Parents Leo question

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My DD loves Plum leos. We bought two last year and they still look brand new and fit her well, even after a major growth spurt. And the price is right for us.

I also don't hand wash leos. The do pull them out and hang dry them when I see them as I am loading the dryer, but 1 usually gets missed and goes through the dryer. When our housekeeper or my husband does laundry, DD's leos all go through the dryer. All her leos still look pretty new, besides the ones that she received as hand-me-downs from older teammates. But we also only use fragrance & dye free gentle detergent and wash all our colors on cold. That might make the difference.
 
Walmart has Leos for 10-12 dollars. My daughter uses them and they work great.
We buy most practice leotards from Wal-Mart also. We love that they usually have matching sets of leotards and shorts both for under $15. Never had any issues with them wearing out any faster than the 30-50 dollar ones that are usually Christmas or birthday gifts.
 
We buy most practice leotards from Wal-Mart also. We love that they usually have matching sets of leotards and shorts both for under $15. Never had any issues with them wearing out any faster than the 30-50 dollar ones that are usually Christmas or birthday gifts.
Glad they work so well for your dd. My dd tried the Walmart leos on and they did not fit her at all. The fabric was super thin and the cut was awful for her.
 
I NEVER put leos in the dryer, never ever. They shrink and the shiny comes off. My dd's favorites are Snowflake and Ozone. We also love Melody Leotards--very inexpensive and you get to design your own. We've had a couple for 4 years and they look like new (but of course, I NEVER dry them in the dryer. Every leo tag tells you how to wash them.) I can't afford to put mine in the dryer.
Dang. My kid's go in the dryer every dang time...and they always turn out fine.
 
Not to cause trouble, but I just find this hard to believe. They all shrink, and the shiny comes off, and they fade. I've only accidentally put one in the dryer, and it shrunk. My daughter was not happy.
None of my kid's have, and even her expensive one with sequins on it that i wanted to make a conscious effort about....well...i spaced it....turned out just fine and no loss of sequins either. Perhaps it is because our dryer is old, and sucks. Maybe the newer models are more intense? Who knows!:D
 
I think a big thing to avoid is softener and dryer sheets. Those can do a lot of damage to certain fabrics. I am assuming that those who did not see damage weren't using those.
 
I think a big thing to avoid is softener and dryer sheets. Those can do a lot of damage to certain fabrics. I am assuming that those who did not see damage weren't using those.
Yep... We use vinegar in the fabric softener holder and don't use dryer sheets because of allergies.
The vinegar helps with odor removal.
Wash on cold. Double rinse (just to make 110% sure vinegar smell is gone).
Dry 20 minutes in dryer and remove promptly.
 
I think a big thing to avoid is softener and dryer sheets. Those can do a lot of damage to certain fabrics. I am assuming that those who did not see damage weren't using those.

I have always washed leos in the washing machine (on cold), with Gain detergent AND fabric softener, along with DD regular clothes. I then dry it all on low or medium heat. We have never had a Leo shrink, and there is no noticeable color, shine, or bling loss (I would not deny that there could be a slight loss of mystique brilliance that may not be super noticeable). DD wears 99% GK.

I am so intrigued by those who refuse to believe that shrinkage doesn't occur in dryers, that I have really been tempted to buy 2 identical leos, measure them, wash and dry one, and then compare the results. But that sounds like a lot of work to test out / prove my experience :)
 
For hand washing my kid's competition leo I recently switched to Soak, a low-sudsing detergent. It is marketed as rinse-free, but I still rinse anyway. Never scrub, twist, or wring; roll in a towel to get the excess water out, then air-dry.

If you want to try a rinse-free detergent, make sure it is not one of the lanolin-containing detergents designed for knitwear (Eucalan is the brand that comes to mind). The lanolin will break down the synthetic fabric of a leo.
 
I have always washed leos in the washing machine (on cold), with Gain detergent AND fabric softener, along with DD regular clothes. I then dry it all on low or medium heat. We have never had a Leo shrink, and there is no noticeable color, shine, or bling loss (I would not deny that there could be a slight loss of mystique brilliance that may not be super noticeable). DD wears 99% GK.

