You’ve had a great day at the beach in the fine sand and sea and now you are heading home to go take a shower and change into clean clothes. You get home only to realize that sand has gotten into your bathing suit. Now what? We’ve all been there. Sand can be the most relaxing thing when you are sprawled out on the beach sunbathing, but when it finds its way into your swimsuit it becomes a frustrating experience, but this doesn’t have to be the case! If you hate finding sand stuck in your bikini at the end of a beach day, there are a few simple tips and tricks to help you get sand out of your bathing suit so you never have to wonder, “How do you get sand out of a bathing suit?” again. To help you know how to get sand out of bathing suits without a struggle, we have compiled our tricks for removing sand from your swimwear with ease, as well as our recommendations for how to preserve your swimming suit fabric. Keep reading to find out how to ditch the fine sand stuck in your swimsuit!
How Sand Gets in a Swimsuit
Before we dive into how to get sand out of your swimsuit, it’s important to examine how sand gets into your swimsuit and some tactics you can take the minimize the amount of sand that is trapped in your bathing suit after a day at the beach. Sand is one of the best parts of the beach. It’s soft and forms perfectly to your feet as you step in it, but those qualities can sneak into your favorite bathing suit. Because sand is so fine, it is easy for it to become trapped in between the layers of your swimsuit. When your swimsuit comes into contact with sand, the small grains of sand penetrate into the swimsuit between the two layers of material. You’ll notice that your swimsuit has a durable exterior fabric and a soft, inside liner along the entire inside of the swimsuit. These layers of the swimsuit are what present a challenge when trying to get sand out of swimsuit as once the sand is trapped, it can be difficult to remove from between the layers of your swimsuit.
When wearing a swimsuit at the beach, it is important to be mindful of the activities you are going to be doing. Sandy activities, such as sunbathing directly on the sand or sitting on the sand at the water’s edge, increase the likelihood that sand will become trapped between the layers of your swimsuit. To prevent this, try less sandy activities that limit the amount of direct contact your swimsuit has with the sand. A few of our favorite activities that minimize exposure to the sand (while still having fun) are frisbee, volleyball, and spike ball.
We also recommend dedicating one swimsuit to beach days where you want to participate in more sandy activities. Instead of trying to get sand out of all of your favorite swimsuits, you will only have one that you need to worry about getting sand out of. This will help preserve the majority of your bathing suits while still giving you the freedom to have the sandy beach days you love.
Hot Tip: Avoid wearing a white bathing suit if you are planning to participate in sandy activities during your day at the beach. White is the hardest color to remove sand from and shows any remaining sand that is trapped between the layers of the bathing suit. Darker colored swimsuits will hide any extra grains of sand that stay trapped.
How to Get Sand Out of Swimsuits
If you love the beach, but hate struggling to get the sand stuck in your bathing suit out, you are not alone. Sand can be pesky and get easily trapped in the fibers of a swimsuit because of its small size. Unfortunately, its small size is also what makes it a challenge to remove from a bathing suit. Thankfully, there are a few simple tips that you can incorporate into your swimsuit care routine to make sure your favorite swimsuits stay clean and sand free all year round.
Take Quick Action
If you’ve just been the beach and experience some sand in your bathing suit, it is vital that you quickly address the sand to make sure it comes out easily. You don’t want to wait until the sand is caked onto your swimsuit or has gotten trapped in the fibers of the swimsuit fabric as this will make it much more difficult and time-consuming to remove. The first thing to do once you get home from a beach day is to shake your swimsuit off outside. Once you have shaken it out, turn it inside out and then do it again. This will help to get rid of any surface sand that can be easily removed just by a brisk shake.
Rinse Your Suit for 10 Minutes
Now that you’ve gotten all of the excess sand off the surface of your favorite one-piece or cheeky two-piece, the next step is to rinse your swimsuit in cool water for ten minutes. Keep it simple and use just cool water for this step (skip the detergent for now). Washing your swimsuit after every use is essential, even if you just went in the pool or tanned outside. Chlorine, tanning oil, and salt water can all damage your bikini if you leave it unwashed. As you rinse your suit, be sure to target areas where you can still see sand accumulated in the bathing suit fabric to try and rinse the sand out with your hands as much as possible.
Allow Your Suit to Dry Completely
Once you have rinsed your wet swimsuit out completely, take a clean, dry towel and gently press the swimsuit to remove excess water. You can also gently roll your swimsuit into the clean towel to help press additional excess water out of your bathing suit. With the excess water removed, the next step is the lay your swimsuit flat and allow it to dry. When drying, make sure you don’t wring the suit as this can damage or stretch out the fabric. It’s also important to avoid laying your swimsuit in direct sunlight to dry as the sunlight will fade the color of the bathing suit fabric more rapidly when it is damp.
