moisture. Then reshape the bra ready for drying.
- Hang your bra either on the line or hang it on a coat hanger to fully dry, without hanging by the straps to avoid any stretching.
