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Rinse the suit in cool fresh water as soon as you leave the ocean. Then hand wash it with a mild detergent, press the water out without wringing, and dry it flat in the shade. Those four steps remove salt, and they avoid the heat, harsh chemicals and sun that wear out stretch fabric. The rest of this guide covers the details: what each step does, what to skip, how to deal with stains and smells, and how to carry a wet suit home.
Salt water is not an instant problem, but it adds up. A textile scientist writing in The Conversation explains that high salinity drives oxidation and other chemical reactions that lead to discoloration and fabric degradation, and that sun exposure makes it worse.
The damage shows up as loss of stretch. Wirecutter attributes long-term stretching loss to fiber degradation from prolonged exposure to salt, minerals and chlorine. The Guardian makes the same link between leaving salt and chlorine in the suit and sagging caused by damaged fibers.
So the goal is simple: get the salt out soon, gently, and without anything that harms elastic fibers.
The first rinse does the most work. Wirecutter advises rinsing in fresh water immediately after you come out of the ocean or pool, which removes some of the chemicals, salt and sand before a proper wash.
Wirecutter adds a useful detail. Pre-rinsing can fill the fabric’s filaments with fresh water, so the suit takes up less salty or chlorinated water if you get back in.
How to do it:
If you wear the suit under a cover-up on the way back, the rinse can wait until you are at the hotel or home. Do it the same day.
A rinse removes most salt. A wash removes what stays behind: sunscreen, body oils and the residue that builds up in the fabric.
The Conversation recommends hand washing with a mild detergent and avoiding highly acidic or alkaline products, bleach and fabric softeners.
For a short version of this routine, our guide 6 steps to wash swimwear takes 5 to 10 minutes. If you are wondering about a washing machine, we compare the two methods in hand wash vs machine wash for swimwear.
| Do not use | Why |
|---|---|
| Hot water | Heat makes fibers brittle and stretches elastane |
| Bleach | Listed by The Conversation among products to avoid on swimwear |
| Fabric softener | Leaves a coating that clogs the fabric, traps odors and bacteria and degrades elastane |
| Wringing | Twisting stresses the fibers. Press or roll instead |
| Machine dryer | Heat damages stretchy synthetics, unless the machine has a no-heat option |
| Direct sun while drying | Sunlight can speed up damage and fading |
Wirecutter’s method is to lay the suit flat on a towel, roll the towel up so it absorbs the excess water, and then let the suit dry completely before you put it away.
Then:
For more on speed and shape, see our guide to drying swimsuits safely. A padded or lined bikini top takes longer to dry than a thin bottom, so give it extra time.
Sometimes salt dries into a pale, stiff mark, especially on dark swimwear and cover-ups. Treat it quickly. The Spruce, citing cleaning professionals, says to wash stained clothes as soon as possible with your regular detergent to remove salt residue and prevent fading.
For small stains, The Spruce suggests dabbing a mild detergent solution on with a cloth, avoiding rubbing, then blotting away the soapy residue and air drying.
For swimwear, use the same gentle approach as above: cool water and mild detergent only. If the mark is sunscreen rather than salt, our page on removing sunscreen stains covers it. If the color looks dull after a season, how to prevent swimsuit fading explains how to protect it.
A swimsuit that smells after drying usually has residue left in it, or it stayed damp too long. Wirecutter warns against leaving a wet suit balled up in a plastic bag or buried in the hamper. It says this stresses the fabric, encourages mildew and lets odors set.
If the suit already smells:
Chlorine smell is a separate case, with its own fixes. We cover it in how to remove chlorine from a swimsuit.
The best option is to rinse the suit, press out the water and let it dry before packing. When that isn’t possible, because you are checking out or heading to the airport, contain the moisture.
A packing method from Keepdrybag works well:
Once you arrive, unpack it. The same source advises that if you cannot dry the items within 24 hours, you should open the pouch, spread the contents out and air them for an hour. A suit that stays sealed for days is the one that smells.
A pouch can leak if it is shaken hard or turned upside down. Put it in an outer pocket or on top of your other items, not underneath them.
Before a beach trip, many people also schedule other grooming, such as bikini area treatments, so everything is done before packing.
Swimwear is made to be worn in water. It is not made to be left in it. Most damage we see in swimsuits comes from what happens after the swim: a suit left wet in a bag, put in a hot dryer, or wrung out hard.
Our approach is simple. Rinse first. Wash by hand. Press the water out. Dry flat in the shade. It takes a few minutes, and it protects the fit, the color and the shape of a piece.
This is why we design each piece with attention to detail and quality, and why we publish care guides next to our collections. A piece built to last deserves care that helps it last.
Lital
Bikinis. Tops and bottoms often have ties, hardware or padding. Rinse them together, but wash gently so the strings don’t tangle. Lay padded tops flat. See our bikini collection.
One-piece swimsuits. Pay attention to seams, straps and lined areas, where salt water sits longest. Dry flat rather than hanging by the straps, which can stretch them. See the one-piece swimsuits.
Men’s swim shorts. Rinse the waistband, pockets and inner lining, which hold salt and sand. Turn the shorts inside out to dry. See men’s swim shorts.
Cover-ups. Salt, sand and sunscreen transfer from a damp suit to a cover-up. Wash it gently, using the same mild detergent and cool water. See our cover-ups.
If you swim in the ocean daily on vacation, a short routine works better than a long one.
This keeps salt from setting in the fabric and keeps odors from building up.
L’ANIMAL is a swimwear label created by designer and stylist Lital Simel-Rhedrick. We make swimwear for women and men: bikinis, one-piece swimsuits, men’s swim shorts, cover-ups and resortwear, plus collaboration collections with online fashion influencers.
For your next trip, browse the bikini collection, the BÄDĒ SUIT or the full range at lanimal.co. Free shipping applies on all US orders over $150.
Over time, yes. According to The Conversation, high salinity causes oxidation and other reactions that lead to discoloration and degradation, and sun makes it worse. A quick rinse in cool fresh water after each swim limits this.
Rinse it every time. A full hand wash with mild detergent is a good idea after each day of wear, since the rinse alone won’t remove all sunscreen and body oils. Wirecutter says rinsing first removes some chemicals, salt and sand before a proper wash.
Wash it as soon as possible in cool water with mild detergent. For small marks, dab with a mild detergent solution and blot, without rubbing, then air dry. Avoid hot water, bleach and the dryer.
Press out the water, roll the suit in a microfiber towel, and seal it in a waterproof pouch. Pack it away from dry clothes and electronics. Unpack and air it as soon as you arrive.
No. Heat damages the stretchy synthetic fibers in swimwear. Wirecutter advises avoiding dryers unless the machine has a no-heat option. Dry flat in the shade instead.
