Recently, while attending a blogger’s conference downtown, my daughters and I went shopping at the newest downtown mall. There was a jeans-fitting event going on at Macy’s that day so we availed ourselves to the services of their in-house jeans fitting expert. Though the expert tried, this grandma couldn’t be talked into buying a pair of “skinny jeans” (but I did find a pair of bootcut jeans that we all found to be flattering for me.) The “jeans fitting expert” told us a couple of secrets about how to keep your new jeans looking NEW!

She told us that before wearing them, our new jeans should be turned inside-out and washed in cold water and plain white vinegar (no detergent.) After that, they  should be washed inside-out with a mild detergent made for dark clothing such as Henkel Perwoll Liquid Detergent For Dark Clothes. (It can be found on Amazon.com)  Then, about every third washing, they should be washed in just the cold water and vinegar again (with no detergent.)

For a small load, just add 1 c. white vinegar to cold water.  A large load would need about 2 cups white vinegar.

Be sure to always wash your jeans in cold water with other dark colors. Don’t worry about it leaving a vinegar smell. The vinegar will be rinsed out and will not be noticeable at the end of the wash cycle.

It also helps to keep the color from fading if you hang them to dry rather than use the dryer. The heat tends to fade the jeans. (I usually put my jeans in the dryer on low-heat for only about 4 -5 minutes, then remove them and hang them to dry.)

If you want to spiff them up a bit, iron them inside-out using your favorite spray starch! They will feel like NEW!