How do gymnasts or their parents care for their workout leotards while wearing and after?

[Bdndogs]

I am new to the gymnastics scene and leotards and everything and as I don’t know much have some questions. When wearing a workout leotard is there anything to do or not do while wearing it or anything to know to care for it so it doesn’t get ruined? Can you wear it after practice for the rest of the day? Once you have gotten out of your workout leotard is there anything you need to do to it? How do you wash a gymnastics leotard? Do you wash it in the washer? Do you use a special laundry soap specifically for gymnastics leotards? Can you just chunk them in the dryer? How do you store them when they are waiting to be worn? Do you hang them? If so is there special hangers for gymnastics leotards? If not do you fold them? How do you fold a gymnastics leotard if so? If you have any advice, Tips, tricks or what ever or able to answer my questions that would be very helpful!!

 

[Caledi]

I can only speak for myself, but I basically treated them the same as bathing suits. Wash in the washing machine (maybe in a delicates bag), air/hang dry, no need to hang them up to store them (I don’t even think it’s practical to fold them since they’re so stretchy). I was always taught not to wear leotards after practice because I was told that it’s bad for you to be so squeezed all the time (admittedly that’s not very specific, so who knows if that’s true).

 

[Passion]

We just washed them, dried them, chucked them in a drawer.

 

[KristyJ]

They’re usually pretty low maintenance- see the bathing suit comment. Even the sparkly ones I would wash on delicate cycle. A few times at gymnastics camps I hand washed them and dried them with a hair dryer if I was low on leos. It’s definitely best practice to change after a workout, not so much for the leotard’s sake, but to get out of sweaty/chalky gear.

 

[LunaCaelum]

The fancy sparkly competition ones you should probably be careful with, maybe hand wash depending on the fabric used. But workout ones you can machine wash, but I’d recommend hang dry, sometimes they can shrink (granted it’s been awhile for me, so I don’t know what the current leo market is like).

Also I’d recommend changing out of it for several reasons, it might help prolong the life of the leo (especially if, like a lot of gymnasts, you wear a size down and stretch it to fit), it needs to be washed relatively soon (sometimes they can hold on to smells), and it’s better for your skin to let it breath (the chalk dust and fabric and stuff might be irritating too if you have sensitive skin).

 

[Sparklesmom]

I wash them in their own load (well with leggings and other athletic wear) and hang to dry. They get tossed in a drawer after they are dry. Comp Leo washed alone and hung to dry then put back in garmet bag.