Any point in not washing washed/treated denim

boston · Apr 10, 2005

Hello all:

I understand why not washing raw denim helps make the distressing more dramatic when you finally do wash it. But is there any point in not washing washed/treated denim?

I have a pair of jeans that came with some whiskering at the top and some distressing on the thighs. Not a lot, but some. Is there any point to not washing this jean because the indigo has pretty much done whatever it was going to do, or should I hold off to get more dramatic effects in the future?

thanks

-boston

Cake · Apr 10, 2005

Probably not. They've created the denim history for you, and you can't really change history. Your denim would typically have gone through any of several stages of rinsing (to strip any dye/starch), stone or enzyme washing, bleaching, sandblasting, micro sandblasting, and even more washing, etc to create that well worn look. Customers normally pay a premium to buy this history, so it behooves most companies to make the effects more or less permanent. The material will fade over time of course, but such fading will be more even due to repeated washings, however infrequent they may be.

Mike C. · Apr 10, 2005

I rarely wash my treated jeans, but that's due to laziness, nothing else. However, heavily treated jeans you won't want to wash as much because the effects on them are delicate; some of them wash out easy. So, either hand wash lightly or don't wash.

LA Guy · Apr 10, 2005

Treated jeans often undergo a final resin treatment to "lock in" the effect, so except for the expected fading, and if you wear jeans *really* hard so that additional whiskering (for me, they appear on the inner thighs,) the way I do, it's unlikely that the look of the jeans will change significantly even if you wash and tumble dry them.

rlevine · Apr 10, 2005

I agree with LA guy; I've had additional whiskering appear on my pre treated jeans after not washing them for a while. I would imagine if you want to keep your jeans dark, don't wash them too much.

ragcondesk · Apr 25, 2007

There is a great new special dark colour Woolite I always use. If your washing machine is new it should have a hand wash feature. Otherwise turning them inside-out and placing them in a net wash bag will result in keeping those clothes looking new.

One final note; ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS use a lint brush on EVERYTHING. You will be suprised as just how much better something as simple as a Diesel hoodie or PUMA sweatpants will look with this simple process.

Of course, I cannot say enough about Leather CPR. I have used this on new Ralph Lauren leather coats and pants as well as all my shoes and nothing short of AMAZED by the results. Look elsewhere for my in-depth post on this - the best IMHO - treatment for all your skins...

denimdestroyedmylife · Apr 25, 2007

um... when you buy pre-distressed diesel jeans, they advise you to wash infrequently, and inside out, to preserve the effects for which you are paying a premium.

so, yes, for the sake of maintaining the look of your pre-distressed jeans, don't wash often.

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Any point in not washing washed/treated denim

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