If you are used to throwing your underwear in the washer along with the rest of your clothes, it’s time to change that. To achieve their silky soft texture, most underwear is made with delicate fabric that requires special care. 

Washing underwear the same way you do your other clothes will reduce its lifespan. It will shrink, lose elasticity, and the fabric gets weak and tears more easily. 

If you want your boxers or briefs to stay snug and last a long time, follow our guide on how to wash underwear for men. 

Wash Underwear Separately 

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is mixing underwear with the rest of your laundry. This exposes your underwear to high wash temperatures and a high spin, which can damage them. 

The underwear can also get tangled up with other items, which causes it to be pulled and tangled as the drum spins. 

There’s also the risk of cross contamination from other clothes. Your underwear is in contact with a sensitive area of your body. Washing it with a pair of grimy pants or smelly gym wear is not ideal. 

Always wash your underwear separately. This means putting your dirty boxer briefs away and washing them about once a week. You can also wash underwear with other delicate items like an undershirt and socks. 

If you have to wash underwear with other clothes, set a lower temperature (not more than 104F) and lower the spin speed as well. To protect underwear from tangling, put it in a mesh laundry bag like this one on Amazon.

Use a Gentle Cycle 

To protect your delicate underwear from shrinking and damage, launder it in cold or warm water. Anything past 104F is too hot. Also lower spin spin speed to 600-900 rpm. Or you could just select the gentle setting on your washing machine.  

Note that some types of underwear are more delicate than others. Cotton and polyester underwear can handle a higher temp of 90-110F. But other fabrics like silk, wool or bamboo should be washed in cold water (60-80F). 

Always check the care label for cleaning instructions. 

Hand Wash Extra Delicate Underwear

If you have very delicate underwear made from silk or merino wool, consider hand washing them. It’s even better than a gentle cycle in a washer. 

These types of underwear are more expensive, so you want them to last as long as possible. Hand washing in cold or warm water then hang drying provides the best protection. 

Avoid Fabric Softeners and Chlorine Bleach 

We have discussed before why you should ditch fabric softeners. They reduce your washing machine’s cleaning performance, they trap odors in clothes, and can cause skin reactions. 

All these are problems you don't want in your underwear. Certain types of underwear like our antimicrobial Kribi boxer briefs can also stain when they come into contact with softeners. 

Avoid using any fabric softener in the wash cycle. If your boxers have a funk that won’t go away, add some vinegar during the rinse cycle.   

The other laundry accoutrement to avoid is chlorine bleach. It is fantastic for whitening whites and disinfecting clothes, but chlorine bleach also weakens fibers and reduces the lifespan of clothes. It is especially harsh on delicate underwear. 

If you want to fight stains, use oxygen bleach instead. It’s much gentler on clothes. If you want to sanitize underwear, oxygen bleach does that, too. You can also use laundry sanitizer like Lysol.

Hang Drying over Tumble Drying Whenever Possible

It is safe to put most types of underwear in the tumble dryer. But it is not ideal. The heat is not good for the delicate fabric. 

If you have to use a dryer, always set it on low heat or a gentle cycle. But if you can, hang drying is the best option particularly for extra-delicate underwear. Just make sure your underwear is completely dry before you put it away.