I am so intrigued by those who refuse to believe that shrinkage doesn't occur in dryers, that I have really been tempted to buy 2 identical leos, measure them, wash and dry one, and then compare the results. But that sounds like a lot of work to test out / prove my experience :)

I believe these materials shrink in the dryer:

Cotton
From the cotton plant; soft, fluffy, off-white color; considered a staple fabric globally
Hemp
From the hemp plant; off-white color; texture similar to Linen; illegal to grow without a permit
Linen
Made from the flax plant; off-white color; drapes nicely; feels heavy and threaded
Wool
Sheep's hair; white in color; soft and fluffy, but may feel itchy to some
Mohair
Goat's hair; soft and silky; multiple natural colors; luxury item
Cashmere
Cashmere goat hair; light, soft, and strong; multiple colors; luxury item

Synthetic materials usually do not shrink. I do believe the heat of a dryer could melt some leo fabrics or reduce shin. Gentle wash cycle can't be as hard on the leo as DD is during gym.
 
I believe these materials shrink in the dryer:

Cotton
From the cotton plant; soft, fluffy, off-white color; considered a staple fabric globally
Hemp
From the hemp plant; off-white color; texture similar to Linen; illegal to grow without a permit
Linen
Made from the flax plant; off-white color; drapes nicely; feels heavy and threaded
Wool
Sheep's hair; white in color; soft and fluffy, but may feel itchy to some
Mohair
Goat's hair; soft and silky; multiple natural colors; luxury item
Cashmere
Cashmere goat hair; light, soft, and strong; multiple colors; luxury item

Synthetic materials usually do not shrink. I do believe the heat of a dryer could melt some leo fabrics or reduce shin. Gentle wash cycle can't be as hard on the leo as DD is during gym.
Spandex shrinks. Lycra shrinks. I know. I've seen it. I've WORN it after the fact. (Polyester does not shrink.)

I still just don't believe that everyone just tosses their leos in the washer/dryer like an old t-shirt. Blows my mind.
 
Im fairly new to the gymnastics world and most of my DD's leos have been hand-me-downs from friends so far. But she needs some new ones. My other DDs are swimmers and we buy Dolfin "Uglies" for practice suits--they are cheap, comfy, and last a long time. Is there an equivalent gymnastics leo brand? Cheap, comfy and lasts for a while and possibly can handle more than a few accidental trips through the dryer?

Check out www.spiritsport.co.uk Brand new leotard retailer which offers world wide shipping! Their great quality and not too expensive ☺️
 
Spandex shrinks. Lycra shrinks. I know. I've seen it. I've WORN it after the fact. (Polyester does not shrink.)

I still just don't believe that everyone just tosses their leos in the washer/dryer like an old t-shirt. Blows my mind.

Most of my daughters leos go in the wash with all her clothes and get hung up to dry. Sometimes I miss one. Never had an issue. But then again, I try not to spend more than $20 on a practice leo (comp leos are always handwash).
 
I don't like to put leos in the regular wash because we have had some issues with color transfer from the leos. I put practice leos in a zippered laundry pouch made of densely woven mesh and wash them in cold water on the delicate cycle with dark colors, then hang to dry.
 
I hand wash practice leotards when they're new to avoid any color transfer - it's happened to us - and actually ALL new clothes at least get washed separately with like colors the first 1-2 times.

Once they're not "new", they get machine washed in cold w/Dreft in a regular load (skin sensitivities here) in a delicates bag. Delicates bag is mostly an attempt to avoid any loss of sequins. I usually hang them to dry, but occasionally a couple sneak through when my DH switches loads. ;)

We used to just dry the leos (...we do with swimsuits), and I can tell a BIG difference between the two over time. That said, we do use dryer sheets, especially in winter.

Comp leos get a quick hand wash and then lay flat to dry. It's worth the 5-10 minutes of effort for me to not worry about it!
 
We use the washer and dryer for all practice leos with no issues. A mix of Snowflake and Destira has good sales and my daughter says they are comfortable. Target has some gymnastics leos by their ballet stuff for 15.99 so we grab those too sometimes.
 
We machine wash and hang dry all leos including the comp leo. All but that one occasionally end up in the dryer. We've never had a leo shrink.

Foil and mystique definitely dull. Even the ones that are never dried will dull, just slower. Holding the leo up next to the scrunci that came with it is always a shock!
 
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