how do you wash yours

[tg76]

machine or hand

with or without soap

too soon too late

meditation washed his apc in a machine

washywash

The important thing before I report in... my position.

i washed mine in the sea

how do you wash yours and why

[selaviso]

i like to throw my rrls into the washer with no soap then when the smell starts to arrive ill toss in some soap. i wash frequently.

[please underestimate]

just throw them in the bathtub for an hour then hang dry.

[mr.invincible]

I think hand washing is an interesting technique since there is so much control to it. I want to know how people hand wash their jeans and their intentions.

I think I am going to give this a try to my new evisus. Actually, this is what I am going to do with my jeans

1. Levis 1947- No wash at all until one year mark.

2. sugar cane- machine wash, one wash every month

3. evisu- hand wash only.

and just experiment with these for myself even though these are already done before.

[sendepause]

Throw them in the washing machine. Normally as cold as possible.

Try to not wash them for as long as possible, except for my Ooe&Yofukuten. I wash those once a month to shrink them back....And wash them at least at 60 C.

[Ark Sakura]

When they really need it, I use a 6 minute cold water gentle cycle with woolite dark, jeans inside out and buttoned up, hang dry on rack. If it's time to lose indigo for a contrast fade - heavy cycle, not inside out with lots of agitation.

[drapygo]

machine wash, natural detergent. take out machine and hang dry before it spins/rinse it.

[sircheesecake]

the water is always hot as the washing machine allows for me. I add some tide liquid detergent, throw in my jawnz and wait. It has worked good on my SJDJ and dukes.

[Ark Sakura]

machine wash, natural detergent. take out machine and hang dry before it spins/rinse it.

yeah, that's a good point. I do that too. With our machine you kind of have to stand there while the water is draining out after the rinse and lift the lid before the spin starts or you're screwed . lol

[sendepause]

come to think of it: American washing machines are different than European machines . They don't have 'thing' in the middle of drum. I think front loading machines are better for denim than the top loading ones.

[beautiful_FrEaK]

I wash in the machine with cold (30-40°C) water and no detergent at all. It's a front loading machine. Then a spin cycle to dry them a bit and at last hang dry.

[Raoul Duke]

I wash in a regular washing machine, with regular laundry detergent. I use a normal cycle and when they are done, I usually throw them in the dryer. No special treatment.

[cman]

i wash them in my own urine for sick fadez

[beatle]

not sure if I should double post evisu wash pics...

anyways - if in a hurry - mashine wash , detergant, 30 degrees

if I have time , handwash with dr. bronners barsoap...way more personal

[rnrswitch]

Hand wash in room temp water with dr. bronners liquid soap. Sometimes bar soap if that's all i got.

[thatslapz]

hand wash in cold water with Wool-lite when they smell/are dirty

[Irritated Onion]

One thing I've always wondered, and perhaps this is a good place to ask: Does detergent in general protect indigo, or does it make the jeans lose indigo?

I'm not asking if the difference is minor or major (that depends on the detergent itself), but I've heard conflicting stories. I've heard that detergent actually protects color fading/loss, and I've heard the opposite as well.

Personally, I usually turn them inside out and machine wash on cold with Woolite dark and hang dry. I think from now on I'm going to avoid the spin cycle, though I've never done that in the past before.

As an aside, I'm washing my Ande Whall streaky's for the first time today. I'm excited to see how they turn out.

[bunga]

always hand wash with cold water, a pinch of detergent or sprinkling of hair shampoo (no particular brand). handwash inside out for about 10 mins, rubbing the lap area and back of the knees vigorously. then outside in for another 10 mins, rinsed as many times as it takes to dispose the soap, hand wrung till all the water comes out and finally hung to dry in the shade (or sun if i really don't have the time to wait).

only time i'll use hot water for soak is when the jeans have become really smelly and grimy, then i'll hotsoak them overnight before washing them the next morning. usually that'll get rid of all the ickiness and smell.

[Scoobersti]

I just wash mine in the washer, with regular detergent. I don't use the dryer though, I always put them on a drying rack and let it air dry.

[Mr HaGa]

Depends on the jeans:

s710bk I try not to wash too often because I think the black denim wouldn't look good when it's too washed out, it looks better with a little more definition/contrast. That and they're a little tight, so I handwash them in cold or lukewarm water with a little Ecover or Bronners, twice so far.

