How to Wash a Good Swimsuit: Salt, Chlorine, and Sunscreen Stains
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How to wash swimsuits is the unglamorous half of luxury lycra. Salt, chlorine, and sunscreen are not vibes — they break down elastane if you leave them in the fabric. Hand-wash when you can, never wring, never the dryer. The Italian-feeling suit you packed for Cabo or Galveston lasts longer when the sink ritual is part of the trip.
This sits with our luxury swim capsule and the suits in beach-to-bar: care is how the investment earns a second season. Magicsuit’s own labels often say hand wash, cool water, hang dry — believe them. After Cabo, rinse before you pack the carry-on.
The ritual
After salt or chlorine: rinse in cool clear water as soon as you can. Do not leave the suit in a hot car. Hand wash: cool water, a teaspoon of gentle no-rinse or delicate wash, swirl — do not wring or twist hardware. Press in a towel, reshape, hang or dry flat in the shade. Sunscreen stains: blot, pretreat gently, wash sooner rather than later; dark lycra shows oil marks. Machine only if the label allows: mesh bag, delicate, cold, low spin — still skip the dryer.
Care products that earn suitcase space
Soak Fig No-Rinse Delicate Wash
Soak is built for lingerie and knits — and it is how to wash swimsuits without a hotel laundry battle. No-rinse formula, cool water, 75+ washes in the bottle. Fig is a clean scent that does not fight your sunscreen.
- Best for: Hotel sinks, post-pool evenings, travel capsules
- Pair with: A mesh bag if you must machine-wash delicates at home
- Fit note: Use sparingly — a small amount goes far. Follow Soak’s dilution notes.
Mesh Laundry Bags for Delicates
When the label allows a machine, a zipper mesh bag protects straps, rings, and crochet from the drum. Fine mesh for swim.
- Best for: Home laundry days, shared machines on trips
- Pair with: Suit inside-out, cold delicate cycle, air dry always
- Fit note: Zip fully; tuck the pull so it does not snag.
Sun Bum Original SPF 50 Lotion
Not a detergent — the reason you are washing. Apply SPF, wait before dressing dark fabric, then rinse the suit after. Stain honesty is part of care.
- Best for: Beach and boat days
- Pair with: Your wash bottle in the wet kit
- Fit note: Wait time before lycra; blot sunscreen transfer promptly.
CUPSHE Ribbed Wrap One-Piece — what you are protecting
A reminder of the garment: ribbed nylon/spandex with finish worth keeping. Treat it like the investment it is at any price. Cool wash, shade dry, no dryer.
- Best for: Every wear after salt, chlorine, or SPF
- Pair with: Mesh bag + Soak in the suitcase
- Fit note: Removable cups — wash cups if the label allows; reshape the wrap to dry.
La Blanca Island Goddess — structured lycra care
Structured fabric and cups want hand wash and hang dry. Do not iron. Do not tumble. Following Magicsuit/La Blanca-style care notes is how the suit keeps its line.
- Best for: After every swim day on a resort week
- Pair with: Sink + Soak + towel press
- Fit note: Support the bust shape while drying; do not hang by thin straps alone if they stretch.
What not to do
No bleach. No fabric softener on elastane. No hot water. No dryer — heat kills stretch. Do not store damp in a plastic bag for days. Wet-bag for the flight home, then wash.
KEY does not partner with Soak, CUPSHE, or La Blanca. We do not invent lab stats. Care is hospitality to the clothes that hosted you.
Wash the suit. Wear it again next season.
