Personal hygiene goes hand-in-hand when caring for intimate apparel. Certain detergents can cause skin irritations or damage the delicate textiles generally used to make undergarments. Thong underwear, albeit sexy and form-fitting, often pose care and laundering issues. Most underwear have "washable" fabric care labels -- this term generally translates to "hand wash only" for thongs. Although most washing machines include delicate cycles just as lingerie bags offer added protection, the agitation to the delicate fabric caused by the machine reduces elasticity and produces unwanted pilling.
Things You'll Need
Plastic tub
Hand washing detergent
Towel
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Step 1
Fill a sink or plastic tub with cold water. Pour several drops of hand washing detergent into the water. If your detergent suggests using the cap as your measuring guide, you will most likely have to fill half of it. If you are washing more than one thong, read your product's label for the suggested amount of detergent.
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Step 2
Dissolve the detergent by circulating the water with your hand. Be mindful that most delicate wash detergents do not create suds.
Step 3
Soak the thong in the solution and leave for your product's recommended time. Although most hand washing detergents recommend three to five minutes for deodorizing, read your product's instructions. If the thong is made of fine delicate fabric such as open-weave lace, avoid soaking the entire thong; soak only the underwear panel that rests against your skin for the recommended time, and simply dip the sections made of fine fabric into the solution to deodorize.
Step 4
Hand wash personal stains by gently scrubbing the panel that sits against your skin in a back and forth motion. For example, hold one end of the panel in your left hand and the other in your right. When the thong is soaked, gently scrub the two sides against each other until stains fade away. Repeat this step as needed.
Step 5
Squeeze the thong several times to release excess water.
Step 6
Run cold water and rinse the thong until all of the detergent is removed from the thong. Repeat this step until the thong is free of hand washing detergent.
Step 7
Place the thong flat on a towel to air-dry.