Oh man, a latex swim cap is like $1.50. No way am I wasting any time “taking care of it.” That’s like disposable price.

For swimsuits, just rinse with plain water and hang to dry. And get some made with part polyester fabric, it will last much, much, much longer and take all sorts of abuse without fading.

I wash my swimsuits with all my other workout laundry, then hang to dry. But I bought my last four suits (I find one I like and buy 2 identical) for less than $40 each – 2 at Costco, 2 at Walmart. The Costco ones were $23 and lasted about a year. The Walmart ones are polyester training suits, I’m hoping they last longer!

I’m sure to wet down before the pool. Then after I rinse all the gear off well. I avoid the spinner. That thing will kill your suit fast. Every few weeks I’ll wash the stuff with soap. Always hang to dry. I also buy from H2O Wear. The suits are so long lasting. I’ve had mine over two years and the only thing that’s worn out are the cups of the built in bra. I’m in the pool every day and on some days for over three hours. I have to have quality gear that lasts and holds up.

I always did the old rinse and air dry method when I swam competitively in high school and college. Then when our suits got all old and saggy, we’d wear them over our good suits as “drag” suits– makes for a great workout! 🙂

I’ve heard the same thing about your hair absorbing chlorine: if you get it wet in the shower before you get it in the pool it will absorb less chlorine. I guess it makes sense. Your hair can only absorb a certain amount of water. And if its already saturated with clean water, the chlorine won’t have any place to go.

I’m a swimmer…would recommend that you get a polyester suit (get one that fits because it will not stretch). I don’t buy lycra suits unless it’s for racing because they do stretch and don’t last very long; but what you can do to prolong it’s life is to rinse it in fresh water after use.

I would advise to never wash your suit in a washing machine with all the soap and especially never use the dryer or goodness forbid, the “dryer” that some pools have in the locker rooms. Those things can tear your suits to shreds after a few times, especially the lycra ones.

I always shower after swimming, and I buy the durafast fabric not the lycra (TYR makes it, but Speedo has a similar long lasting fabric).

If you are swimming a few times a week I think getting 2 years out of a swimsuit far exceeds it’s lifetime. Think, a pair of $100 running shoes will last you 6 months if you are running decent mileage. A $60 swimsuit will last you 8-12months if you are lucky. I’d say swimming is a pretty cheap sport to get started with.

Two years using the same lycra suit is reeeaallly pushing it. That material starts to wear down very easily and becomes see through and saggy.

Not a swimmer, but I am terrible at taking care of my running clothes…its kind of embarassing how many times I’ll wear the same jersey/shorts.

I love the spinner at the gym! I’ve never had a problem with it eating any of my suits. Actually the only way I lost a suit to it was that I left in inside of it and someone either took it or threw it away instead of putting it in the lost and found.

I also have never rinsed out caps or goggles. But I’ve been through several because I – you guessed it – left them at the gym. I joked to my boyfriend that I don’t really have to worry about stuff breaking down because I’m just going to lose it before then anyway. He was less amused than me.

Buy a polyester blend suit. I promise you will not regret it! I’m a lifelong swimmer (competitive through college and now swim 4+ times a week with a master’s team) and these suits completely changed the way I shop for suits. I’ve been wearing the same suit for 5 years now and haven’t had to replace it. Try Speedo Endurance+, but TYR and Nike also make great fitting suits. I never do more than rinse it in the shower after practice and hang it to dry when I get home.

Does anyone have a good way for removing or preventing mold in a silicone cap? I switched from Lycra caps about 6 months ago, but my new cap is covered in little black dots, even though the cap itself is still wearable.

I’m pretty meticulous about rinsing and towel drying my cap and goggles after a swim. As for my bathing suit, I usually hang it over the side of my laundry basket (so it doesn’t soak everything) and wash it on the hand wash/delicate cycle of my washing machine when I do my weekly laundry, and then hang it to dry.

My mom used to always wash our bathing suits in Woolite. Now I just give mine a quick soak in cold water and detergent and lie flat to dry!

Great ideas! I usually lay ’em flat to dry too. And I always keep my goggles in their special case!

You need to get your next suit at splish.com….$20 for a grab bag and they are hilarious! 9Think wonderwoman and sherrif suits) I have one that looks like a tuxedo!!

While in the Dallas-Fort Worth area this year, I had the pleasure of swimming in an indoor salt-water pool. Being a Floridian who enjoyed the ocean for years, I must say I loved it. Has anyone else had an opportunity to use a salt-water pool – if so, did you notice a difference and which do you prefer?

I shower in my suit after my swim then “spin” it in the suit spinner at the gym to dry it. As long as I remember I will wash it in the laundry and hang to dry. I try and rinse my goggles and cap. Having said that I occasionally forget to take my swimsuit out of my gym bag -> what a pleasant surprise I get when I discover this (NOT).

The swimsuits at Splish.com are awesome. I noticed that they are associated with swimoutlet.com -> I’ve gotten great deals on swim suits there (regular TYR suit) on grab bag for both hubby & myself.

happy weekend!