How to Get Wrinkles Out of Bathing Suit

Tell me if this sounds familiar. You rummage through your swimming bag looking to find the swimsuit you wore last year. To your dismay, you find it all crumpled up after being wedged between your goggles and other swimming gear for nearly a year. You try to uncrumple it to find that it now has a bunch of unsightly creases and wrinkles (and maybe even mold). This was not how you remembered it looking when you wore it last summer.

What do you do if your swimsuit has a bunch of stubborn wrinkles that just won’t seem to go away? Unfortunately, ironing is out of the question because high heat can cause your swimsuit to shrink (unless that’s what you want). You run into the same problem by throwing it in the dryer with a fabric softener. Swimsuits are very delicate pieces of clothing, so some of the usual solutions don’t work, but some still do.

How to get wrinkles out of a bathing suit is very simple. First wash it, then hang it to dry instead of laying it flat. If that doesn’t take care of all the creases, you can try using a steamer. A steamer is not as rough on fabric as an iron is, but there is still some risk involved. You can also try to use a wrinkle spray remover, but your mileage may vary on that.

Keep reading on to learn the exact steps you should follow to get rid of those unsightly wrinkles on your swimsuit after several months in storage. We will also provide tips on how you can avoid wrinkled swimsuits in the first place.

Are wrinkles a big deal?

In terms of safety in the water, not really. But in terms of how you look and feel, walking around with wrinkled swimwear can sabotage your confidence, especially if you know you will be getting your picture taken. Is that really how you want to be remembered? Wrinkled swimwear can ruin the whole look; it just makes you look unkempt. So, depending on who you ask, it can be a very big deal. That’s why you need to know how to fix this problem.

Best ways to get rid of wrinkles on your bathing suit

Hang dry

hang dry clothing

A simple, low-risk way to get rid of wrinkles is to hang dry your swimsuit. This goes against conventional wisdom, which is to lay your swimsuit on a flat surface. The problem is that leaving your swimsuit hanging can cause it to get stretched out because the water can pool along the bottom, placing a lot of stress on the areas that are holding up the swimsuit (e.g. the shoulder straps).

The reason why we want to hang dry a wrinkled swimsuit is that gravity will cause the swimsuit to stretch out so that it doesn’t dry all wrinkled up. To minimize the risk of stretching, we recommend just draping your swimsuit over a larger surface. Do not put it on a wire hanger or clip hanger. Use a much thicker hanger, or just drape it over a chair or railing.

A mistake people make is that, immediately after washing their swimsuit, they squeeze out the excess water from their dripping wet swimsuit by wringing it and twisting it. That can damage your swimsuit and give it wrinkles.

To safely squeeze the water out, place the swimsuit between two towels and press the swimsuit between the palm of your hands. An easier way is to lay the swimsuit flat on the floor (again, between two towels) and to step on your swimsuit. In short, pressing the water out does not wrinkle or otherwise damage your swimsuit.

Finally, make sure to let it dry in a ventilated area in the shade. Do not dry it in direct sunlight because the UV radiation is very harsh and can cause your swimsuit to deteriorate, becoming faded and brittle.

Steam it

The second method of getting rid of wrinkles on your swimsuit is to steam it. We recommend steaming over ironing because a steamer is much less harsh on fabric, though it isn’t without risk. The steam is really hot and can also cause the swimsuit to shrink if you’re not careful. To avoid that, there is a specific way you should be steaming.

First, hang your swimsuit up so it’s in a good position for you to steam it. Next, the advice you should strictly follow is to not have the steamer be too close to the fabric. Never press the wand directly on your swimsuit; try to leave a gap of about an inch or two.

Then, it’s just a matter of focusing on the areas with the most wrinkles. Make sure to be thorough and to steam both the front and back.

Use wrinkle spray remover

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Still not able to get rid of those stubborn wrinkles? You can try your hand with a wrinkle spray remover. It’s pretty straightforward; just spray it on your swimsuit’s wrinkles and hopefully it gets the job done. Your mileage may vary, as some people have found it ineffective. You do not have to rinse your swimsuit beforehand.

Iron it

If all else fails, then you can either resign yourself to wearing a wrinkled swimsuit, or you can risk ironing it. We’ve tried to avoid it until the very end because an iron can irreversibly shrink your swimsuit.

You can try to minimize the risk of shrinking your bathing suit by gently running the iron across the swimsuit, making sure not to press too hard or linger too long in any one area. You can also place another piece of clothing on top of your swimsuit (preferably a shirt rag or a towel) so that there is another layer protecting the swimsuit from direct contact against the iron.

How to store your swimsuit so that it does not wrinkle

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure as they say, meaning it’s best to deal with problems early before they become much bigger, in this case requiring some or all of the steps above. So let’s fix the problem right at the source; your swimsuit wrinkled because it wasn’t stored properly. Let’s learn how to do that.

I’m going to assume that you’ve already thoroughly washed and dried your swimsuit. So now you have a clean, unwrinkled swimsuit that you want to keep that way. No problem.

Step one, never bunch your swimsuit up or make any sharp folds. Instead, gently roll it up to save space.

Step two, when placing it into your bag, never, ever put anything heavy on top of it. It should probably be one of the last things you put into a bag. If you have snorkeling gear, such as fins or a snorkel, these things can press against and crease your swimsuit.

One thing you can do to further protect your swimsuit is to lay it flat on a half folded towel, then roll the towel up with the swimsuit still in it. You have essentially created a protective layer for your swimsuit, and when it unrolls there won’t be any creases. This gives you less pressure if you are putting any stiffer gear in the same swimming bag.

There you have it. Several ways you can get rid of wrinkles on your swimsuit, as well as how to prevent wrinkles in the first place. No matter what you do, be very gentle so that you do not inadvertently cause some wrinkles of your own.

Last update on 2024-03-24 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API