Same for my Denime Kyoto Model, I'm not going to wash them too often or too harshly because they went through Denime's brutal o/w process already and they are a pretty light/bright blue to begin with.

My FC contest pair is kinda big and gets heavy use, so get machine washes in a toploader on warm with a capful of Ecover of Bronners, no spin, and a hot hot hot rinse in the bathtub because my washer shits out tons of limescale on anything that goes in it. I washed these after 3 months and will wash them about monthly from now on.

[fallen angels]

i always hand wash mine in room temperature water with bronners soap. then i drain the water out and refill with cold water to wash all the soap out. hang dry

[the Repeater]

In the shower if I can't wait for laundry day.

Machine wash hang dry if I can.

[darkanimal]

I go to the Dead Sea 1x a year and wash it there!...can you handle that tg?

[duck sauce]

instead of taking them off to wash leave them on and instead of water use fire- leaves them dark and crisp.

from the other SF

http://www.styleforum.net/showthread.php?t=117316&page=2

[akuma no uta]

Toss I'm in the washer once a month, reg detergant, then when everythings done toss them in the dryer. Nothing special. My next pair I may try the whole 6 month no wash thing, just for fun, but this pair I wanted a nice vintage looking fade

[M.O.A]

its different for me everytime

depends on the denim and how much wear they have gotten

i do cold soaks, boiling soaks, machine wash, hand wash, machine dry, sun dry, fan dry and sometimes i even wear them in the shower like beats

[mrjuby]

holy shit tg76 i was just thinking last night if there was a thread about this already.

i wash inside out with the hottest water in the washing machine with a delicate spin cycle. i add a bit of woolite dark. i usually let it soak for at least an hour with the woolite.

ill let it dry outside if its sunny. if not. then in the laundry room.

[salaami]

you knew it was coming...

i always hand wash& hand dry, for 3 main reasons:

1. it's a more old-school method for washing

2. i use less water overall

3. it causes less wear&tear to my garment

i take a 5 gallon bucket , fill it a third of the way(about 6 inches deep) with hot-as-the-tap-can-get water. i throw in the (now lye&coconut/olive-oil based soap. i let it soak for about the time it takes to break up my trees, and throw it in a dutch( 5-10 min). i do this so that the surficants(the shit in soap that makes it work) have time to attach to the oily dirt under my nuts. then(while the water is still damn warm) i take the jeans and dunk them repeatedly until i feel like stopping( 2-3 minutes, im a lazy bastard after i smoke). i pour the water out, and put in a little less water for a rinse. i dunk them again a few times, change the water, and dunk-rinse again. this is my method for when i know im going to get them dirty again the next day. if i want to get them really clean, before i dunk them the first time i'll get them wet, put soap on em, and rub the entire jean (not just the combs and whiskers, i dont want any 'non-wear' crocking) with my wet soapy hands. then i do the usual dunk and repeat process. then i turn inside out. wring the pocket bags, and hang-dry in the virginia sun...

BTW, i'm going into production soon making homemade soap( vegetable-oil and lye old-school amish-style). i havent settled what oils to use, coconut is said to have the best cleaning properties, olive-oil is dear to my muslim heart, and shea-butter is just the african in me. i refuse to even touch lard, so it's NOT an option. yuck. i might make a mix of all three. commercial lye is easier to procure, but im willing to make my own lye from oak-wood ash if it adds more authenticity although its mad more labor-intensive. please give me any opinions, info, etc., cause i want this to be a soap for the body and clothes, but primarily for the denim-heads. the lye-soap im using on my FC works great, and its not 'intended' to be anything but body soap. lye itself is rough-stuff, but the soap is not hard on skin or indigo-dyed denim. so i know if i slightly augment the formula i'll have a winner. im still undecided whether i'll leave it unscented, or add an essential oil for fragrance. let me know what you think...

[M.O.A]

make me some soap yo

[Blacktocomm]

My friends and I have made a couple different batches of soap. I haven't washed my denimz with it yet though. I have been debating if I should wash my 501's yet, maybe I will just so I can test out our lye soap on jeans instead of just on me.