Parents Leos Need Handwashing, Right?

[gwenmom]

Oh yes forgot to add. The only one that gets hand washed is her competition Leo. To expensive to chance

 

[JMACAZ]

Hand wash Comp ones with bling
Inside out practice one in reg wash
flat dry all

 

[Anna's_Mom]

Another vote for machine wash, air dry for "regular" leos. I do hand-wash the comp one though. She's going to outgrow the leo long before it wears out, especially at that age! Also, since it is "pre-owned", it has probably been machine washed repeatedly already.

 

[Momof2]

I machine wash all of them including the comp one but I use the gentle/hand wash cycle only and then hang dry. I also never use fabric softener on them. Only detergent.

 

[lilmisssunshine]

Oh awesome. You guys have all made my day.

 

[twinmomma]

Yep, the only one I handwash is her comp leo. ALL others going in the wash with her regular laundry and only ONE has to be specially dealt with and it's because it bleeds on everything. So it's a pink leo that goes in a load of blacks and gets hung up to dry. Otherwise, all practice leos and booty shorts go in the dryer.

 

[needcoffee]

I've only ruined one Leo, accidentally put it on a long hot wash. All the shiny stuff came off, but it was still functional.

I turn them inside out, place them in a wash bag, short delicate cold wash and air dry.

 

[COz]

I should mention that I also have a gazillion ballet tights and delicate dance wear to hand wash...

You're hand washing ballet tights?
Pop them in a wash bag and they're fine in a normal wash.

 

[Azgymmiemom]

Wow. GK instructions will tell you not to hand wash, because they bleed. The spin cycle gets more water out gently instead of wringing them. My dd has a very expensive GK leo with a gazillion stones on it. Never had a problem.
I hang to dry, though. The drier will mess with the elasticity.

 

[beachgirl]

I wash inside out on delicate with bathing suits and line dry. Last week my husband did me the big favor of putting some stuff in the dryer for me, so he could wash some rags. Of course it was the leo load, but everything still looked okay.

 

[purpleleomom]

I only handwash the competition leo. I did have one bad washing experience though. A mystique leo (one of many) ended up with a nickel sized bleach spot. For the life of me, I could not tell how. I'm careful to only wash leos and shorts together, and if it's a big enough load, I might split off the mystique from the nylon.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

I hand wash the ballet tights because machine washing them seems to get them that dingy, "grey" look much, much faster. They last longer and look nicer when they get hand washed. Lots of her dance wear has lace and other "delicate" embellishments, so those get hand washed too. Trust me, whatever can go in the washing machine with no ill effects does, lol, but so much of that stuff just does much better with hand washing/line drying.

 

[gymmomtoo]

Wow. GK instructions will tell you not to hand wash, because they bleed. The spin cycle gets more water out gently instead of wringing them. My dd has a very expensive GK leo with a gazillion stones on it. Never had a problem.
I hang to dry, though. The drier will mess with the elasticity.

I knew we've had leos that said not to hand wash! I honestly even machine wash the competition ones. On gentle with nothing else, but still in the machine.

 

[Becauseisaid]

DD's leos have ended up very dull when I washed them in the machine so I've started hand-washing and hanging to dry. Perhaps it was the fabric softener....

 

[twinmomma]

Wow. GK instructions will tell you not to hand wash, because they bleed. The spin cycle gets more water out gently instead of wringing them. My dd has a very expensive GK leo with a gazillion stones on it. Never had a problem.
I hang to dry, though. The drier will mess with the elasticity.

Interesting. Our GK Leo and warm ups specifically indicate hand washing and hang drying. I could NEVER have machine washed the warm ups, they bled like CRAZY.

 

[twinmomma]

Oh and you never wring them out. You put the item between two towels and roll the towels to get the water out. Works WONDERS. Comes out almost completely dry. Then I hang up in front of a gentle fan.

 

[wgymmom]

DD washes them separately in the washer on delicate in cold water and we hang dry.

 

[COz]

DD's leos have ended up very dull when I washed them in the machine so I've started hand-washing and hanging to dry. Perhaps it was the fabric softener....

Yeah, fabric softener is nasty to leotards.

 

[JessSyd]

I machine wash all of the leotards, ballet tights and school stockings. If they are not tough enough to survive, we don't have time for them. I don't tumble dry them except by mistake. I line dry them in the shade because fierce australian sun is probably as bad for them as the dryer is. I would usually even machine wash the competition leo but it cost so much I would like to be able to sell it at the end of the season so I am being much more careful with it than is my usual style.

 

[raenndrops]

Experience of washing lots of mystique fabric- hand washing with detergent leads to decreased shine, if you use fabric hand wash stuff it stays shinier longer. Haven't dared try the machine!

With mystique, make sure straight detergent does not come into contact with the leotard.
That being said, we wash all leotards in the washer, inside out delicate cycle (sometimes the handwash cycle... I love my washer for having a handwash cycle) ... and I start washer (cold water), add detergent, then add the leotards one at a time. They line dry and dryer fluff (or dry in the dryer if we lack time or good weather).
We are still using leotards that look like new 2-3 years later.

A word of caution... no mater what anybody says, even if it is white and you turn it inside out, do not bleach - especially velvet or mystique (I know, duh! ... but I have seen it done! The white velvet leotard is getting thin and slightly see through. I wanted to kill her mom, but that wouldn't be nice.)