Clean Bra Calculator

How often you clean your bras and bralettes can be a contentious topic among some people. The internet is awash with studies, surveys and tips from experts who provide conflicting or vague advice, making it difficult to work out how often you should be washing your lingerie.

The truth is your cleaning routine should be different to everyone else’s, as there is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to bra care. Your cleaning routine will differ depending on lots of lifestyle factors, from how long you spend in your bra to if you wear fake tan, how often you sweat to how active your day-to-day life is. 

Our recent research reveals that 45% of bra wearers wash their bras just once every three weeks, and so we wanted to create a useful resource to act as a guide for your personalised lingerie washing routine.

 As a general rule of thumb, bras should be washed every two to three wears to keep your garments as hygienic as possible. But, if your lifestyle factors and wearing habits aren’t too strenuous and you don’t wear a bra for great periods, then you may be able to go longer in between washes.  

To discover how often you should be washing your bras based on your lifestyle and habits, we have created the Clean Bra Calculator to give you a completely tailored solution to how often you should be giving your lingerie some TLC.  

Simply answer our quick set of questions below to help us gauge how you spend your time in your bra, and we will provide you with a bra-cleaning routine that works specifically for you and your bras.

Hand-washing is the only fail-safe option when it comes to making your favourite items last as long as possible. The main reasons you should roll up your sleeves and get soapy: 

Too much washing at high temperatures or on a non-delicate cycle can stretch the elastic fibres over time, shortening the lifetime of your bra. 

Hooks can get caught at the back of the drum, causing them to bend or break. 

Straps can get caught around other clothes, causing them to over-stretch.

Believe it or not, despite the manual labour required, hand-washing your bras can be more time-efficient than using a washing machine.

Just fill a sink with cool water. Drop in some hand-wash liquid lingerie detergent or any other mild detergent. Pop in your dirty bras (ideally with the clasps fastened so they can’t snag anywhere they shouldn’t) and give them a little swirl around in the water. Soak for 10 minutes, then gently rub them all over, concentrating on the underarms and back band.

Rinse in cool, clean water, then give a gentle squeeze to remove some of the water (but no twisting or wringing as this can damage the elastic).

Lay the bra on a clean, dry towel and roll it up to soak up even more excess moisture. Then reshape the bra ready for drying.

The main thing to remember is to never tumble dry your bra. It misshapes the bra, stretches the elastic and can even melt the wire. Instead, you should try to dry it on the line or hang it on a coat hanger, without hanging by the straps to avoid stretching them. 

You can read our full lingerie and swimwear care guide here.

Survey data: Via Censuswide survey conducted June 2024.  

All information sourced from in-house Pour Moi experts.