Washing your raw denim is necessary, but it can be pivotal in the evolution of your jeans. That can cause trepidation for folks without much experience doing it. We’re here to help.

  1. When do I wash my jeans?
    • When they’re dirty
      • Smell bad
      • Look “wet”
      • Visibly dirty
    • Sometimes, when they’re new
      • Factories are dirty places and new jeans are full of chemicals that you may not want on your skin
      • Some jeans are shrink-to-fit and require an initial wash
  2. What happens when I wash my jeans?
    • They get clean & smell better
    • They lose indigo, particularly at flex & stress points. This produces the fades we’re all after. Frequency of washing plays a big role in the fades your jeans get:
      • Fairly uniform indigo loss results in “vintage” fades. This happens with frequent washing.
      • Localized indigo loss, concentrated in the honeycombs, whiskers, and possibly other stress points (e.g., wallet area, stacks), produces sharp & highly contrasting fades. This happens with infrequent washing.
    • They shrink & twist: All cotton shrinks in water. The amount of shrinkage that happens in a wash is affected by:
      • The denim: sanforization status, how tight the weave is, whether the denim has been washed before
        • Unsanforized denim (one-washed or not) will likely get leg twist. Leg twist does not affect the function of your jeans, but some folks may not care for the aesthetic. Really, nobody will notice your leg twist but you.
        • One-wash denim (sanforized or not) will probably not shrink much, and will likely stretch back out at pressure points (waist, hip, maybe thigh) when you wear them. Inseam length shrinkage is expected to varying degrees on new jeans.
      • The wash itself: temperature of wash water, degree of agitation during wash
    • Marbling, potentially
      • Patterns of random indigo loss (“marbling”) and streaking will probably occur in washers with agitators, top-loading washers, in the spin cycle, and in the dryer
      • Front-loading washers aren’t as notorious for marbling jeans as top-loaders are, but care should still be taken (see below)
  3. How do I wash my jeans?
    • Before washing jeans, always turn them inside out and thoroughly wet them with water. An easy way to do this is with your shower. Get 'em dripping wet and eyeball them to make sure they’re completely soaked.
    • Wash 'em by hand
      1. Get a bucket, sink, or washing machine
      2. If using detergent, add a small amount (teaspoon)
      3. Fill with cold to lukewarm water, or hot water if shrink is desired
      4. Soak 'em for 30 minutes or so, gently agitating them by hand every so often
      5. Dump the soapy soak water, repeat this process with rinse water
    • Wash 'em in the washing machine
      1. Use cold water, especially if you don’t want much shrink. The agitation of the washing machine will cause some shrink regardless of temperature.
      2. Use a small amount of detergent (teaspoon)
      3. Absolutely do not allow your jeans to go into the spin cycle
  4. How do I dry my jeans?
    • Air dry:
      1. Hang your jeans over the side of your tub, shower curtain rod, porch rail, etc. to drip dry for fifteen minutes or so
      2. Lay 'em flat on top of a towel, preferably with a fan or some other air movement, until dry
    • Clothesline: easy and pretty fantastic method
    • Dryer: this has the potential to cause abrasion marks and/or shrink your jeans, so you probably don’t want to dry your jeans in the dryer. Nevertheless, it has been done successfully. Keep 'em inside out, use low heat, and consider pulling them out before they’re totally dry.
  5. What do I do when I have a stain on my jeans?
    1. Blot stain with paper towel
    2. Using stain treatments or other pre-wash products may help remove the stain, but will probably also remove indigo color from the treated area of your pants. This may be undesirable, or (depending on what caused the stain) may be the best possible outcome.
    3. Wash 'em

Congratulations! Your jeans are now clean and fresh. Enjoy!

TLDR: The most important points to follow when washing raw denim to avoid marbling & excessive shrinkage:

  • Turn them inside out
  • Wet them down thoroughly before washing
  • Don’t wash with hot water
  • Don’t let them go in the spin cycle
  • Don’t put them in the dryer