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MNHQ

The Great Mumsnet Laundry Debate, Part II. £300 voucher to be won! NOW CLOSED

453 replies

JustineBMumsnet · 23/11/2016 12:20

To celebrate Fairy Non Bio’s sponsorship of the Mumsnet Talk App, we’ve launched The Great Mumsnet Laundry Debate - as with all great Wink series, it's a three-parter. Part I was all about how often you wash your bed sheets and part II is about how much you wash your bra...

Bra washing can not only be time consuming but can also require a bit of brain power. First there’s the conundrum of how to wash them, then there’s how often to wash them. Do you put them on a gentle hand-wash setting with a delicate detergent? Do you put them in a mesh bag to protect the straps from getting caught up with other items? Perhaps you only put them in a machine with other light clothing so the elastic doesn’t get stretched by towels and jeans? Or maybe you simply bung them in with everything and put them on a 40C wash? The options can make your brain hurt. So how often do you wash your bra? Are you the kind of person who can’t wear a bra more than once? Or maybe you can wear it for a week?

Whatever your bra-washing process, share it with Fairy Non Bio in the thread below, and maybe even give us a live update from the Mumsnet Talk App as you’re waiting for the load to finish. If you avidly check out Mumsnet's talk boards, you should download the app for yourself. It's free, and allows you to be part of the conversation wherever you are!

All those who post below will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 Love2Shop voucher.

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

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The Great Mumsnet Laundry Debate, Part II. £300 voucher to be won! NOW CLOSED
OP posts:
cjh123 · 30/11/2016 20:18

I always put my underwear into a pillowcase and put them into the machine. This started when a wire came out of my bra and jammed in the drum which was costly.

badgermum · 30/11/2016 20:23

Mine get washed once a week in a mesh bag on a synthetic cycle

Lilliana · 30/11/2016 20:39

Mine are chucked in with a normal wash every couple of days or sooner if hot/covered in baby sick etc. Didn't know that hand washing / mesh bags / straps stretching was a thing Blush To be honest mine aren't nice enough to worry about.

doylejudith · 30/11/2016 21:09

40 degree wash. Wear 2 or 3 times before washing a normal bra - sports bra or nursing wash every time. I used to have fancy ones that I handwashed, but that was before children!

Maiyakat · 30/11/2016 21:13

I used to hand wash them, now they get thrown in with everything else I'm afraid!

kpdiscodancer · 30/11/2016 22:29

I hadn't realised that I was meant to do something in particular with them (and I like to think of myself as an expert launderer!) They go in with everything else on a 30/40 degree wash. Colour coordinated. Not lost a wire in the machine yet (fingers crossed....)

kpdiscodancer · 30/11/2016 22:30

Forgot to say I wear them 2/3 times before washing in the winter and only once in the summer and they get sweaty...

buckley1983 · 30/11/2016 22:41

I used to hand wash mine, but I didn't ever feel they were properly clean - so they go in with everything else now & they seem to be bearing up! I only have about 4 bras - but I buy decent ones so they do last. I wear them 'til they're on their last legs & then replace when I have to. No fancy bras & matching undies here! Just a well fitting, comfortable, sculpting t-shirt bra that I can wear with anything & is so comfy I forget I'm wearing it!

LadyMumble · 30/11/2016 23:14

I use the hand wash setting on my machine for fancy bras. I fasten the hook & eye to prevent snagging and put them in with other hand wash items.

My day to day bras get worn for longer than is probably ideal and go in an ordinary wash with clothes on a 30 or 40 degree wash.

HelenSw4les · 30/11/2016 23:31

I have several bras which I wear for maximum 2 days at a time (normal bra but a sports bra I wash after every use) and wash together at the end of the week on a 30 degree wash. I don't put anything else into the machine with them so don't feel the need to use a mesh bag. I

123julie321 · 30/11/2016 23:35

I only ever hand wash bras with a delicate wash as I always find machine washing them causes them to fade and lose their shape!

Jayfee · 01/12/2016 00:19

Average wear 3 days, shove them in with light or darkwash depending on bra colour. Careful hand washing was in a formerlfe before children.

thekiwibex · 01/12/2016 00:55

I just wash my bras with the rest of our clothes, but I try to wash them as seldom as possible, to keep them supportive and in good condition.

ClassmateHB · 01/12/2016 06:41

Every three to four days, in a normal 40 wash. They're only M&S to be fair, but done no harm for last few years.

I did lose an underwire in the machine about ten years ago. But tbh that was a cheap primark bra.....

BrieAndChilli · 01/12/2016 11:22

Mine get chucked on with the washing, every 3 or so days.
I don't have fancy bras though, mine are all supermarket brand and I've only just thrown away my maternity bras as they were falling apart (my youngest has just turned 6!!)
If I had nice expensive bras I would probably take more care of them!!!

UnicornMadeOfPinkGlitter · 01/12/2016 11:28

every few wears, I have quite a lot of bras and various colours so I rotate them and rarely wear the same one more than once a week.
Then every other week or so I put all the coloured ones on for a delicates wash in the machine and then the same for the light/nude/white ones.

I don't put them in mesh bags but I do do up the hook and eye clasps so that they don't get caught on the lace or straps of other bras.

My pre teen daughter is just about to go for a fitting for her first bras, so I guess that will add to the load each time, I will buy her at least 5 so she can have the same routine as me.

micra · 01/12/2016 16:11

Just sling them in with the normal 40 degree wash. Very occasionally might put them in a mesh bag. As I'm not well-endowed, & quite skinny, I don't seem to get the sweatiness some of my larger friends complain of who wash bras after one use - mine last a few days!

bluebump · 01/12/2016 16:16

Mine just go in a normal wash after 3 or so wears. I do take them out of the machine before I do the 1400 spin though. If I had more expensive bras I may be tempted to pop them in a mesh bag or hand wash them.

dreamingofLombok · 01/12/2016 16:29

Mine just go in with the normal 30 degree wash after about 3 days wear. I am like micra small and don't get hot! Never really sweat - if I am exercising I wear sports bras which I do wash after every use - again on 30 degrees with the other lycra.

beckyinman · 01/12/2016 18:34

I wear mine for 2-3 days then wash them in amongst my regular washing. Then just leave them to dry on an airer

MoronsandNeurons · 01/12/2016 18:40

I used to hand wash my bras, and you do get a better result (machine washing can make the fabric in the cups start pilling) but I can't stand how wet they are afterwards, and I had to put a towel under the airer when they dried.
Now I wash them as normal in the machine with similar colours, in a net bag with plastic circles to try and stop it getting pulled apart. Also to stop the hooks getting stuck in my other clothes (Lace, tights etc) and ruining them as they are dragged around the machine. If I can't find a net bag I make sure the back hooks are fastened when I put it into the machine.
I do find the wires pop out eventually machine washing them though, but then they say you should replace each regularly worn bra every 6 months anyway.
I wash my bras every 3 days.

musicalprof · 01/12/2016 19:03

Washed about every three days (sports bras after every hot & sweaty sporty outing), just in a 40 degree wash but with fastenings done up & with other items of a similar fabric. Having read this thread, however,I am beginning to think about the net bag/pillowcase approach...

RamsayBoltonsConscience · 01/12/2016 19:09

I just whack mine on a 40 wash with the rest of the washing Blush

Ness1234 · 01/12/2016 19:40

In with everything else, but my daughters posh bra's on a 30c cycle with nothing else.

littlepinkfizz · 01/12/2016 20:32

Change it every 2/3 days. . Just wash it with whites . Find those silly mesh bags are rubbish as contents don't get washed properly. . Usually just wash in bio powder