Washing jeans the correct way is just one of the ways in which you can prolong the life and quality of your denims. Jeans can fade, shrink and lose their fit if they’re washed inappropriately, which can cost you a lot of money – especially if you invest in designer products.
Before you put any pair of jeans in the washing machine you must ensure your pockets are empty. Not only is there nothing worse than putting your hand in your pocket to find a sticky old Worthers’ Original, but leaving stray items in the machine has the potential to cause serious damage to the drum. Needless to say, items such as superglue can be particularly damaging.
Use a cooler temperature as this will prevent shrinkages and stop the colour from running. Some washing machines have specialist denim or jeans cycles. Indesit washing machines offer this jeans programme which provides a gentle wash and takes extra care to preserve the rich colours of the fabric. This cycle is available on all machines and will wash four pairs at 40 degrees and spins at 800rpm. The programme completes in one hour and ten minutes.
Indesit washing machines which boast this feature are the Indesit Start IWC6145 and IWC6145 models which have a 6kg wash load and 1400rpm spin speed. This Indesit washing machine is perfect for the smaller household.
Washing jeans is one thing but drying them is quite another. When you take your jeans from the washing machine you should not expect them to dry within the day. Denim is a very thick material and the cuffs and waistband in particular can retain a lot of water.
When you tumble dry jeans you may find the heat makes the fabric go stiff and it can be difficult to iron. Because of their thickness they will also take a while to dry. If you line dry jeans you will find they don’t require much ironing at all, you’ll use less energy and your electricity bills will be lower. However, due to the wonderful British weather it is understandable that line drying may not be possible and therefore tumble drying is your only option.
If your tumble dryer has a dedicated “jeans” setting this is the time to use it. If not, simply put your jeans in either alone, or as part of a very small load, and tumble dry on a lower heat.