How To Make Workout Clothes Last Longer And Worth Your Money

Reshot/Aesthetic Domain

It’s already hard enough to fork over your hard-earned cash for a pair of expensive (but so worth it) workout leggings without watching them fall apart in front of your eyes in a matter of months. Seriously, the horror. But luckily, this tragic display can be avoided rather easily.

It all comes down to how you do your laundry.

Washing athletic fabrics is very different than running a load of towels or jeans. They’re sensitive and need to maintain not only their elasticity and vibrancy, but also their antibacterial and sweat-wicking abilities. With that said, here’s how to take the best care of your beloved workout clothes on laundry day so they can stick around in your athleisure rotation for years to come.

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First things first…

Once you’ve decided that your leggings are sufficiently dirty (as in you wore them to a fitness class, not just lounged around your apartment in them), toss the pair of pants into the washing machine along with other similar fabrics. Don’t try to be a super efficient laundry hero and wash anything and everything that’s currently dirty. This load is for athletic fabrics only, and they need cool water to keep their pretty colors intact and their materials healthy.

Hold the soaps!

Go light on the detergent and forget about fabric softener entirely. When you add too much soap to the mix, it can’t fully rinse out of your leggings by the end of the wash cycle, leaving residue in the fabrics that ultimately breaks them down quicker over time (and will probably leave your skin feeling itchy, too). And fabric softener interacts with athletic clothing materials in not-so-ideal ways, stripping them of their moisture-wicking abilities and weakening their antibacterial resistance. Plus, they’re already soft enough, so don’t sweat it.

See ya never, dryer.

After that gentle spin cycle, save a little money on your electric bill by skipping the dryer entirely and laying your leggings out to dry on a clean, smooth, cool surface. We avoid hanging ours because the weight of the fabric can lead to unwanted pulls and stretches that make them fit less than perfectly. A simple bench will do the trick. Hell, even a couple of barstools in your kitchen work in a pinch. Whatever you do, just keep them away from that tumble dry cycle.

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