Bathing suit question

[emilygrace]

I read somewhere that someone soaked their new bathing suit in vinegar to make it colorfast so it wouldn't fade from all the chemicals in the pools and hot tubs. Does anyone know about this? Is it pure vinegar and then you rinse it, or is it a vinegar: water ratio. I've never used the pool or hot tubs on any of my cruises, probably because we were not in warm climates, but I'll be in the Southern Caribbean this fall, so I'll need that pool!:eek:

 

Thanks for any help!

Carol

[MonDreamr1]

Haven't tried it myself, but your post made me wonder... so I googled it.. it seems to be 2 tablespoons of white vinegar to 1 quart of cold fresh water.

 

 

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=swimsuit+vinegar

[Bucknerbunch]

Most of the pools are salt water and don't have chemicals to fade, the hot tubs are a whole different story

[pcur]

Yes, we had a thread a while back on the Cruise Fashions board about this.

 

I've used vinegar for decades to "set" colors in fabric for sewing or readymade clothes.

 

I don't bother with measuring. I put the fabric in the washing machine, fill it on "light load" for the least amount of water, pour in some white vinegar, and run it through the wash cycle. The vinegar also cleans out the inside of the washing machine, too.

 

To really make sure about the color, after it's filled with water, let it agitate to mix the vinegar and water, then turn the machine off and let it soak, or use the "pres-soak" cycle if you have one.

 

Then you might want to rewash it on with a little soap to get any vinegar smell out, but your rinse cycle should have done the trick.

[CanadianMAG]

I soak all my dark clothes in vinegar when I buy them and before I ever wash them, especially my dark jeans.

 

I fill the laundry tub half full of water and 2 cups of vinegar and soak it overnight.

 

I wouldnt be to concerned about putting too much vinegar in the tub it won't ruin it.

[zotzer]

Any dead-head who makes tie-dyes has known this secret forever. :)

 

hmmmmm, hope I am not giving way too much info about myself. LOL

 

Tracy

[Hoyaheel]

Been there, tie-dyed that;) My favorite summertime high school hobby!

 

I've also used a salt water bath to set colors, but I think vinegar works better.

 

I'm so glad that a) our home hot tub doesn't use chlorine or bromine; and b) I don't have to wear a swimsuit in it anyway:D

[Keksie]

I always make sure and rinse off in the showers at the pool as soon as I get out and as soon as I change I wash it out with a little shampoo. It really seems to help keep the damage from the pools/tubs to a minimum.

[emilygrace]

Thanks so much for all of your answers! I knew the pools on RCCL are salt water, but we are going to be on X, on the Infinity, and I wanted to try the Thalassotherapy pool and I heard that the chemicals are pretty strong in it. I am now going to soak all of my new bathing suits in the water/vinegar solution. I swim almost every day April-October, but our pool has a good balance of chemicals and I rinse off as soon as I get out and soak my suit in water when I get home. But I have a couple of new suits this year and wanted to keep them from fading too fast.

[atticus]

Wow! Does this hold true for black all cotton tee shirts and sweaters?

 

It would be nice to get more than one season out of these clothes before they've faded out.

[pcur]

Yes, it does! Also, check your laundry soap and see if it's the "safe for colors bleach" variety. They do tend to fade the colors with repeated use.

[desperatehousewife]

this is great.... Ihad NEVER heard this but it makes sense!!! I have dyed some things before in the washing machine with RIT dye, and it always tells you to do the vinegar thing.

Thanks to the OP and all the replies because this is great news!I love the idea of doing this to other things too!