Parents How to care for leos made with shiny Mystique fabric?

[NMNorskie]

Hi--I am new here. I have been lurking here for a couple of months and have learned a ton, which is great because I am totally new to gymnastics. So thank you!

I have a brand new gymmie , and we have had fun buying leos for her. Her favorites are the shiny kind made of a fabric called Mystique, and she has a few now that need to be washed. I've been putting it off because I'm not sure what to do with them. They're kind of expensive, so I want to make sure I'm caring for them properly so they last.

We have a fairly new front-load washer that does a nice job with delicates (no agitator), but I'm not sure what sort of detergent to use. We normally use the All dye-free detergent pods (the kind that dissolve in the wash). Will those be too harsh? I thought maybe Woolite, but is that just for wool? Is there a special kind of detergent for these?

I really have no idea what I'm doing. I'm used to t-shirts and jeans (most of which cost far less than these new leos). Help!

 

[mommyof1]

I wash my gymmie's practice leos in cold water on the delicate cycle in a mesh bag (the kind made for washing sweaters) with Method detergent and line-dry them. They seem to hold up just fine. Standard detergent (e.g., Tide) will wash the foil right off.

 

[jessmomto2]

I use any detergent because I just buy what's on sale and wash delicate and let air dry. I have never had any issues and we have had some leo's for almost two years now.

 

[raenndrops]

Make sure whatever you use, wash the leo inside out and do not put detergent DIRECTLY on the leo... so the pods should be great since they dissolve in the water.

One time, my brother washed the leotards... didnt fill and add detergent first... put detergent on top of the load (top load washer)... one of YG's leotards had a curved line where the shine was gone (like he circled the washer with detergent and that was where it landed). It went across the booty of the leo, so it looked funny. She wore shorts with it for a while, then I figured out what happened when he went to get a juice spot out by pretreating with detergent... juice came out but so did shine on that spot. Light bulb! I poured detergent on the leotard and spread it so it covered the whole thing. Let it sit for 12 hours, then washed. No more sparkle, but it doesn't have funky spots any more - all the sparkle is gone. And now her stepsister wears it

That leotard is now 3+ years old. We also have leotards that have lasted much longer with no damage and we wash on delicate and dry in the dryer... shhhhhh, don't tell HC.... we wash team leotards that way too.

 

[UpsideDown]

I handwash all her leos that aren't just simple cotton (she has a few). Then lay flat to dry and pat a little with a towel. I have had very few problems.

 

[kaloss]

We always turn leos inside out, whatever detergent we have (normally tide or gain) and wash with everything else, then hang to dry. Her competition Leo...that thing cost almost as much as my wedding dress, that's a whole different ball game!

 

[ShesAMonkey]

I wash DD's leos in a separate load (so I wait till most of them are dirty--this also forces her to wear her not-favorites, lol) on delicate cycle with Woolite. I turn them all inside out. I use NO fabric softener, as that can damage the delicate fabrics. And I usually hang them to dry. Sometimes, when we are in a hurry, I put them in the dryer on air fluff only--but it takes a couple cycles through and I generally don't want to be running up and down the basement stairs to restart it constantly!

 

[twinmomma]

All DD"s practice leos go in the regular wash on cold and in the dryer. She even has ones that are shiny that have stood up to that, but I also won't spend more than $30 on a practice leo, and genearlly I buy them way cheaper than that.

Her comp leo had metallic on it last season, and I hand washed it in woollite and rolled it between two towels and hung it dry in front of a fan (per the instructions). She has a GK leo that all the girls wore for their intersquad that was $32 (OUCH - because it's basically a practice leo) that I wash the same way.

 

[1canadiangymmom]

delicate, inside out with any detergent, hang to dry.

 

[kitkat]

I was all her leos, yoga pants, bras, yoga tops together in one load. I use mess bags for everything, hang dry the entire load and use Wollite dark wash as most of the items are dark.
No problems with any of the fabric and she has all types of leos.

 

[Quadqueen]

Delicate, cold water, inside out, with liquid detergent (powders are bad for mystique), hang to dry. Never had any issues here.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

hand wash, inside out, cold water and a little woolite, and soap on the gusset. I then hang up to dry

 

[NMNorskie]

Wow, you all are super helpful--thank you! I was terrified I'd do something wrong and destroy them. Although that wouldn't be the worst thing, because I am finding that buying cute leos is VERY addictive. I may need an intervention...

 

[mumoftwogymnasts]

Worse thing for mystique faric is hot water and harsh detergent, cold wash, inside out, gentle detergent and then either hang to dry or dry flat as soon as the cycle has stopped. Don't leave them lying in the machine once it has stopped for hours as the colours will bleed together

 

[Faolmor]

I somehow turned one of DD's favourite dark red, mystique leos completely black by throwing it in with a hot wash by mistake! It's still shiny...but now it's a black leo, instead of a red one LOL