How to Wash Clothes With Lingerie Bags
Mesh lingerie bags protect their contents from seizing, stretching, and generally washing machine abrasion, but despite the name, they’re not just for lingerie. Used properly, mesh bags will keep a wide variety of delicate garments in perfect condition for years to come. Here’s how to use them.
Choose the right clothes
If you hate hand washing your clothes , you might be tempted to use lingerie bags instead. It might work, but some things are too fragile to wring out no matter what. For best results, choose clothes that fall somewhere between “hand wash only” and “throw in the car” on the fragility scale: pretty blouses and dress shirts, most underwear, any kind of technical or functional fabric, wool socks, silk base layers. or even old T-shirts that you are emotionally attached to and want to wear for as long as possible.
Button (or button) them up
Hooks, buttons, zippers and other fasteners can easily snag on other garments during the wash – even inside the mesh bag. Always close them before washing to prevent damage. If you have a lot of fasteners to deal with, just close a few to keep the bag flat when washed.
Don’t overflow
The biggest disadvantage of lingerie bags is that they easily overflow, making it difficult to clean and rinse your clothes properly. Most bags are designed to hold a single item of roughly the same size and shape as the bag itself. You can get away with putting several small items (like socks and underwear) in the same bag if they can move around easily, but if in doubt, go for underfilling.
Wash in cold water and do not tumble dry.
Lingerie bags are not magical, damage-repelling force fields, so don’t expect them to protect your delicate clothes from hot water or worse, the heat of a dryer. Stick to short wash cycles with cold water and air dry. In addition to extending the life of your garment, you will use less energy, reduce utility costs and reduce your overall environmental impact.