Hand wash or Machine wash?

[mizfiesta]

Have a question which seems really trivial but just wanted other opinions. I have always hand washed my bras, which I always felt kept them whiter for longer (it says 'handwash on the label so I followed instructions). Recently I have been busy and really can't be bothered doing a handwashing all the time as its easier to shove them in the washing machine. How do most of you (ladies!) wash yours? By hand or machine? Do you think your bras keep whiter for longer? Let me know.

[Elle]

If it's an everyday bra, in the machine. If it's a particularly nice one, by hand. They do last longer if you wash them by hand, but I'm to lazy to bother most of the time.

[treaclefight]

i dont necessarily want a bra to last. if i find something i love to wear (im a wierd size so it doesnt happen much) then i buy 3 of them. if i dont like it much then i wear it on the days when the others are in the wash or i leave it in the drawer and ignore it. and then theres the bras that just werent made for wearing all day but were made for...something else. in short they all go in the machine and to hell with it, life's too short for bra restoration / conservation and handwashing. :-D

[sft42]

Underwiring is a huge enemy of washing machines as they tend to have a habit of coming loose and lodging themselves in awkward places......I would recommend hand washing if you can spare the time.

[Jenny Tools]

If its a favourite bra always hand wash, I have found machine wash can destroy the elasictic fibres

[woofgang]

I machine wash mine because life is too short, but I do it on the handwash cycle and put them in a lingerie bag (lace bag that zips up as this keeps the hooks where they belong and protects the underwiring. This is the everyday stuff and I don't pay a fortune for it though

[treaclefight]

interesting, i thought woofgang was a bloke, learn something every day dont you. :-D

[bobbobley]

you seem overly knowledgeable on the subject sft42, how come?

[woofgang]

treacle, I wasn't last time I looked....just out of interest, what gave you that impression?

[treaclefight]

sorry woof, i cant quite place it, but your answers are quite direct and you often answer the sterotypically blokey questions, why this should lead me to the testosterone conclusion when i do exactly the same thing i dont know, says more about me than you i think. :-D

[treaclefight]

woofgang, in an effort to work the word 'shifty' into every answer i give for the forseeable future, would it be alright if i said your answers were shifty and i didnt associate that with us girlies?

[woofgang]

well you got one thing dead right, i do fight with both hands...

[smudge]

Now we know who the females are, I'll proceed. Most washing machines have a gentle wash for delicates, but what's the point for a couple of bra's? Life's far too short for all that. My bra collection looks pretty good for someone that washes them with all the other 'whites' or 'darks', depending on the colour. Having said that, my washing machine was screeching so loud on spin, I was scared to open it, but when I did the culprit was a bra wire - they are lethal things & can really cause prob's - so beware!!