Not too long ago, my husband and I had dinner with some friends from our church. I was getting the tour of her new home, when I saw an interesting gadget in her bedroom layered with lingerie. After I learned what it was, she shared with me some great tips about caring for delicate.
From ~Laundry Mom Ruth~
I would like to share a bit of wisdom I have learned about caring for lingerie. As a larger woman I have had the need to purchase rather expensive bras. I really could not afford for them to wear out quickly, so I needed to learn how to properly care for them. Here are some tidbits shared with me by a bra specialist:
#1 – Never wear your bra 2 days in a row.
#2 – Never wear your bra more than twice a week.
#3 – Always hand wash your bras or use the hand wash cycle on your washer.
#4 – Always use a mild lingerie detergent. Some bra retailers sell these mild detergents specifically designed for lingerie, or you can use Dreft.
(I was advised against Woolite. Apparently they don’t feel it’s mild enough.)
#5 – Never dry your bras in the clothes dryer. Lay them flat to air dry.
Wow! I thought. This means I need to buy FOUR of these expensive bras! I’m thinking, “Oh my! That’s $300!” Once I worked my way up to the 4 bras so that I actually could follow this advice, it was even more important to me to make them last. So hand washing and air dying it was. I had this one little lingerie drying shelf that I would place on the floor and try to fit the bras on. It would take a good while for them to dry.
Then one day while I was grocery shopping I came across this interesting new appliance (at Kroger of all places!). It is a Hamilton Beach Garment Drying Station. This wonderful gadget has made caring for my lingerie 100 times easier! It has 5 shelves for laying your lingerie, sweaters, etc. out to dry and a fan system that gently blows air over each shelf. My clothes dry in no time and I don’t have to fight to find a place to lay them out. It even comes with “hangers” with which you can hang shirts to dry.
Here is a photo I found on the Hamilton Beach model:
I have noticed that following this advice works. My bras stay in very good condition and the elastic seems to be lasting much longer.
~Laundry Mom Ruth~
Laundry Mom~Erin♥
