How to Wash Briefs – Hygiene and Durability

Short answer: Wash briefs after every wearing at 30 to 40 degrees with a mild detergent, and skip the tumble dryer. That is warm enough for good everyday hygiene and gentle enough that soft materials such as bamboo viscose keep their shape and softness for a long time.

Thirty to forty degrees is enough

Modern detergents clean effectively at low temperatures, and 30 to 40 degrees is therefore ample for briefs in ordinary daily wear. Bamboo viscose prefers a gentle wash precisely because the fibres are weaker when wet. See the range of bamboo briefs and check the care label on the individual item.

When 60 degrees makes sense

If a pair has to be washed hotter for hygiene reasons, during illness for instance, cotton is what tolerates it. Bamboo viscose should not be boil washed. If you need both in the drawer, the simplest answer is to keep a few cotton pairs for those situations and let the rest be bamboo.

Use less detergent than you think

Too much detergent does not rinse out and stays in the fibres, where it makes the fabric rough and can irritate the skin. Dose by the actual size of the load rather than by the machine's maximum capacity. A half empty machine needs less powder, not the same dose as a full one.

Fabric softener has to go entirely

Softener lays a film on the fibres that closes off the moisture transport, and that is the very property you paid for. The film can also irritate sensitive skin and give black pairs a grey cast. Bamboo viscose is soft already and needs no help.

A wash bag protects the edges

A wash bag stops small items from tangling in zips and hooks, and it is the edges and the elastic that suffer otherwise. It costs nothing and extends the lifespan noticeably, especially on models with thin straps or cut edges without a seam to hold them together.

Air drying is the most important habit

The dryer is harder on underwear than the wash itself. The heat breaks down the elastane in the waist and legs, and that is the part that gives up first. One round in the dryer costs more lifespan than ten washes at 30 degrees, and air drying only costs time.

Do not leave the laundry sitting

Laundry left damp in the machine gets its smell back before it is dry, and that goes for every material. Hang the pairs up as soon as the programme ends, and leave the machine door open between washes. It is the simplest hygiene rule of them all.

Change after training and on hot days

Hygiene is as much about how long a pair is worn as about how it is washed. After training and on hot days, a change at midday is worth more than a hotter wash afterwards. See the rest of the range under bamboo underwear for women. See also washing guide for bamboo clothing and bamboo and economy.