11 Tips to keep jeans looking great longer

By Nicole

Jeans seem like such sturdy pants; however, they are actually quite delicate! In fact, it is strongly advised against washing your jeans to avoid damage. If you want to keep your favorite jeans looking good for a longer period of time, you need to take this into account. Then, of course, you have to know exactly what to consider and how.

To keep your women's or men's jeans looking good for a long time, you need to know a few handy tricks. For example, did you know that often you don't have to wash your jeans at all? Unless you've stained your jeans, it's best to wear them a little longer than you might be used to. But what if your jeans have been worn 5 times or have a stain on them? We would like to tell you the best way to wash your jeans without your beautiful dark jeans turning pale. We also give you some other handy tips on how to maintain your jeans. If you follow all of these tips, you will be able to enjoy your favorite jeans much longer!

1: Omit the washing machine whenever possible

Every pair of pants needs to be washed at some point. When it comes to jeans, however, you need to do this with care. If you don't do this and wash the jeans like you are used to doing with your other pants, the jeans will quickly start to become faded. Washing jeans using the washing machine too often will fade the beautiful blue color. In addition, it can also cause the jeans to shrink or stretch. Therefore, it is very important to wash jeans as little as possible and do this by hand. How best to do this you will read in a moment in the other tips. It is enough to do this after having worn it 4 to 6 times.

2: Steam clean and remove wrinkles

To make sure that your jeans stay clean, you can take them to the dry cleaner from time to time. If this is not a viable option for you, you can also make a budget version of a dry cleaner at home: hang your jeans in the bathroom during a shower. This will make them smell nice and fresh again. Moreover, steaming helps remove wrinkles.

3: Freshen up jeans in the freezer

Don't have stains in your pants but they could use a freshener? The freezer is multifunctional! Not only can you freeze your food in it but also your ... jeans? Putting the jeans in the freezer overnight kills a lot of the bacteria responsible for unpleasant odors. This keeps the jeans smelling nice and fresh, and it takes even less effort than using the washing machine! You can put the jeans in the freezer by putting them in a plastic bag or pillowcase first. We learned this tip from the CEO of Levi's; the expert on jeans as I'm sure you already know.

4: Remove stains instead of washing them completely

You managed to get a dirty stain on the jeans: now what? If you just washed the jeans, you really don't have to wash them completely right away. You can also just treat the stains individually. Just make sure you remove the stains with the right agents. For example, for a coffee stain use ordinary soap and for an ink stain use green soap.

5: Washing jeans in the washing machine: if nothing else

Do you still choose to use the washing machine? Then we'd like to tell you how to make sure you do the least possible damage with it. Take the following steps to protect the fabric and color of your pants.

5.1 Pre-treat with cleaning or natural vinegar

Especially with dark jeans, the color fades quickly if you are not careful. Therefore, before putting the jeans in the washing machine, soak them for half an hour in a bucket filled with vinegar and water - half and half. Keep the vinegar handy: it will also come in useful at step 7.

5.2 Wash the jeans alone the first time

When you wash jeans for the first time you throw them in the washing machine by themselves. You do this to prevent the color of the jeans from bleeding on your other clothes. If you don't do this, you risk giving all the clothes in the wash a weird blue tint with it.

5.3 Give the jeans some space

Make sure you don't add too many other clothes to the washing machine. The fuller the washer, the more likely you are to get scuffs and wrinkles. It's best to give the jeans enough space of their own so that they can spin loosely in the machine.

5.4 Empty all pockets and close all zippers

To begin, make sure you close all zippers and empty trouser pockets; this includes any other clothing you add. Next, turn the jeans inside out before putting them in the washing machine. We actually recommend this tip for all your clothes during every wash; even without jeans.

5.5 Select the right washing program

Now choose the right washing program. Some washing machines have a special jeans washing program. If you don't have these then choose the fine washing program. You set the temperature to as cold as possible; no warmer than 30 degrees.

5.6 Adding detergent

Next, add the detergent. First check the label to see if your jeans will stand up to the detergent you plan to use. Not every detergent is the same! For washing jeans, it is best to use a mild detergent or color detergent without bleach. In doing so, make sure you don't add too much. The wash, material and shape can be affected by using detergent. Jeans with applied decorations should not be machine washed at all.

5.7 Do not use fabric softener

It may seem like a good idea to keep jeans supple and smelling nice: fabric softener. However, the two are absolutely incompatible! Fabric softener affects the elasticity of the jeans, causing them to wear out faster. If you still want to make your jeans nice and soft, add a little vinegar to the machine during the wash cycle.

6: Hand wash jeans

When it comes to washing jeans, it is best to do this with care. You can do this by washing jeans by hand in mild soapy water. You make a bucket of cold to lukewarm water and add a neutral soap to it. You can also make a suds by adding a dash of vinegar to a bucket of water. Then squeeze the worst of the water out of the jeans without wringing them out. After this, you can lay it down to dry or hang it up as described so directly in tip 8.

7: Drying jeans without the help of the dryer

It is wise to use as little heat as possible when maintaining your jeans. This is because it causes a lot of damage to the jeans. Heat can cause the jeans to discolor and shrink. So it is best to dry them using air and be patient.

8: Hanging jeans to dry without wrinkles

You might be quite willing to try washing your jeans from now on without using the washing machine. However, you're not a fan of the idea of ugly creases and wrinkles being left in your jeans as a result. After all, you don't go to all that trouble to ensure that the jeans don't look luxurious and are uncomfortable. To make sure that they do, you hang the jeans upside down. In doing so, you make sure that you hang them at the bottom of the pant legs. You will need strong clothespins for this: wet jeans can be quite heavy!

9: Do not dry jeans in the sun

So we don't allow you to use the dryer. Well, then hang your jeans outside on the clothesline, right? The sun is shining so your jeans will be dry in no time, right? Although this is certainly true, we do strongly advise against it. The power of the sun fades the beautiful color of the jeans. If you do go to hang the jeans on the clothesline, make sure you do it inside out.

10: Can jeans be ironed?

Do you have ugly creases and wrinkles in your jeans that you would like to get rid of? You can iron your jeans without doing too much damage to the fabric. To do this, first turn the jeans inside out. So there are also methods available to prevent and remove creases and wrinkles. You just read more about this in tips 2 and 8.

11: Do not stuff trouser pockets

One of the most damaging things you can do to your jeans is to stuff the pockets with all sorts of things. Think of your keys or wallet, for example. This causes ugly wear and tear that will cause you to see permanently worn-in spots. Before you know it, you will have wear and tear on your beautiful new jeans that you will regret. Therefore, always, whenever possible, store your belongings in a bag instead of your pocket.

Curious about more fashion tips? Check out our other blogs!

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