How to Care for Your Bras: Washing, Drying & Storage

In This Guide

• How Often Should You Wash Your Bras?
• How to Hand-Wash Your Bras
• How to Machine Wash Your Bras
• How to Dry Your Bras
• How to Store Your Bras
• When to Replace Your Bra
• Troubleshooting: Common Bra Care Problems

Most bras wear out faster than they should. And most of the time, it's not a quality issue. It's a care issue.

Tumble drying once too often. Washing on the wrong cycle. Storing them folded in a drawer with everything piled on top. Small habits that add up, until the band has stretched, the cups have lost their shape, and a bra that used to fit well just... doesn't any more.

The good news is that looking after your bras properly isn't complicated. A few simple habits make a real difference to how long they last and how well they keep fitting. Here's everything you need to know.

How Often Should You Wash Your Bras?

The general rule is every two to three wears for an everyday bra.

That might sound less often than you'd expect. But washing too frequently is actually one of the things that degrades elastic fastest, particularly on delicate fabrics like polyamide and elastane blends. Every wash puts stress on the fibres, even a gentle one.

That said, sweat, skin oils, and deodorant do build up. Wearing the same bra day after day without washing accelerates that breakdown just as much as overwashing. Two to three wears is the sweet spot.

A note on rotation: the single best thing you can do for the lifespan of your bras is to own three or four and rotate them. It gives each one time to recover its shape between wears, and spreads the washing load. One bra worn daily will last a fraction of the time that three bras worn in rotation will.

How to Hand-Wash Your Bras

Hand washing is the gentlest method and the one that preserves the fabric, elastic, and cup shape best. It takes about five minutes and makes a significant difference over time.

What you need:

• A clean basin or sink
• Cool or lukewarm water
• A small amount of gentle, mild detergent

Steps:

1. Fill the basin with cool or lukewarm water. Hot water breaks down elastic quickly; avoid it.
2. Add a small amount of gentle detergent and swirl to combine. A little goes a long way.
3. Submerge the bra and gently massage the fabric, paying attention to the band and the underside of the cups where sweat and deodorant tend to build up. No scrubbing, no wringing.
4. Leave to soak for ten to fifteen minutes if the bra hasn't been washed in a while.
5. Rinse thoroughly under cool running water until the water runs completely clear. Detergent residue left in the fabric can irritate skin and weaken the elastic over time.
6. Gently press the bra against the side of the basin to remove excess water. Don't wring or twist.
7. Reshape the cups and lay flat to dry, see the drying section below.

Hand washing is the recommended method for foam-cup bras like the EBRA and the BRAHE, where preserving the structure of the moulded cups matters most. It's also the only recommended method for the BANDEAUBRA, the silicone grip that keeps it in place is best preserved away from machine cycles.

How to Machine Wash Your Bras

Machine washing is fine for most bras, as long as you do it correctly. The two things that cause the most damage in a machine wash are heat and friction, both of which are easy to avoid.

What you need:

• A mesh laundry bag (one bra per bag, where possible)
• Mild detergent
• A gentle or delicate cycle setting

Steps:

1. Fasten all hook-and-eye closures before washing. An open hook spinning through a machine cycle will snag fabric, on the bra itself and anything else in the load.
2. Place each bra in its own mesh laundry bag. This protects the cups and straps from being pulled out of shape by the drum and other garments.
3. Set the machine to a gentle or delicate cycle with cold water. No hot wash, no regular cycle.
4. Use a mild detergent. Avoid fabric softener — it coats the elastic fibres and reduces their stretch and recovery over time.
5. Remove the bras immediately when the cycle ends. Leaving them sitting damp in the drum causes the elastic to lose its shape.

No mesh bag? Here's what to do instead. If you don't have a mesh laundry bag, a clean pillowcase tied at the open end works as a substitute, place the bra inside, knot it loosely, and wash as normal. It won't protect quite as well as a proper mesh bag, but it prevents the bra from getting tangled with other garments and keeps the straps from wrapping around the drum. Avoid washing bras loose with heavy items like jeans or towels, the weight and friction will pull the cups out of shape.

Important: The BANDEAUBRA should always be hand washed. The silicone grip that keeps it in place can degrade in a machine cycle, which affects how well it stays put during wear.

