How to Wash Bras (and How Often)

Wash your bras about every three to four wears, and by hand when you can. Use warm (not hot) water and a mild detergent, soak for about ten minutes, rinse in cool water and air dry. That’s the routine Brastop recommends, and it’s the gentlest way to keep elastic, lace and wires in shape.

How often should you wash a bra?

Every three to four wears for everyday bras is a good rule. Adjust it for how you use the bra:

• Sports bras: after every workout.
• Hot or sweaty days: after that wear.
• Light wear (a few hours, cool weather): you can stretch to four wears.

Rotating two or three bras helps too. Elastic recovers between wears, so a bra that rests a day lasts longer than one worn every day.

How to hand wash a bra

Hand washing is the gentlest option and takes about 15 minutes, most of it soaking.

1. Fill a sink with warm, not hot, water. Brastop’s guide says “warm (not hot!)”.
2. Add a small amount of mild or hand-wash detergent and swish it to dissolve.
3. Soak the bra for about ten minutes. Gently press the fabric; don’t scrub lace.
4. Rinse thoroughly in cool water until no suds remain.
5. Press out the water. Squeeze gently or roll it in a towel. Don’t wring or twist.
6. Reshape the cups with your hands, especially molded cups.
7. Air dry flat or hung over a line by the center gore, not by the straps.

How to wash bras in a washing machine

If hand washing isn’t realistic, a machine can work:

1. Fasten the hooks so they don’t snag other clothes or the bra itself.
2. Put each bra in a mesh lingerie bag. This stops straps tangling and wires working loose.
3. Choose a gentle or hand-wash cycle. Brastop advises not going above 30°C (86°F).
4. Use a mild detergent and skip fabric conditioner.
5. Wash with similar light fabrics, not jeans or towels.
6. Take it out promptly and reshape the cups before drying.

How to dry a bra

Air dry, always. Tumble dryer heat breaks down elastic, warps molded foam cups and can push wires through the fabric. Hang bras over a drying rack or line by the center, or lay them flat. Avoid hanging by the straps, which stretches them when wet. Keep them out of direct, strong heat such as radiators.

Mistakes that wear bras out faster

• Hot water, which weakens elastic.
• Fabric conditioner, which Brastop says to “avoid at all costs” with bras.
• The dryer, for the reasons above.
• Wringing, which distorts cups and stretches fabric.
• Folding one molded cup into the other in a drawer. Brastop warns that padded bras “should never, ever be stored with one cup inverted into the other”. Nest them instead.

Washing special bras

• Sports bras: wash after each wear. Rinse sweat out quickly if you can’t wash straight away.
• Sticky or adhesive bras: never machine wash. See our guide on how to clean a sticky bra.
• Wool and silk bras: follow the care label closely. They often need a specialist wool or silk wash.
• Molded T-shirt bras: reshape the cups while damp. Our T-shirt bra guide covers storage.

Good care helps, but every bra wears out eventually. Our guide on how long bras last explains the signs.