Here at AEE we certainly don’t mind spending a small fortune on beautiful bras and panties. Because we’re worth it! Our lingerie is an investment which protects our investments! But what about when it comes to taking care of our beautiful underpinnings? Do you know how to properly launder your delicate bras and panties?
I have to admit that until recently, more often than not I had been machine washing mine, and with regular detergent 😦 Granted, I was using the Delicate cycle and washing only my bras in that load. However, that was not the best way to care for my coveted collection of lingerie; regular laundry detergent is harsh on delicate fabrics, using the machine is not energy efficient at all, and frankly, it wasn’t very convenient as I needed to wait until I had a reasonable amount of dirty sets to warrant starting a load.
When Soak kindly offered to send me some of their products I was excited to try a better way than what I had been doing.
Images courtesy of Soak
Soak has a fabulous website with so much great information! I read with interest the section entitled Soak School where you can learn all sorts of uses for your Soak Wash as well as laundering tips.
I am very pleased to tell you that Soak is a Canadian company and its products are made right here in Canada. Don’t fear if you are not in Canada, as they are very widely available at retailers worldwide (check for availability near you HERE), and you can also order on-line. If you are in Canada, Soak is widely available at Sears. I checked. Its there. 😉
To hand wash your lingerie using Soak Wash, you simply add about a capful of Soak into your wash basin, swish it around a bit and let it soak for 15 minutes or so. The detergent particles will grab onto the dirt particles in your lingerie, pull them out, attach them to the water and remove them from your lingerie. Although Soak is a no rinse product, they do recommend that you rinse your lingerie and this is simply because your lingerie sits right against your most sensitive bits. Disclosure: lazy me tried both rinsing and not rinsing and had no adverse reaction to not rinsing (your experience may vary). The no rinse feature is very helpful when washing bulkier items for example a favourite hand knit blanket so that there is much less wear and tear on the item you are washing since you have avoided all of that plunging and squeezing from trying to get rids of the excess suds with traditional detergents. If you are really anti-hand washing, you can also use Soak in your machine.
I’ve been using my kitchen sink and washing several bras at a time using a capful of Soak each time.
This is has been such an incredibly hot summer that I have been using only my unlined bras in an effort to dress as lightly as possibly. However, I ‘only’ own 7 or so of this style and so I run out fairly quickly. I don’t wear my bras more than once between washes even in the winter and certainly not in this hot, sweaty weather we’ve been having . I have found that by quickly hand washing a few bras every couple of nights, I’ve been able to keep a fresh, clean supply at all times. Its been really nice, and not a lot of work at all! Honestly! I’ve also been hand washing my sport bra rotation and having less excuses not to hit the gym 😉
After I wash my bras, I’ve actually been putting them in my salad spinner to spin out the majority of the water and this has been working really well for me. I then hang them by their gores on my wooden drying rack and the next morning, they are dry, fresh and ready to wear again.
Soak generously sent me a bottle of Soak Wash to test in each of their five scents, well four scents really because unscented isn’t really a scent. There is definitely a scent for everyone (or unscented obviously if you don’t care for scent or have sensitivities). Here are the scents, starting with my personal favourite: Lacey (combines spring blossoms with sweet bergamot), Yuzu (a citrus / eucalyptus blend), Celebration (my daughter’s favourite) (sweet smelling and inspired by the essence of Red Tea), Fig (described as being ripened with sweet fig and lychee and crowned by dandelions), and of course Scentless, which naturally smells . . . scentless. The scents all smelled light and pretty in my opinion. I thought that Celebration and Yuzu were the strongest smelling of the lot but each one, on my dried bras, left only a very, very light smell after they had dried. These scents are more to be enjoyed as you are doing your hand washing, and then are designed to fade away so that they don’t overpower, or compete with your own perfume.
Since all Soak products are made in a stringently regulated Health Canada Skincare certified facility and are very gentle, I have even tested my Soak Wash on my poodle!
She was lovely and soft and sweet after I was done with her. My daughter had amassed a few very special autographed t-shirts this Summer and so I’ve been hand washing those for her in Soak also. I’ve also used Soak Wash to wash my makeup brushes.
In addition to the Soak Wash, I also received a bottle of their Handmaid Hand Cream in the scent Fig (all scents outlined above are also available in the Handmaid hand cream).
I use hand cream fairly obsessively, even in Summer so I was very pleased to receive this item. I could instantly feel that there was shea butter in the hand cream. It was moisturizing, not sticky (a pet peeve of mine) and what I really appreciated was that it dried quickly and left no slippery feel on my hands so that I could get back to my exciting (I’m kidding) office job without delay.
I was also lucky enough to be sent a bottle of Flatter Smoothing Spray in the scent Yuzu.
Flatter works as an ironing aid to relax wrinkles. Ironing, frankly isn’t exactly my favourite chore so anything that helps is appreciated. It did indeed work very well to relax wrinkles and I loved the light scent it left. Flatter also leaves fabric static free so this will be fantastic to have on hand during the winter months.
I was very surprised at the variety of products that Soak sells. You seriously must check out their ‘Soak Box’ gift sets for some really great and unique gift ideas!
Isn’t that pretty? That set sells for $59 CAD and includes a bottle of the Soak Wash, the Handmaid hand cream, a lacy thong and a bottle of Essie nail polish. Love it!
The full size Soak Wash (375 mL) retails for $16 CAD and lasts for up to 75 loads so it will last you a good, long time. 90mL travel size bottles retail for $10 CAD each and last for 18+ washes. The travel bottles are a great way to try a few different scents and see which one you like best.
After trying my Soak products for the last few weeks, I can whole-heartedly recommend them. If you don’t already use Soak, I hope you’ll give it a try!
An Enhanced Experience 