How to Care for Your Jeans: 5 Tips to Keep Looking Great in Your Favorite Pair

When it comes time to wash your jeans, how can you keep them looking better, fitting better, and lasting longer? Well, if you’re not willing to follow the advice of our CEO Chip Bergh and stop washing your jeans after every wear, there are some other options. Here are five tried and true tips to minimize damage when you wash your denim.
1. Spot Clean
Why do a whole load of laundry when you can use a damp cloth or even an old toothbrush with a mild soap to remove small stains? It’s simple, it’s easy, and it keeps your jeans looking great. Avoiding laundry will help keep the fit you love true to you.
2. Flip Out
After at least ten wears, it may be time to throw your jeans into the washer. Turning your jeans inside out prevents excessive fading and color loss. Faded jeans reflect your personal style but a good fade comes from living in your jeans, not an aggressive spin cycle.
Bonus tip: Remember to check your pockets! No one likes splotchy pen stains on their favorite pants. And don’t forget to unroll your cuffs so dirt and sand don’t get trapped in – it’s kind of equivalent to washing behind your ears.
3. Soap Smart
The indigo blue tint of your favorite jeans can wash out with harsh soaps. Preserve your favorite look with the right detergent. Many detergents are concentrated, so you don’t need much. Some are even designed smarter with a pump so you don’t use too much.  And most are formulated for cold water to clean your clothes and keep their color. An extra minute in the laundry aisle will all be worth it in the name of helping to keep your jeans their true blue for as long as possible.
4. Keep it Cool
Choosing a cold-water spin cycle is added protection against fading and shrinking. Cold water also saves energy, saving you money, which means you’re doing a solid for your jeans, your energy bill, and the environment. That sounds like a triple win. Save the world, one pair of jeans at a time.
5. Air Dry
Ever wonder where lint comes from? It’s your clothes breaking down in the dryer. Dryers are the natural enemy of jeans, so it makes sense to opt for a breezier option. Hang them up to dry to help preserve the fit and avoid possible shrinkage or fabric warping. If you live in an apartment, a collapsible clothes rack is perfect. You can keep them turned inside out (and out of the sun) to prevent fading and ensure the interior pockets will dry. And of course, hang drying is a free solution!
For more tips on how to care for your denim and the latest from Levi Strauss & Co. follow us on Twitter @LeviStraussCo.
 
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