Give It Another Shake
If your swimsuit has dried completely, it is ready for the final step in the process. Grab your swimsuit and bring it outside for another round of shaking. When you got home from the beach, there could have still been some water and moisture left in your bikini which keeps the sand stuck to the fabric. By now, since your swimsuit should be completely dry, the remaining sand that made it through the rinse should easily come off and out of your swimsuit. A few vigorous shakes should do the trick to get your bathing suit back to its pre-sand glory and ready for your next adventure.
Blow Dryer Back-Up Plan
If for some reason the above steps do not get rid of all of the pesky sand left in your swimsuit, we still have you covered. For those last remnants of your beach day, turn to your blow dryer to save the day. Go grab your blow dryer, plug it in, and place it on the cool setting. Once it is on its cool setting and ready to be used, simply blow the remaining sand off your bathing suit. Just like that, your swimsuit is back to perfection and sand-free!
The Importance of Proper Swimsuit Care
Now that you know how to get sand off your bathing suit after a day at the beach, it is important to understand why it is vital to be prompt in these actions and maintain the care your swimsuit needs. Swimsuits are made out of highly elastic fibers that allow them to stretch and move with you, which makes them flattering on your figure and friendly for a variety of activities. However, the elasticity in the fabric of bathing suits can easily become compromised when not properly cared for. In addition to compromised elasticity, swimsuits are also susceptible to bacteria, fading, discoloration, snagging, a sand build-up in the lining, and numerous other occurrences. Thankfully, proper swimsuit care can help prevent these issues help to extend the life of your swimsuit so that you aren’t searching for all new swimsuits at the beginning of every season! Keep reading to learn more!
Our Top Tips for Maintaining Your Swimsuit
Getting the sand out of your swimsuits promptly after every beach trip is just one aspect of proper bathing suit care and maintenance to make sure your swimsuit stays looking its best and fitting properly for years to come. In addition to our method for ridding your bathing suit of sand, we also compiled a handful of our top tips for maintaining your swimsuit to make sure you have all the knowledge you need to keep your favorite triangle or bandeau top in peak condition.
- Always Hand Wash Your Bathing Suit: Washing your swimsuit properly is a huge part of caring for your swimsuit and keeping it looking and fitting perfectly season after season. It is important to hand wash your swimsuit after every wear, even if you haven’t been in the water. The reason for this is that your swimsuit comes into contact with many products and substances that can damage it if left on the fabric. Chlorinated water, sunscreen, and lotions include a few of the top culprits. To wash your suit, fill a basin or sink with cold water and a capful of ultra mild or specially formulated detergent. If you don’t have any mild detergent on hand, you can substitute white vinegar for the detergent. If you are out of mild detergent and white vinegar, just stick with cold water. Next, submerge your swimsuit in the cold water and allow it to soak for thirty minutes. Once thirty minutes had elapsed, rinse your swimsuit with cold water until all of the cleaning solution is gone. From there, place your suit on a clean, dry towel and gently press the towel into the swimsuit to remove excess water. Once all of the excess water has been removed, lay your swimsuit flat to dry out of direct sunlight.
- Rinse Your Swimsuit in Cold, Fresh Water Before Leaving the Beach or Pool: If you change out of your swimsuit before leaving the beach or pool, it is important to rinse your suit immediately in cold, fresh water. By doing so, you will help to quickly eliminate as much salt water, sand, or chlorinated water as possible, which will help to extend the life of your bathing suit and prevent a build up of sand in your bikini. Once you have rinsed your bathing suit off in fresh water, be sure to wrap it in a clean towel instead of throwing it into your bag with other wet, sandy gear. Exposing your swimsuit to other wet gear and leaving it in a bag can be harmful and cause mildew to grow in the fabric. Instead, lay your bathing suit flat on a towel as you drive home. We recommend always bringing an extra, clean towel with you when you are going for a day out in your swimsuit, so that once you change out of it you can rinse it out and have somewhere clean and dry to store it until you get home.
We hope these tips help your favorite suit last for years to come! Don’t forget to keep exploring our blog you have any further questions about how to preserve swimsuit material or want to learn our top bikini maitenance tips!
Sources:
https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/05/28/make-your-swimsuit-last-longer_n_1545722.html
https://www.tommybahama.com/live-the-life/tb-style/fashions-and-passions/extend-life-swimwear.html
https://www.realsimple.com/beauty-fashion/clothing-care/how-to-care-for-swimsuit
https://www.bustle.com/articles/163893-how-to-get-sand-out-of-your-swimsuit-and-survive-beach-season
https://www.modernmom.com/2c8d021e-051f-11e2-9d62-404062497d7e.html
