You’ve found the perfect pair of jeans. The fit is right, the colour is just the shade you wanted, and then comes the question of how to dry them without ruining the lot. The short answer from denim makers and laundry experts is to air-dry whenever you can. But that doesn’t mean the dryer is banned for good. With a few simple habits, you can keep your favourite denim looking fresh for years. Here’s how the two methods compare, and how to get the best of both.
A good routine is to tumble on low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, take the jeans out while they’re still slightly damp, reshape them and hang them up to finish. Because air drying is the best way to keep its shape and colour, raw denim should never go in the dryer,. If your air-dried jeans come out stiff, you don’t have to choose one method. A few minutes in the dryer can soften the denim again. This gives you the softness of the dryer with far less shrinking and fading. Some jeans need extra care. Black and dark jeans fade more quickly, so keep them in the shade and wash them inside out in cold water. For stretch jeans, avoid repeated high heat, which can damage the elastic fibres. When in doubt, read the care label, since it knows best what your particular pair can handle.