Guide: How to Rinse Your Jeans

P10205861 628x419 Guide: How to Rinse Your Jeans

“We recommend you to give your jeans a quick rinse in the sink before you start using them.” I put this advise in our “Guide to Dry Denim“, and in this article I’ll take you through a step-by-step guide on how I do it. The main reason to rinse your jeans before you wear them is that they simply will last longer, as starch (and chemicals) is removed. -This softens the fabric. The process is exemplified with a pair of Lee Archives 101Z jeans from 1952. I don’t say that this is the only way to do it, it’s just my way.

Turn your jeans inside out.

P1020570 628x941 Guide: How to Rinse Your JeansFill your sink or wherever you wish to rinse your jeans.

P10205731 628x941 Guide: How to Rinse Your JeansMake sure the water isn’t hotter than you can stand putting your fingers in it.

P10205761 628x941 Guide: How to Rinse Your JeansUse something to keep the jeans submerged.

P10205771 628x419 Guide: How to Rinse Your Jeans

P10205781 628x419 Guide: How to Rinse Your JeansYou might see bubbles caused by the air escaping from the jeans.

P10205791 628x419 Guide: How to Rinse Your Jeans

P10205811 628x419 Guide: How to Rinse Your JeansLet them soak for an hour or two.

P10205851 628x419 Guide: How to Rinse Your JeansAfter the first hour, the water that these jeans were soaked in had only been slightly coloured.

P10205871 628x419 Guide: How to Rinse Your Jeans

P10205881 628x419 Guide: How to Rinse Your JeansAfter the second hour, the water had turned a bit more yellow-blue-ish, which is completely normal and a result of the starch that is washed out.

P10205891 628x419 Guide: How to Rinse Your Jeans

P10205911 628x419 Guide: How to Rinse Your Jeans

P10205951 628x419 Guide: How to Rinse Your JeansAfter the rinse, I hang my jeans to dry in the shower. The underfloor heating speeds up the drying.

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P10206001 628x419 Guide: How to Rinse Your JeansGuide by Thomas Bojer.

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Thomas Bojer

Founder and editor-in-chief at Denimhunters
Thomas got into denim through a keen interest in manufacturing and a love for the well-faded jean. He's based in Copenhagen, Denmark, but he travels as much as his job allows. Through Denimhunters he has found a way to share his passion with likeminded enthusiasts while learning more about the blue fabric. Thomas' favourite jean is the 1947 501XX and he has a soft spot for Red Wing Shoes.
734019 10152300210237195 839581040 n 2 Guide: How to Rinse Your Jeans
Published on 16 January 2012 20 Comments
  • Martin

    Hvad hvis man allerede har gået i sine jeans et stykke tid, men endnu ikke vasket dem – kan (og bør) man så stadig give dem en skylletur?

    • Thomas Bojer

      @Martin: definitely, it will only expand the life time of your jeans to soak them, also even though you have worn them for some time.
      @cell-: I guess your first question is answered above, but to the second: yes, I did actually experience quite a lot of shrinkage, especially when you think about that these jeans are sanforised. But I’ll get back to that tomorrow in an article specifically about the jeans. So stay tuned!
      /Thomas

    • http://www.samsoe.com Andreas

      Hej Martin

      Jeg går altid selv i mine jeans før jeg vasker dem. Jeg kan simpelthen ikke vente med at bruge dem. Min erfaring er at der ikke sker noget med bukserne ved dette. Hvis det er en gennemfarvet jeans altså Raw denim, er det heller ikke noget problem. Men når man vasker sine Raw denim jeans første gang bliver de meget stive. De vil dog hurtigt blive bløde allerede efter man har taget dem på.

  • cell-

    will this increase the lifespan of the jeans, and did you experience any shrinkage?

  • http://www.peterbjerke.dk Peter Bjerke

    But keep in mind that soft denim equals less contrast when they are worn.

    Furthermore you will experince to wear holes in your jeans a lot easier if you keep them dry. It will give a very different result than if you rinse before you start using them.

    • Thomas Bojer

      Exactly Peter, thanks for the comment. You’re completely right, the denim might fade at a slower rate and a little less contrastive, but I value that over holes. And then again, all the jeans I’ve rinsed before wear have turned out pretty good anyway. For instance, have a look at the LVC 505′s I worn out: http://denimhunters.com/blog/street/lvc50567 – they were also rinsed before I started using them.
      But after all, it’s up to you how you wear your jeans, I just like ‘em a little less dry :)
      /Thomas

      • http://www.ecoledesurf.com Jonathan

        Hi !