How to Dry Your Bras

This is the step where most bras meet an early end.

The tumble dryer is the single most damaging thing you can do to a bra. The heat warps foam cups, destroys elastic, and can cause underwires to buckle, none of which is reversible. Even one or two tumble dry cycles can noticeably shorten the life of a bra.

The right way to dry your bras:

• Never tumble dry. Not on low heat. Not on the delicate setting. Not at all.
• Never wring or twist to remove water; this distorts the cup shape and stresses the elastic.
• Never hang by the straps. The weight of the wet bra pulls the straps out of shape. Hang by the centre gore instead, or lay flat.
• Reshape the cups while the bra is still damp; this is when the foam sets back into position.
• Lay flat on a clean, dry towel, or hang from the centre gore on a drying rack.
• Dry away from direct sunlight and direct heat sources. Both degrade elastic over time.

Most bras air dry fully in four to six hours laid flat. Thicker foam cups may take a little longer.

How to Store Your Bras

How you store your bras between wears matters almost as much as how you wash them.

The right way to store a bra is cup-inside-cup, one bra nested inside the next, standing upright in a drawer with enough space so they're not being compressed. This keeps the cups in shape and makes it easy to see what you have.

What to avoid:

• Folding one cup inside the other. It feels like a space-saving trick but it creases and distorts the foam over time.
• Piling heavier items on top. Sustained pressure collapses the cup structure.
• Cramming bras in at odd angles. The cups need to sit in their natural shape to hold it.

A simple drawer divider makes a real difference if you've got several bras in the same drawer. For travel, a dedicated bra travel case works well, or stuff a pair of rolled socks inside each cup to maintain the shape in a suitcase.

When to Replace Your Bra

A well-cared-for bra typically lasts six to twelve months with regular wear. With a rotation of three or four bras and proper washing and storage, you can extend that significantly.

Here are the signs it's time to let one go:

The band is on its tightest hook and still feels loose. The band is what provides the majority of the support, when it's stretched beyond recovery, the bra can't do its job properly regardless of how the cups fit.

The straps won't tighten enough to stay up. If you've adjusted them to their shortest setting and they're still slipping, the elastic has gone.

The cups are misshapen, wrinkled, or no longer hold their structure. Foam cups that have been tumble-dried or stored badly can lose their shape in a way that doesn't come back. If the cups don't sit smoothly against the body, the support and silhouette won't be right either.

The fabric feels significantly thinner or has started to pill. Normal wear and washing gradually break down the fibres. When the fabric noticeably changes texture, the structure underneath is usually going with it.

If your Conturve bra isn't performing the way it should within the first 60 days, free exchanges are available, no questions asked.

Troubleshooting: Common Bra Care Problems

The band has stretched out faster than expected. Check which hook you're on. If you started on the loosest hook and you're now on the tightest within a few months, the culprit is usually machine washing on too high a heat, tumble drying, or not rotating between bras. Going forward: hand wash or use a laundry bag on a cold gentle cycle, and introduce at least one more bra into rotation.

The straps keep slipping. Before assuming it's a care issue, check the fit. Slipping straps are often a band problem; when the band is too loose, the straps carry more weight than they're designed to and gradually stretch. Try the band fit first. If the band is right and the straps are still slipping, the elastic may have degraded from heat exposure during washing or drying.

The foam cups have gone misshapen. This is almost always caused by tumble drying or by folding one cup inside the other for storage. If the bra is still relatively new, try reshaping the cups while damp after the next hand wash, then lay flat to dry. If the distortion has set in, it won't fully recover, but it's a useful signal for next time.

Deodorant residue has built up on the fabric. White or yellow buildup in the underarms of the cups is common and doesn't mean the bra is worn out. Soak in cool water with a small amount of gentle detergent for twenty to thirty minutes before washing as normal. Avoid rubbing the area dry, as that pushes the residue further into the fibres.

The Short Version

Wash every two to three wears. Hand wash when you can. Machine wash on cold gentle in a laundry bag when you can't. Never tumble dry. Reshape and air dry flat. Store cup-inside-cup with space to breathe. Replace when the band gives out.

Small habits. Noticeably longer-lasting bras.

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