WAG How do gymnasts or their parents care for their gymnastics leotards and care for them before while and after wearing?

[BusyMomof2]

I wash my daughter's leotards with all her other clothes. If I see them when I'm moving clothes to the dryer, I will remove and let air dry. But I miss them allll the time. I do hand wash her competition leo but the rest are just laundry. No folding, definitely no hangers - they get stuffed into her very full leo drawer. Honestly, they are wearing just fine and I will pass them along if she every outgrows them (we're on year 2 or year 3 with some of them!).

 

[B&M's mom]

Yeah, practice leos got no special treatment. In with the regular laundry, sometimes in a lingerie bag, most often not. Regular detergent. In the dryer on low. In terms of folding, yeah, that didn't happen. Got shoved into the appropriate drawer or gym bag. We did lose some of the shine of the mystique ones but they didn't care. We had everything in terms of leos: hand me downs, brand new ones, mystique, velvet, nylon... All got the same treatment.

Comp leos, different story. I handwashed those with Woolite, rolled in towel to get excess water out, then hung when almost dry to complete drying. They got hung in closets.

 

[Summer01]

All of the practice Leos are washed with everything else on normal and dried with everything else on normal. My daughter has been the same size for 4 years now and her Leos still look like new. Her comp Leo I hand wash in the sink and dry on a rack on top of the dryer.

 

[LCsMom]

Competition leo gets hand washed and drip dried. Practice leos get washed with the regular wash. If it matters any my kid has been wearing some of the same practice leos for 5 years now. ..and yes, she has indeed grown... she insists they still fit. As long as they aren't see through or falling apart, who am I to argue?

 

[Katie]

Practice leos get washed on delectable sometimes with the laundry sometimes on their own. (I wash everything on this cycle) turning inside out is a good idea. Don’t put them in the dryer just hang them up. I just keep them on a regular hanger in the closet. A lot of the time though I strip them off after practice and stuff them in my gym bag then take them out and put them on again next time. Wearing them all day is fine but most girls don’t want to wear something tight and sweaty all day. For competition leotards hand wash cycle inside out then hang to dry. Try to only wash them a couple times a season if you can. Unless they get real sweaty/chalky you don’t have to wash them after every meet. Also leotards with iron ons on the chest tend to get cracked and ugly quickly on older girls.

 

[adult_gymnast_20]

I store mine rolled and then in a drawer. They're distinct enough that I know what's what by looking. My competition Leo got washed in a delicates bag and then tossed I the dryer, but I have Sensory Processing Disorder and so I can't wear things hung to dry. Al of my Leo's seem to survive just fine with the dryer. I have one that my have some dye bleed, but it has a serious pattern to it. And it's under my shorts, so I don't care. Do what works best for your family, and take care of the comp Leo and it'll take care of her!