Washing Your Denim - solutions and process

[halfbaiked]

I thought we could discuss what your process for cleaning denim is when it comes time to for wash. 

 

 

 

I have a handful of products -

 

retaW makes a spray especially for people who want to go as long as possible without "washing" their denim

 

Aesop makes a great solution for washing "fine fabrics" - smells lemony

 

Samurai released this bean powder that you supposedly wash denim with (caution... smells very strange and strong)

 

I have some left-overs from when I got my denim hemmed (samurai)... I can test out products if you are curious as to what they may do to your denim. 

 

My experience and preference is a quarter teaspoon of Aesop's fine fabric solution with hot water for 20 minutes then a rinse for 20-30 minutes (inside out) and then hung dry on an outdoor clothes line on a sunny day. 

[aho]

Generic detergent, thrown in washing machine on normal; throw in drier on low heat or air fluff if available. No stress, no science!

[Broark]

Inside out, normal detergent whenever they feel grungy, air dry.

No fancy processes here.

[Rob060]

fill tub with warm water and dish soap. scrub with a shower brush inside and out. rinse. hang dry.

[halfbaiked]

@rob060 - Dish soap?! never heard of that... does your jeans smell like dishes afterwards? Why dish soap over laundry detergent? 

[Iron Horse]

Samurai soap in the washer and then hang dry.

[halfbaiked]

@ironhorse - i used samurai soap once... doesn't it make your jeans smell kinda weird for a while? I dislike that earthy smell...

[Rob060]

@rob060 - Dish soap?! never heard of that... does your jeans smell like dishes afterwards? Why dish soap over laundry detergent? 

 

it's soap. it's gets out grime well. not sure what you think dishes smell like, but the jeans smell pretty clean to me.

[tigerstrom]

Generic detergent, inside out in the washingmachine 40-60 degrees celsius.

[Iron Horse]

@ironhorse - i used samurai soap once... doesn't it make your jeans smell kinda weird for a while? I dislike that earthy smell...

 

Yes, the jeans keep the smell for a while (I also use the soap with my nicer shirts).

 

I really disliked the smell at first, but now I love it. I wish my whole house smelled like the stuff, haha. It reminds me of the Take 5 shop, since it smells like a whole ton of raw denim, leather, and Samurai soap inside. Embrace the earthiness of it, I say! 

[Sugar Mountain]

^ Haha, I know that Take 5 smell too!

 

I used Dr Bronner's on my jeans for years but ultimately found that it didn't properly get the dirt and funk out of the fabric, so I started using eco-friendly natural detergents that are more effective. I don't mind regular detergent either - it doesn't do my other clothes any harm and my jeans are tougher. They don't really need to be treated any different.

[nizzel55]

Washing:

 

Before wash:

* Washing machine 30-60 degrees celsius

* Regular detergent

* Turn them inside out

* No spin cycle

 

After wash:

* Turn them outside out

* Try to smooth out any unwanted wrinkles. 

* Let them dry in a dry room.

Edited April 24, 2015 by nizzel55

[Cucoo]

My wife got me a bottle of Crämer & Co (German denim shop) denim soap, so I'm using that right now for everything denim, chambray & wabash. Washing machine inside out, delicate or "dark clothes" cycle, low spin, 40°, air dry.

 

I don't believe in mystical properties of special detergents or soaps (that stuff is the same as hifi voodoo cables or homeopathy, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't hold up to double blind tests), but I have to say this denim soap leaves clothes with a satisfying, hard to describe "dry crunchiness".

[Sigur Rós]

Generic detergent, thrown in washing machine on normal; throw in drier on low heat or air fluff if available. No stress, no science!

^ What aho said

Is there any consequences drying damp jeans on a radiator besides catching on fire (if left unattended).

Edited April 24, 2015 by Sigur Rós

[Megatron1505]

^ this also.

[Max Power]

Yes, the jeans keep the smell for a while (I also use the soap with my nicer shirts).

