Don’t Wash Your Favorite Jeans in Washing Machine and Extend Their Life

After a few laundries your brand new jeans completely lost their color? Next time you’d better not put them into the washing machine at all!

Most people treat jeans in much the same way as other trousers and simply puts them into the washing machine. And that is a big mistake.

Chip Bergh, the CEO of Levi Strauss & Co points out that jeans shouldn't be washed at all (or just in some extreme situations).

The man admits that he hasn’t washed his favorite pair of jeans for 10 years now!

Machine laundry damages the structure of the fibers, changes the appearance of the material and makes the color fade away. Eventually, jeans change their shape and their original appearance is gone for good.

Machine laundry has negative impact on the denim jeans are made of (they are not stretchable but they adept to the shape of our bodies as we go).

However, the trousers that contain elastane can be safely washed. They stretch when we wear them and in the washing machine they shrink again. So when we put them on again, they fit very well again.

Single stain can be removed with a brush, some soap and water

Put the pair of jeans that needs refreshing into a bag and leave it in the freezer for the night. Low temperature will kill all microorganisms and the jeans will be fresh again.

In much the same way as we can buy dry shampoos, we can get dry-washing spray (some of them are dedicated to denim only). Spray the agent on the jeans, flatten all folds and wrinkles and leave it to dry. The spray removes any nasty smells, does not damage the color and makes the clothes last longer.

If wearing jeans that haven’t been washed is not for you, you can wash them with your hands as long as you do it with cold water. It also refers to the torn jeans as the washing machine can extend the holes too much. Chip Bergh takes a shower wearing his jeans. He soaks them a little and then leaves them to dry.

When you realize that your jeans are way too dirty and they make your skin itchy, you can go for machine washing. First, however, you need to soak them with a solution of vinegar and water (1 liter of white vinegar for 5 liters of water). This will prevent the color from fading. Then turn the jeans inside out and wash them without fabric softener. Choose a short program (15 or 30 minutes) and never dry them in the sun. Forget about tumble drying or using a hairdryer.

How do you take care of your jeans?