Caring for your swim, dance and gymnastics wear

Longtime Clean Cloth Nappies admin Georgina reveals how she cares for her children’s swimwear, dance costumes and leotards.

If your washing machine is anything like mine, whether it’s a top or front loader, it will have a “Quick wash” cycle of 15–20 minutes. Too short for a first wash for nappies, and not hot or long enough for any serious kind of stain removal. These cycles are often weighted for tiny loads, maybe 1–2 kg max. So what are they useful for?

All the “-wears”

For me, they are extremely useful for all the different types of lightly soiled “-wear”. In our household, that’s swimwear, dance wear, and gymnastics wear. Observant readers might note that I’ve not said “gym wear”. Sweaty exercise gear worn by adults and teens is a post for another day.

An example of typical use might be to get back from swimming and put on a quick wash with the swimwear and any leotards or gymnastic shorts I have lying around. It also includes the neoprene swimming jacket my daughter wears for winter use (she’s tiny, and gets cold easily).

Now, sometimes life gets the better of us, and we forget the swimwear in the car for a week in summer (I’m sure this is not just me). If your swimwear goes musty, firstly don’t panic. Quality swimwear is generally fine at handling a good hot wash every now and then, and can also have the odd bleach sanitise.

Brushing on longevity quickly, do be aware that not all swimwear is made equal. Some are made to be highly chlorine resistant, while others are really only for looking pretty on the beach and will rapidly degrade in a chlorinated pool.

What shouldn’t go through the machine

The costumes and leotards used for performances and competitions – the things with extra glitz, be they sequins or feathers, should not be machine washed. So how to wash these items? Generally, they only need to be spot-cleaned with a cake of soap and some warm water. Avoid soaking sequinned items, as these can tarnish. The best cure is always prevention, so make it a habit to change out of the costumes straight away, or at least throw the club T-shirt over before heading to the post-comp sausage sizzle.

Some costumes can be extremely expensive (looking at you, ballroom dancers). If a spot clean isn’t going to cut the mustard, then your best return on investment may be to get those special items professionally dry cleaned.

As for us, we had a “wee accident” (literally and figuratively) in the competition leotard after the last competition of the season. I carefully turned it inside out, popped it in a pillowcase, and put it through my 18-minute cycle with a towel to provide something of a buffer. The leotard came out with all diamontes still attached. While she may not fit it next year, it keeps my options open if we decide to sell or gift the leotard to another tiny gymnast.