Susan's Place Transgender Resources

What happens to your binder when it goes through the washing machine?  I have a white gc2b binder that I'm absolutely in love with, but my husband forgot that my binders should all be hand washed.  He at least was able to pull it out before it was dried in the dryer, but it did go through the washing machine.  Does that matter at all?

The reason I ask is because I SWEAR it doesn't fit the same as it used to, I have more armpit bulge over the sides than before, but I can't fathom how that's possible. Especially since I lost a little (not much, but some) weight since last wear.

Both I and my sibling (also a transguy) wash our binders in the washing machine. Mine are from Underworks, and his are from GC2B. We haven't experienced any problems. We do use the delicate cycle and cold water, so if you went through regular, hot water, that could have had an effect.

^ This. Heat is not so kind on binders. If it was on a hot cycle, that might have effected it some. I personally never had issues putting my binders through a cold wash and most were ok for the occasional (usually accidental) dryer cycle. One binder, however, did not survive the dryer of doom. Elastic thread poking out everywhere. Not a pretty sight. RIP. (It had gone through the dryer a couple times before that and was alright, fwiw.)

Only other thing I can think of is if it was sitting in a stretched position for a while, for example, wound around another piece of clothing. That can stretch things a bit too.

Quote from: vanderpn on May 23, 2017, 08:59:03 PM
Both I and my sibling (also a transguy) wash our binders in the washing machine. Mine are from Underworks, and his are from GC2B. We haven't experienced any problems. We do use the delicate cycle and cold water, so if you went through regular, hot water, that could have had an effect.

I also wash my Underworks binders in cold water in my washing machine. No problems with shrinkage in over a year of washing.

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It just occurred to me that it could be the fact it was a machine wash with hard water.  (Our water is naturally REALLY hard here since we live by a copper mine...)  Since washing by hand would be naturally gentler than a machine cycle, even with hard water, perhaps that did something?

Oh... and its white, so yeah, you're right, it probably was on a heated cycle!  Doh.  That makes sense.

I wash my binders normal with all my other clothes, machine wash cold and dryer on low-medium. Just like all my clothes, my binder will be a bit snug at first but will loosen out with wear. I think gc2b recommends hand washing only because machines can be unforgiving on stitching and elastic. Low temperatures in the wash will be fine for your binder, your other clothing, the environment and your energy bills.

I too wash my binders (Underworks, one black and one white) with my other clothes once a week.  However, I usually hang them up to dry. 

Every now and then I forget and they end up going through the dryer.  They usually end up a bit tighter afterwards than with drip-drying, but wearing it for a while stretches them so they're comfortable again.

Ryuichi

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Oh, I wash everything in cold water, including my binders, and dry everything  on medium heat.

Ryuichi

I cold wash binders in the machine. No problems.

They don't last forever though, eventually they will lose some firmness

I've got gc2b binders. I've only ever washed them by hand, but I imagine I'll eventually give in and try machine washing them in cold water and hanging to dry. The dryer is the part I'm most worried about, to be honest.

I wash all my binders in a machine on cold and dry them in the machine as well because I can't be bothered to pick them out. For me they don't shrink permanently, rather they shrink but then stretch out back to where they always stretched to.

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