So what is the deal with maintaining high end Denim?
That was a question that kept going around my head while looking at a lot of designer Denim in a buying trip.
Well to uncover the mystery around this topic I asked around about it and got in a few Denim specialized websites to read and make sense of all the noise.
I found there are ways, tips, tricks and myths in which one can take care of our investment, and, believe me you, Denim can be pricey so (here is a few tips from sites I visited and posts I read as well) were I got some useful tips for you all.
I found out that the high quality materials used on Designer Denim is not your usual fabric used on all other jeans, there are differences.
Washing them the traditional way, can be rather damaging. As you may know, soap brakes the fibers on fabric, wears of the dye used to give certain high end Denim its cool and classic colors, and our dryer will certainly do the trick on making your favorite pair become "jeggins".
Simply put all high end Denim was built with a few things in mind, maintain the original fit, color and integrity of the garment.
So how do I do all the above you may ask?
Well after a few good reads, here is what I found out. (try at your own risk, I only give you some suggestions, always test on an inconspicuous spot on your Denim, like inside the zipper area is good)
1. Keep your denim sanitary but don't loose you sanity, what a break through huh?
No really some say you can use a simple mixture of alcohol and water on a spray bottle will remove odors mainly, and here is how you can do this, get s spray bottle, add a 80% vs 20% water to regular alcohol mixture ( and no, Vodka and Gin will not work ok lol).
Shake it up baby, your mixture bottle that is, and turn those jeans inside out, hang on the bathroom shower rod and spray them with in a fan pattern, meaning all over the place to get the odors out, rear end and crotch area first please. Let them dry and turn inside out to wear again, deodorizing is important, washing not so much.
2. Hand wash in your bathroom tub with distilled white vinegar
The goal here is to keep your jeans original color and refresh the fabric, so fill tub with about 4/6 inches of cool water, add a cup of vinegar, no detergent here, detergent does not play nice with your fancy Denim, soak for about an hour hang to dry and fear not that them jeans will smell like vinegar, the smell dissipates when completely dried.
3. Steam shower your Denim to loosen the fabric and make them look and smell like new.
Yes a steam shower!, what I mean here is that you take your Denim and hang it in the bathroom on a code hanger by the waist, then while you shower and create steam with the hot shower your jeans are getting steam and cleaned.
Besides unless you play in mud, your gear isn't probably to dirty. A little steam releases "odor bacteria" of the jeans and it wont make the fabric swell.
4. Hang outdoors for a few hours...yes a few only
Absolutely on point, just NOT in direct sunlight, our "shinny" star, meaning the sun will bleach your gear faster than a speeding ticket, so just on a cool shaded area on your front porch, or backyard area will do, fresh air will do a deodorizing trick on them jeans for you so you can go out and about again.
5. "Freeze" your jeans??
I know, I know when I read this I was like ???? but for some type of "odor bacteria" freezing works.
It only takes 2 hours for this method do, from odors coming from body oils or spills this method really does helps a bit. For sweat and grime try 3 or 2 above.
6. At the end of the day, if you must "wash" your jeans...
Keep in mind "bacteria" is the root cause of odors on your awesome pair of Jeans, not so much dirt so the "goal" is to wash them if you must, every 3 to 6 months as needed to remove dirt.
For that, go to your shower tub, turn your jeans inside out fill with 4 to 6 inches of cool water and a quarter cup of woolight for fine garments and give them a quick wash rinsing well and hanging to dry, no dryer used here please, just hang to dry.
When dry about 90% put them on and let the fabrics contour and stretch again to your body, remove after 15 minutes finish the drying process.
Remember, keeping your high end Denim clean is truly about deodorizing it and spot cleaning, you invested a significant dollar amount to get them, now simply follow some of the suggestions and find the one that you feel does it for you.
Remember body oil, sweat and spills can make them "smell" and you don't want to be the one in a public place that smells like you got off the barn a few ago.
Keep them looking clean and smelling awesome, but no matter what, find your "Jean's zen" and look & smell good all the time.
All info and tips on this blog, was curated from articles in USA Today, GQ Magazine, Reviewed and some of my own personal experience with my own collection of Denim