Investing in proper exercise clothing can be expensive although it is an investment worth making. That’s why it’s very important you care of your fitness wear.

It may be painstaking to take care of women’s gym wear, especially yoga clothes. It is worth the effort, however. Your clothes will last much longer and you’ll be proud of your investment if you simply take care of it.

General Women’s Gym Wear Instructions

It is extremely important that you follow the care instructions of your women’s gym wear to the letter. If you don’t, you can wind up destroying the fabric.

To prevent shrinking, wash your exercise clothes in warm, cool or cold water. Unless otherwise stated, use a mild detergent to clean your clothes.

Check the care instructions before putting your clothes in the dryer. It will tell you if heat can be used on your clothes.

If it says "low iron if needed" this means the garment tolerates a very low amount of heat. Throwing it in the dryer while it’s on the hottest setting can burn or shrink these types of clothes. Once they shrink, you usually can’t stretch them back into shape.

How to Take Care of Your Yoga Clothes

Before you put on any yoga clothes, you should wash them first. This applies even if it says it’s "pre-shrunk."

The reason for this is twofold. First, pre-shrunk fabrics can still shrink. Second, you’re ridding the clothing of harmful dyes that may cause rashes on your skin.

You need to wash your clothes out after every session. This will prevent bacteria from building up in your clothes.

Typically clothes for yoga cannot be dried in a dryer. Hang them on a plastic hanger instead. They should dry pretty quickly.

If you do yoga frequently, you may want to invest in more than one set of clothes. This way you’ll always have a fresh set for each workout.

Making Sure Your Bright Fitness Wear Lasts

Your fitness wear likely comes in bright colours. Bright coloured garments are cared for differently than other colours.

Bright coloured clothes should be washed together. Don’t mix them in with darks, lights or whites.

When bright clothes are wet, keep them away from other clothes. This will prevent the colours from rubbing off.

Don’t use a lot of detergent when washing. If mild detergent is leftover in the clothing it will cause the fabrics to break down much faster.