There’s no doubt about it, we all love summer. It’s hard to beat long days in the sun full of juicy watermelon and games in the pool. You can find us swimming or splashing in the waves for hours on end during the summer.

Due to the heat that comes with the season, we know it’s common to spend as much time as possible in the water—our most common summer uniforms are always bathing suits. But every year, as the summer wears on, we notice our swimsuits losing their elasticity and colors. Neon colors fade to pastels, and taut fabric turns a little too stretchy.

While spending time in the pool or ocean might make our souls happy, it tends to make our swimsuits pretty unhappy. The chlorine found in pools and the saltiness of the ocean can do serious damage to your suit if it is not properly cared for.

Though many of us know to treat our undergarments with care, most people don’t know how to take care of their bathing suits. We often don’t give our swimsuits the proper treatment they deserve after a full day in the water.

Though all water types can degrade your bathing suit, pool chlorine is especially damaging to the delicate fabrics used in swimwear. As soon as you’re done with your pool day and swimming, we recommend that you immediately take off your suit and hand wash it in the sink, tub, or shower. Rinsing it thoroughly with fresh water will help get the chemicals and dirt out, and make the fabric and elastic last longer.

Even if you’ve been splashing in a lake or the ocean and not in chlorine, we still recommend that you take off your suit as soon as you can and give it a good rinse.

If you’re like us and have a family full of swimmers, we often have many suits to wash at the end of a summer day or weekend. You can take one of our Grab Green Delicate Laundry Detergent pods, throw it in the washing machine with your swimsuits, and run them on the gentlest cycle your machine has.

Many of us are also familiar with the wet, drippy swimsuits that we have to transport around after leaving the pool or beach. While it’s certainly easy to get home and hang your suit on the closest door handle or shower knob, it’s actually best to lay the garment flat to dry. This will help your suit keep its shape by preventing any unnecessary stretching of the fabric or elastic.

Though we hope this doesn’t need to be said, we strongly advise against putting your bathing suit in the dryer. The continuous heat is enough to take away the color and elasticity of the delicate fabrics. We also recommend against leaving your swimsuits out to dry in the sun, as the sun can bleach the colors and ruin the garment.

We want you to be happy with your swimsuits all summer (or even all year) long, which is why we want to help you take the best care of them that you can! Whether you’re in a bathing suit every day or once a month, it’s best to wash your suits after every wear. That way, the salt or chemicals don’t sit in the fabric and ruin it over time.

Saggy, discolored swimsuits are a thing of the past when you take care of them properly. Make sure to wash them after each use and treat them to a rinse with our delicate detergent pods every once in a while. That way, you can enjoy them all summer long!