        Very good fading, your 505 looks as if you didn’t soak it, makes me want to try to do it on my next jeans ! maybe…

  • http://Www.fonografiska.com Erik wall

    I have had a couple of “break in projects” during the years and I have been thinking that you get better results not rinsing the jeans before you start using them but recently I bought a new project, a pair of lee 101s which i dident rinse before i started using them. After about 2 months i went out fishing wearing the jeans and the sky opened and I got totally soked. I thought the jeans was ruined but then I realised that it only was positive that the jeans got soked and then air dryed while wearing them on. They get as you say softer and they dont get torn as easy in e.g the croutch as they do without the rinse. Now I will definitly rinse my jeans before starting using them!

    • Thomas Bojer

      Hi Erik,
      Thank you for your response, it’s nice to hear that I’m not the only one who feels this way about breaking in a pair of jeans. Actually, I also once NEVER would soak or wash my jeans, but as I started experimenting with LVC shrink-to-fits, and also as I had experienced some bad crotch blow-outs way too fast, I started thinking about how they would have done 50 years ago. You see all these amazing wear-results on old jeans worn by old guys who don’t follow the don’t-wash-your-jeans rule! I thought to myself, “that’s where I want to go,” so now I always rinse before wear.
      /Thomas

  • Mathias

    I’ve heard it’s a bad idea to hang dry since some of the excess color might travel to the bottom of the jeans. Of course this can also add some style, like if you have benn outside in the rain. I think drying flat on a towel might keep the original look more intact but it could be minimal. My experience don’t cover so far.
    Anyway great site!

  • http://www.jeansmuseum.org ruedi Karrer

    About washing or not washing the jeans is not a question about longer lasting denim but also about change of coulour.

    That’s the main reason, that some raw denim maniacs will never wash their raw denim stuff to keep the shiny original raw denim colour alive which will always disappear after first soak or wash. On the other hand you risk faster creases or crotch holes

  • gerry

    i passed by table a few weeks ago in copenhagen…great site. let me know when your
    doing another event.
    For more than 15 years i have been wearing unwashed denims. I give them a blast steaming with a presto before using and once in a while every couple of weeks.
    I would never soak as it shrinks and it takes away the unwashed look.
    The steam avoids the cracks and breakage. After a year or so i just hang them in the shower and spray them with the coldest water and let them drip dry. In Madrid i found a dry cleaner that still used old school dry cleaning methods without toxic chemicals. The jeans came back exceeding expectations. so if you have a good dry cleaner that you trust….last thing. bought a mister freedom white coat a few months ago …it probably the piece of clothing that i have ever most loved.

  • http://www.groovesvilleusa.com keith rylatt

    I made the mistake of washing a pair of dry 101z ’52′s in a very hot wash, this shrank them excessively and also shrank the the sail cloth pockets more than the denim and caused the pockets to pucker. I now stick to 40 degree, cool and minimal washing. I have some 1980′s lee riders 101z and these take any treatment I give them on the chin.

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  • T-Bone

    I’ve got a pair of Grim Tim Dry Orange Selvedge and have owned them for a few months without wearing too often. Is there any difference to rinsing straight away and rinsing after a few months? I don’t plan on washing them ever but they are a tiny bit loose and only thinking about rinsing to shrink them a touch. Any pointers?

    • Thomas

      Hi T-Bone,
      You can easily rinse them after a few months of scattered wear, it won’t make a huge difference. Use hot water in the sink and they may shrink a little bit.
      //Thomas

      • T-Bone

        Thanks for the reply Thomas,

        What would you or anyone recommend to shrink my jeans without losing as much starch or indigo as possible? Really hot water for a short amount of time?

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  • Nick

    I just bought a pair of ed71s I sat in a warm bath for 40 mins wearing them then I squeezed out as much water and wore them for 4 hours until nearly dry, they look great and have shaped to my body structure and still dark and raw.

  • Richard

    wore my Red Selvedge ED-55′s for four weeks then soaked them as per the above instructions and now they fit better than ever! I did however wear them for about 4-5 hours while they dried out but they fi so well now!