Bought any jeans lately? Even my old-man Levi’s, discounted, are topping $40 now. It makes good sense to get as much use from them as you can. Here are BoWilliams.com’s three killer tips for doubling the life of your jeans:
- Wear them at least twice. Some nut not long ago was babbling about never washing jeans, and using the freezer to kill germs, or something. Nonsense. But, if you didn’t spill anything on them, and you didn’t sweat like a meat loaf in them, hang them up and wear them again tomorrow. Sometimes you can even go three times.
- Zip and button/snap them when you wash them. Get in this habit. Make them look like they’re on your person before you toss them in the hamper. If you don’t, the zipper teeth chew the fabric to pieces in the washer. Plus, they’re easier to hang (and eventually fold, if that’s what you do).
- Don’t dry them automatically. In my experience, the dryer ages jeans worse than any other single factor. Hang them up, either with pins on a clothesline or with a department store clip hanger (perhaps on a door frame). No, they won’t drip, if you washer’s spin cycle is worth a darn. They’ll be ready to go in 12 to 18 hours, depending on the relative humidity. They may feel stiff, but that will vanish completely in the first minute or two of wearing them.
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Another tip: For keeping dark jeans dark, wash them inside out. And I’ll go a step further about the drying – NEVER put jeans in a dryer. Most jeans (especially women’s) have at least a touch of spandex in them. A dryer will kill spandex.