Bras - Making Them Last

The free wheeling spending days have come to a grinding halt for most of. These days, the goal is to be frugal and cut costs everywhere possible in the face of an economy that is downright scary. Many of the frugal steps you can take focus on making things last longer. Bras should be included in this effort.

You buy bras. I buy bras. Every woman buys bras. What do we all know? Bras are not cheap! You can get into one of lesser quality at a bargain basement figure of $25 to $30, but the quality increases substantially every $10 you increase in price. Then, of course, there are the bras that sell for hundreds of dollars, which is a serious luxury that most of us can't afford these days if ever.

Given the money you spend on bras, doesn't it make sense to try to make them last as long as possible? Sure it does, but most of us either innocently or lazily don't take the basic steps required. Does this sound familiar? At the end of the day, you put your bra in the dirty clothes hamper. On the weekend, you wash the bra with the rest of your clothes and then pop it in the dryer. Each of these steps is going to shorten the life of your bra!

Washing Bras

A bra should is a delicate foundation piece. A washer works by vigorously spinning clothes. This is not good for your bra. You need to hand wash them. Fill the sink with some cool water and use a non-abrasive detergent. This will keep the band and cups from becoming deformed.

Drying Bras

When you are one washing your bras, you need to let them air dry. This means hanging them on a line, not putting them in the dryer. The dryer approach has two problems. First, the heat is excessive for a bra and will decay the cups and plastic pieces. Second, the spinning motion can damage the bra by stretching it out, particularly when the bra gets wrapped around other clothes in the dryer.

How long will the average bra last? Well, it is not an easy question to answer because it depends on how often you wear it and so on. 6 months is a number that is thrown around a lot with average use. If you follow these care tips, you should get at least twice the life out of your bra.