How to Wash Jeans

It helps a little if you wash them inside out. They’ll keep their color longer that way.

Hot water and denim DO NOT MIX. Your jeans will fade and shrink.

You can’t shrink too-big jeans by washing them in hot water. Every time I’ve tried it the jeans shrink in weird ways, like only the waistband or unevenly in the legs. It won’t make the jeans a size smaller.

If you accidentally shrink your jeans, sometimes you can stretch the waist back out. While they’re still wet, button the fly and put something stiff in to hold the waist stretched out until they dry. A short board will work if it’s the right size, but a hanger isn’t stiff enough.

My aunt worked at a jean factory, and she said black jeans shrink worse than blue jeans because of the dye that they use. Add salt to the wash water the first time you wash them, just like you would if you were washing home dyed fabric, and you’ll solve the problem before it starts.

Hang them from the waistband with a skirt hanger or clothespins. If you don’t want them to be stiff, wait until they’re just about dry and then put them in the dryer for 5 minutes to make them soft.

I couldn’t get some ink stains out of my favorite pair, so I got a sponge and some bleach water and made designs over and around the stains. About five minutes before you wash the bleach out is enough, great way to recycle stained jeans.