Expert reveals the simple washing hack to make your denim jeans last longer

Denim is a staple piece in many people’s wardrobes and is always a safe bet when figuring out what to wear. They are staple in many people's closets, they have paved the way forward for many style trends that continue to shape the fashion industry.

However, washing and cleaning jeans can be a tricky task especially if it's embellished or customised, they often can become faded or stiff in the process. There's nothing more frustrating than finding the perfect pair of jeans and then destroying them in the wash.

Fashion experts at Gap have shared five expert-backed recommendations for washing denim:

Key tricks to avoid ruining your favourite denim jeans include only hand washing them once every 10 years and to handwash them.

Denim Cleaning Guide:

Avoid washing too often

Over-washing can damage embellishments like sequins and beads, In most cases, giving clothing a small spot wash, or a good airing out by hanging them on a washing line for a few hours, will give clothing the boost it needs to be worn again.

Despite denim being a hard wearing fabric, it’s also recommended to wash this fabric as little as possible, even as little as every 10 wears.

Handwashing is preferred 

Handwashing is the only way to protect any delicate details and embellishments from damage. Cold hand washing helps to prevent damage to any adhesives and can reduce the chances of shrinkage.

The process is as simple as submerging your outfit in cool water with detergent but keep your soaking time to a minimum to prevent damage to beading and embellishments. If there’s a specific stain to get out, gently massage the area but be mindful of more delicate fabrics and avoid ‘scrubbing’ motions.

 Washing machine guidance 

Certain embellished and delicate fabric clothing will be labelled as being washing machine safe. In this instance, it’s always best to be safe rather than sorry and place your clothing inside a clothing wash bag or a pillowcase works just as well. This allows for an additional layer of protection for any sequins or beading and can prevent fabrics with a sheen from losing their shine.

When putting your denim in the wash, zips and buttons should be closed on denim when washing to avoid any snagging on other clothing or any damage to the zips and buttons themselves.

The rules for more delicate fabrics are slightly different though, zips should be done up but buttons should remain open to avoid causing potential strain on the delicate fabrics which could cause buttons to become loose, or elastic loop button holes to detach from the fabric.

Avoid fabric softener

Whether it’s a custom denim number or a delicate sequin design, the rules are the same when it comes to fabric softener - do not add it to your wash if you’re washing custom-made designs.

Fabric softener can change the texture of denim and damage the surface of velvets and satin, so best to avoid this in your washes.

Never tumble dry

You should never tumble dry your denim, it could cause shrinkage and loss of shape. The best method is to lay your denim flat or air dry outside.Avoiding the tumble dryer is also true for more delicate fabrics as well as embellished clothing. The fast spin of a tumble dryer is just asking for embellishments to become loose and damaged, plus the heat can cause shrinkage and fading.