 

I really disliked the smell at first, but now I love it. I wish my whole house smelled like the stuff, haha. It reminds me of the Take 5 shop, since it smells like a whole ton of raw denim, leather, and Samurai soap inside. Embrace the earthiness of it, I say! 

 

So does it smell like raw denim? In that case, I will buy a huge box of it.

[TheIntelligentHoodwinker]

If they smell: hang them outside for a while.

 

If they really smell: turn them inside out, stick them in the washing machine on the shortest setting (30 mins).

[TheIntelligentHoodwinker]

I don't believe in mystical properties of special detergents or soaps (that stuff is the same as hifi voodoo cables)

 

Agree 100%

[Iron Horse]

So does it smell like raw denim? In that case, I will buy a huge box of it.

 

Almost...it has a very unique smell, hard to describe. I would say try it out, as to me it smells like a denim store should (probably just my personal bias).

[Artisandenim]

I've used Aesop/ APC fabric care on my delicate/expensive clothes ever since stumbling across their (sadly no longer) mount street store in London many years ago. Saw no reason to change with denim.

I wash my denim the same way I wash most things - 4 squirts APC liquid, hand wash cycle in machine (30 degrees, low spin 400rpm), then hang dry outside if weather good and on a rack if not.

Not quite as 'fly by the seat of your pants', 'devil may care' as Aho's regimen, but I don't find it a hassle :-)

Really, really not a fan of tumble dryers though - I regard them as 'destroyers of clothes' ever since I washed a load of very expensive woollens after the pub and didn't check the dryer settings. All ruined. That was ten years ago and haven't used or owned a tumble dryer since...

Edited for autocorrects grammar.

Edited April 24, 2015 by Artisandenim

[Maynard Friedman]

Among the 200 existing washing threads, the following is the most current:

how do you wash yours?

Can we use this instead or merge the two?

Edited April 24, 2015 by Maynard Friedman

[volvo240thebest]

bit of vinegar, some coarse salt, EVO oil, garlic, capers, herbs, few tomatoes, in the oven for two hours at 180° C haha!

 

kidding apart I just turn them inside out and throw in the washing machine on low spin 30°C with a bit of whatever detergent we have in the house at the moment. hang dry as I don't have a dryer, and I'm lucky enough to live in a place where's there is no friggin need for it.

 

I just felt the need to post here to piss off Maynard!

[pudaspriest]

^ What aho said

Is there any consequences drying damp jeans on a radiator besides catching on fire (if left unattended).

 

I dry mine on the radiator in the winter all the time and have had no problems except a bit of a singe on a patch one time. I try to take em off just before they are completely dry and leave on a chair overnight.

[Kushy]

I use horse piss and wild ramps.  Pickle the ramps in the piss, stuff jean pockets with piss-pickled ramps, throw in the washer on normal.  Done! 

[cthip]

Machine wash cold, hang dry.  Dr. Bronner's  rose soap.  Contrary to a previous statement, it definitely gets the funk out when machine-washing, although it's possible it wouldn't when hand-washing.

[fat slub]

40 deg 2 hour cotton cycle 

reg detergent

washing line.

[superfuzz]

Cold machine wash inside out with regular detergent, hang dry. If they are loose, then warm wash. After a while I don't even turn them inside out anymore out of laziness.

[bod]

^ Thats it, once they've softened up after a few hand washes chuck them in the machine without turning them inside out and start getting those lovely train tracks..

[givemefive]

Before I clean I take note of any particularly bad spots and mark them on a piece of paper so I know what to concentrate on. I use Dr. Bronner's in the tub with warm water. Really knead the jeans back and forth for 15-20 minutes.  Then I turn them inside out and do the same for another 5-10.  I drain the awful, dirty water and fill the tub again with warm water and rinse them with some corn starch.

[mp201]

not something to worry about excessively. I throw them in the washing machine inside out and on a gentle cycle. Only negative thing I've noticed is creasing from the spin.