How to Wash Your Bras

It can be tough to tell if a bra is dirty and needs to be washed! If you do a sniff check and it smells stinky, it needs to be cleaned for sure. But even if it doesn’t smell, it might need a wash. 

How Often to Wash 

If you exercise in a bra or get sweaty, it’s a good idea to wash it after that one use. Otherwise, you can wait about two or three wears before washing. You don’t want to overwash because the process can damage your bras over time, but also don’t want to underwash since this can set-in odor and stains. 

How to Wash

Most bras are made with delicate fabric so hand-washing is a great way to keep them clean and protected. Using warm water (or cold water for darker or bright colors), just take a few drops of regular laundry detergent or soap and lather your bras. Lathering means to gently rub the bra material on itself in the soapy water, and you might notice that it causes bubbles! The goal isn’t to have a ton of bubbles – since that might mean too much soap -- but just a little bit so you know things are getting clean. 

After lathering, you can even let your bras soak for a little bit if you need to. Whether you’re just scrubbing or also soaking, make sure to run your bras under more water at the end to get all the soap off. Then you can wring them out and lay them flat to dry. 

If you don’t want to wash your bras by hand you can also use a washing machine. Make sure to wash your bras with similar colors, and if you have a mesh laundry bag, place your bras in there, too. Mesh bags allow the bras to be thoroughly washed but also keep them separated from other fabrics and hardware (like zippers and clasps) that can pill or snag the material. Lighter colors are often washed in warm water, and darker colors in cold. Add in your regular detergent and wash on the gentle or normal cycle. You can still lay your bras flat to dry, or put them in a machine dryer on low temperature.  

For more information on bra washing, check out this page of our website!