How to Care for Swimwear and Towels After Lessons

Swimming gear has a hard little life. It gets stretched, kicked in, rolled in a towel, forgotten in the car, and then asked to be cheerful again next week. Most of the damage you can actually prevent comes from three ordinary habits: leaving it wet and screwed up in a bag, letting pool water dry into the fabric, and using heat when you wash or dry it.

If you are still working out what your child should wear in the first place, start with our guide to the best swimwear for swimming lessons. This article is the care routine for the swimmers you already own.

The three habits that wreck swimwear

The first troublemaker is the wet bundle at the bottom of the swim bag. A costume rolled inside a damp towel cannot dry, so the fabric stays warm, wet and sour.

The second is pool water left sitting in the fabric. Chlorine does its job in the pool, but it has no business in a costume all afternoon, and once it dries into the fibres, colour and stretch both suffer.

The third is heat. Hot washes, tumble dryers, heaters, and direct sun on a hot day are rough on elastane-heavy swimwear, especially the leg openings, straps and necklines.

The thirty-second rinse that does the heavy lifting

The highest-value habit is also the least dramatic: rinse the costume in cold fresh water straight after the lesson, right there at the pool, before the pool water dries into the fabric. Half a minute at the tap beats a careful wash at home that evening, because by then the residue has dried into the fibres.

You do not need a full wash. Hold the costume under a cold shower or tap, squeeze fresh water through it, turn it once or twice in your hands, and squeeze again. Change rooms vary, so ask at your swim school where the nearest tap or outdoor shower is.

Plenty of families do not get near a tap, because the costume goes home under dry clothes while you get a cold child to the car. That is a fair call, and it is what our guide on swim school change rooms suggests when you are outnumbered. Two children should not travel home damp: one with eczema or chlorine-sensitive skin, and one prone to tinea. Damp is what irritates the first and suits the second, so change those two at the pool. Just rinse the costume the moment you walk in the door rather than at bedtime.

Hair has its own version of this habit, and our guide to caring for kids' hair after swimming lessons covers that routine without turning the change room into a full salon visit.

Cool washing beats heroic washing

Hand washing in cool water is kinder to swimwear than a machine cycle, and many swimwear care labels ask for it. Swirl the costume gently and avoid scrubbing the stretchy edges. The goal is to lift out pool residue and body oils, not to punish the swimmers for being wet.

If you are using a machine anyway, make the cycle as quiet as you can: cool water, gentle setting, low spin, and nothing rough in the same load. Heavy towels and zips drag against swimwear and pull it out of shape.

Fabric softener and bleach are both wrong for swimwear. Softener leaves a coating that stretchy fabric holds onto, and bleach is far too harsh on colour and elastic. Stronger is not better here.

Dry it flat, shaded and fully open

After rinsing or washing, press water out gently. Do not wring the costume like a dishcloth, because twisting is hard on seams and elastic.

At home, lay swimwear flat in the shade, or hang it somewhere air moves without hot sun beating down. A hot line bakes the stretch out of straps and leg openings. A tumble dryer is worse: it is a reliable way to make elastic give up.

The chlorine smell is usually a damp problem

That stubborn pool smell often feels like a detergent problem. Usually, it is a damp problem. If swimwear or towels sit wet for hours, the sour smell can cling even after washing. Start earlier: rinse at the pool or on the way in the door, separate wet things, and get them drying.

For a costume that already smells, rinse it cool, wash it gently, then dry it fully in moving air. A smell that returns the moment it gets damp usually means old residue is still in there.

Knowing when a costume is done

If your child already owns more than one costume, alternating them gives each one a real chance to dry fully before it goes back into the bag.

There is also a point where a costume is finished. Look for a sagging seat, fabric that turns see-through when stretched, leg or neck elastic that has gone crunchy or slack, and straps that no longer sit where they should. For an older child, it can become a comfort and dignity issue. Nobody wants to discover in a bright change room mirror that their swimmers have quietly retired themselves.

Towels, goggles and caps live in the same system

Towels need the same anti-soggy-bag thinking. A microfibre towel can hold odour if it stays damp and folded. Put wet towels and swimwear in a bag of their own for the trip home.

Do not let that bag become storage. It is a transport trick, not a home, and a swim bag left in a hot boot serves up heat and trapped moisture at the same time. Empty it when you walk in, open the towel out to dry, and leave the bag itself open too. For the rest of the lesson-day packing, what to bring to your child's first swimming lesson has you covered.

Goggles and caps live in the same bag and are undone by the same heat. Rinse them in fresh water, dry them out of direct sun, and keep them out of hot cars. For the fit details, read choosing and fitting swimming goggles for kids and whether kids need a swim cap.

If you are still comparing swim schools across Australia, give the change rooms a look: warm showers and somewhere to rinse make every habit here easier to keep.

Frequently asked questions

How do I stop swimwear smelling after swimming lessons?

Rinse it in cold fresh water at the pool if you can, or the moment you walk in the door if the costume came home under dry clothes, then get it out of the bag and drying. A lingering chlorine smell usually means the fabric has been left damp, or pool residue has dried into it, rather than that it needs a harsher wash.

Can I put kids' swimwear in the washing machine?

Check the care label first, because many swimwear labels ask for hand washing. If you are using a machine anyway, keep it gentle: cool water, a gentle cycle, a low spin, and no heavy towels or rough clothing in the same load. A careful machine wash still beats leaving swimmers wet in a bag.

Should I dry swimwear in the sun?

No, dry it in the shade instead, especially on a hot day, because direct sun and heat are hard on elastic, straps and stretchy fabric. Press the water out gently, then dry the costume flat or fully open in a shaded, airy spot.

When should I replace my child's swimming costume?

Replace it when the seat sags, the fabric becomes see-through when stretched, the leg or neck elastic has perished, or the straps no longer stay put. For older children, this is about comfort and dignity as much as appearance.

Why does my microfibre towel smell after swimming?

A microfibre towel can hold odour if it stays damp and folded after lessons. Open it out fully to dry as soon as you get home rather than leaving it rolled up, because whatever you carried it in is a transport trick and not a place to store a wet towel until Thursday.