That moment I realized I'd been washing my denim jacket all wrong for years

I finally noticed how faded and weird my favorite denim jacket from 2019 looked compared to my buddy's same model, and he said he never washes his denim only spot cleans it and sticks it in the freezer. Now I feel like an idiot for tossing it in the machine every other month has anyone else ruined a good jacket this way?

3 comments

3 Comments

margaretramirez1mo ago

That "freezer trick" your buddy mentioned actually does help kill bacteria without wrecking the fabric. I switched to spot cleaning and maybe one gentle wash per year for my denim and noticed way less fading. Your machine washes every few months definitely stripped the indigo faster than normal wear would have.

ryanm601mo ago

Are you really seeing that much difference between washing a few times a year versus once a year? I've got jeans I've washed maybe three times total over five years and they look basically the same as ones I tossed in the machine every couple months. The fading on denim happens mostly from wear and friction anyway, not just water and soap. Freezing might kill some bacteria but it's not like a hot wash is going to nuke the indigo out of good quality denim in one go. I think people get way too hung up on this "never wash your jeans" thing.

jamie_adams1mo ago

Seems like overthinking a pair of pants to me.