How to Protect Your Bathing Suit From Pool Chemicals

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By jonandshan
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Protect Your Bathing Suit From Pool Chemicals

I live in swimsuits. I lifeguard, teach water fit classes and teach swim classes several times a week. Unfortunately, the chemicals in the water is very hard on suits. Public pools have to keep chlorine and other corrosive chemicals high to counteract infectious disease. What is good for the health of the public is not so good on fabric. Read on for a few tricks to keep that suit looking good longer.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Step 1

Choose your suit wisely! You may need to spend more on a suit depending on how much you are in the pool. Suits from the local store won't last long if you are in the pool several times a week. If you find yourself addicted to a water fit class and you will be submerging your suit more than a couple days a week, I suggest ponying up the money for a specialty suit to a company such as h2owear.com (see additional resources for a couple of other companies). This particular company has a year guarantee on their suits. I've seen name brand suits last only 6 weeks, so it pays to know which companies suits can tolerate the chemicals.
Step 2

When you are buying a suit look for one made out of polyester. These hold up so much better than their non polyester counterparts.
Step 3

As soon as you get your suit, soak it in vinegar for 24 hours. Yes, you may smell like a salad the first time you wear it, but it will seal in the color so it will be less likely to fade.
Step 4

As soon as you get out of the pool rinse your suit in cool water and baking soda. This helps preserve the elasticity.
Step 5

NEVER NEVER NEVER put your suit in the washer or dryer. Rinse it out and let hang to dry. Also, never put it in a spinning machine that you often find in locker rooms. In the process of squeezing out the water they break down the fibers in your suit.
Step 6

It is a good idea to ask a trusted friend every so often to look at your rear to make sure your suit is not getting too thin. Often a suit loses color and elasticity in the rear first. It is an embarrassing situation as a lifeguard to have to ask someone to leave the pool because you can see right through their suit. You don't want that to happen to you!