• Jeans should be washed monthly if used frequently.
• Agitation from washing can damage fibers, cause abrasion from other items, and dim colors.
• Wash jeans inside out on a gentle cycle or by hand with cool water for best results.

Jeans have come a long way from sturdy workwear for miners to fashionable wardrobe staples, but still remain difficult to decipher in terms of the right care. We talked to two laundry experts about how to often to wash jeans and keep them looking their best.

How Often Should You Wash Your Jeans?

Despite the odd hacks and contrasting information you often find online, professional dry cleaner Jerry Pozniac gave us a straight answer: “If jeans are worn frequently, they should be washed once a month.”

Any jeans with stains should, of course, be pretreated and washed as soon as possible, Pozniac adds as a stipulation.

“As professional dry cleaners, we have learned that the more time that transpires between when a stain happens to when it is treated, the more difficult it becomes to remove it,” he says.

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How Washing Machines Wear Down Your Jeans

Each time you wash your jeans, there is abrasion to the denim from other fabrics, zippers, buttons, and metal studs. Overloading the washer or selecting a cycle that has a long wash time and a high spin speed increases the damage to the fibers because of the agitation. The indigo dye used for classic blue jeans is fragile and using hot water or a harsh detergent can cause the dye to fade quickly or bleed out.

“We have seen jeans labeled as ‘do not wash, dry clean only,’ and we would recommend following those instructions. We have found that dry cleaning jeans preserves the color, and the fabric doesn’t shrink as much,” says Pozniak.

How to Wash Jeans the Right Way

• Pretreat stains. If you have an ink stain, greasy food stain, or heavy ground-in dirt, pretreat the stains. Give the cleaning product at least 10 minutes to work before tossing the jeans in the washer.
• Prepare for washing. Empty every pocket and fasten all zippers, buttons, and snaps.
• Turn the jeans inside out. Turning the jeans inside out will help protect the fabric from excessive abrasion and reduce the amount of dye loss.
• Select the washer settings. Use the gentle cycle and set the water temperature to cold. If the jeans are heavily soiled, use warm water.
• Sort the laundry. Jeans should be washed with other jeans or fabrics that are similar in weight. Always sort the laundry load by color—don’t wash white jeans with black jeans,
• Dry jeans correctly. Remove the jeans from the washer and give them a shake to remove excess wrinkles. Air dry or use an automatic dryer set on low heat. Remove the jeans while they are still damp, turn them right side out, and allow them to finish air drying.

How to Wash Jeans by Hand

The most gentle home cleaning method is hand-washing one pair of jeans at a time in a large sink, plastic bin, or bathtub.

• Prepare the bath. Fill the basin with cool water and add a small amount of gentle detergent, swishing your hand through the water to disperse the detergent.
• Prepare the jeans. Empty the pockets, close the zipper, and button all buttons. Turn the jeans inside out.
• Agitate the jeans gently. Add the jeans to the soapy solution and allow them to soak for 15 minutes while gently agitating the fabric.
• Rinse jeans. Drain the sink and refill with cool water to rinse the jeans.
• Squeeze and air dry. Gently squeeze out the excess water (no wringing) and hang the jeans to air dry.

Tips for Washing Jeans

1. Don’t overload the washer drum. Too many clothes lead to more rubbing and abrasion.
2. Use a gentle, low-alkaline detergent that is less harsh on fabrics.
3. Skip the fabric softener that can leave residue on jeans and affect the color, especially on very dark blue or black denim.
4. If you like form-fitting jeans, put them on when they are 90% dry to allow them to mold to your body.
5. To keep white jeans looking white, wash them separately and add oxygen-based bleach to the washing cycle.
6. After removing the slightly damp jeans from the dryer, gently tug on the seams to stretch them and smooth wrinkles. Hang the jeans correctly to finish drying.