How to Wash Lululemon Leggings

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: January 5, 2022 References

If you splurged on Lululemon leggings, the last thing you want to do is ruin them in the wash. Luckily, with a few easy tricks, you can keep your leggings clean, comfortable, and stylish for years to come. Pretreat any stains and separate your laundry so that you wash your Lululemon leggings with other similar athletic wear. Make sure your leggings are inside out and in a delicates bag. Then, wash your leggings on a cold, delicate cycle. Air-dry your leggings on a drying rack for best results.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Pretreating Stains

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Rinse the stained area in cold water first. Run the stained part of your leggings under cool water to try and get out most of whatever caused the stain. This is particularly important for period stains, because you can get a lot of the blood off just by rinsing.^{[1]
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- Don’t use hot water because it will set the stain more.
2
Spot test your stain remover on a small part of your leggings. Before you spray stain remover all over the stained part of your leggings, make sure that the chemicals won’t damage the fabric. Apply a little dab to a small, inconspicuous spot on your leggings, like inside the waistband.^{[2]
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- Wait a few minutes for the stain remover to set in, and then check if for any discoloration.
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3
Pretreat the stained areas with stain remover. The sooner you treat and wash the stained part of your leggings, the higher chance you have of removing the stain. Don’t vigorously rub at the stain, because that will make it set in more and might cause pilling on your leggings.^{[3]
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- Only put the stain remover on the stained area to protect the fabric.
4
Treat stains with liquid dish soap if you don’t have stain remover. It’s a good idea to spot test your dish soap on a small inconspicuous part of your leggings, too. Then, apply liquid dish detergent directly to the stained area, making sure to cover the entire stained area with liquid dish soap.^{[4]
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- If your stains don’t come off after a wash though, you might want to buy stain remover.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Cleaning Your Leggings

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Wash your Lululemon leggings with similar exercise clothes. Wash your Lululemon leggings with other Lululemon clothing or other brands of exercise clothing. Don’t put the leggings in the same load as cotton, denim, or zippers. Cotton fluff from towels or T-shirts can get stuck onto Lululemon fabric.^{[5]
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- Denim, zippers, and Velcro can snag your leggings, causing little tears, pillings, and stretching.
2
Wash your leggings with similar colors only. Wash light-colored leggings with your other pale athletic clothes, and black leggings with black or dark navy clothes. Bright Lululemon colors often run in the wash, so separate out the brightly colored leggings to wash by themselves.^{[6]
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- Sorting your laundry by color is a good habit to get into, even when you’re not washing Lululemon attire.
3
Turn your leggings inside out and put them in a mesh bag. Washing your leggings in a delicates bag protects them from getting snags and tears inside the washing machine. Turning your leggings inside out not only protects the surface of your leggings, but also allows the insides, which are the most sweaty, to get cleaner.^{[7]
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- If you don’t have a mesh delicates bag, you can use a pillowcase as a substitute.
4
Put your leggings in the washing machine on a cold, delicate cycle. Cold water is gentler on your leggings than hot water. Set your washing machine to use cold water and a delicate or gentle cycle by turning the nobs or adjusting the sliders on the top of your machine.^{[8]
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- If you’re not sure how to change the settings on your washing machine, look up your specific machine online to find the manual.
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Use a normal detergent and no fabric softener. You can use a specific sports detergent, but you don’t have to. Fabric softener leaves a coating that can trap sweat into your exercise clothes and makes it harder for detergent to really clean your leggings.^{[9]
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- If you did previously wash them with fabric softener, you can just run your leggings through another wash to get out the fabric softener and they should recover.^{[10]
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- Try adding a half cup of baking soda if you’re worried about odors from your leggings.^{[11]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Drying Your Lululemons

1
Do an extra spin cycle if the leggings come out soaked (optional). Usually, your leggings will come out of the washing machine damp, but not wet. However, if your leggings come out of the washing machine soaking wet, you can set your machine to have an extra spin and drain cycle, which will remove more water.^{[12]
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- You can also just let them dry from soaking wet – it will just take a little longer.
2
Air-dry your leggings on a drying rack for best results. Since Lululemon uses moisture-wicking materials in their leggings, it should only take a few hours to let your leggings air-dry. Air-drying is much gentler on the fabric then drying your leggings in the dryer and will help your leggings retain their elasticity.^{[13]
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- Don’t try your leggings on a cotton towel, because the fluff will stick to them.
- If you dry your leggings in a sunny spot, the sun will also help disinfect your leggings by killing bacteria.
3
Tumble dry your leggings on the lowest setting if you’re in a rush. If you left your laundry for the last minute, it’s okay to tumble dry your leggings in the dryer as long as you use a low-heat setting. The less often you use the dryer, though, the longer your leggings will last.^{[14]
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- If you dry your leggings in the dryer too often, they will lose their stretch and the logos will start to peel off.