Divorced Dad Fashion, Style and Grooming Advice on SingleDad.com. Learn how to unconventionally wash your Jeans...

How to Unconventionally Wash Your Jeans

Author: Guest Contributor, Katie Fetting-Schlerf

Posted: 04/25/12

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Jeans have become as much a part of the American life as baseball and Mom. We wear them everywhere – to work, the movies, weddings, baseball games, you name it. Inevitably, they get dirty.

Many single dads have never done their own laundry (the same is true of many single moms, for that matter) and there are a lot of theories on how to wash denim. With many pairs costing upwards of $200, the last thing you want to do is ruin a favorite pair with excessive washing. And lest you fear the odor, wearing jeans for 3 months without washing them does little to make them smell worse (well, at least according to this Daily Mail article).

Below are 4 techniques for de-griming jeans while preserving the integrity of their fabric.

Unconventional Methods of Laundering Jeans

1. Freezing

It might not be the best idea to spend $200 on a pair of men’s jeans and then dump them into the washing machine with your kid’s underoos and dirty socks. One possible solution is FREEZING them. Proponents claim the subzero temperatures kill bacteria while revitalizing the fabric. The preferred method is to turn your jeans inside-out, put them in a plastic bag and let them freeze overnight.

2. In the Bathtub

Add a gentle cleaning agent (Woolite Dark, Dr. Bronner’s) to cold bath water. Submerge your jeans, allowing them to soak for 45-60 minutes. Turning jeans inside-out helps preserve their color. VARIATION: In Japan, many people wear their jeans into lukewarm bath water, then scrub them with a brush.

3. Using Household Cleaners

For spot cleaning, Carl Chiara, Director of Brand and Special Project for Levi’s®, swears by kitchen and bathroom cleaners Windex and 409. He prefers the bathtub soaking method for his biannual deep cleaning. (Chiara uses Dr. Bronner’s.) Febreze and vinegar are also popular with denim aficianados.

4. Steam

Hang your jeans by a belt buckle and allow the steam from your shower to freshen them up.

Conventional Washing Machine

If you must use the washing machine, only wash jeans with other jeans. It may also be a good idea to wash a new pair alone the first few times.

Denim Don’ts

Tumble Drying

Due to potential shrinkage, few, if any, experts recommend drying your jeans in a household dryer. The preferred method is hanging them and allowing them to air dry.

Washing with Hot Water

Unless you want your jeans to be considerably smaller than the pair you bought, wash and rinse on cold.

Katie Fetting-Schlerf is a freelance writer from Seattle, WA. Though she advocates the techniques above, she finds it difficult to practice what she preaches, using the dreaded washing machine to clean her favorite jeans.