In honor of the big New York Fashion Week hoopla this week, we’re having our own HOT TUB FASHION WEEK with tips on how to be stylish before, during and after hot tub soaking!!

Plan to wear your swimsuit in the hot tub? It’s so hard to find the perfect suit.  When you do find it, you come to love it and want it to last forever—especially considering how much it probably cost. Keep your favorite suit looking fresh to save money, and save you the pain of having to shop for another one.

There’s an environmental angle to saving your swimsuit from an early death, too. Manufacturing the fibers used in swimsuits exposes workers to hazardous chemicals, such as the heavy metal antimony, that can pollute surrounding air and waterways. If we all keep our swimsuits longer, that’s a good thing!

Save your swimsuit, the planet, and a little extra change with these seven simple tips:

1. Soak it in vinegar first. Before you wear a new suit for the first time, soak your swimwear for 30 minutes in a mixture of vinegar and water (1 tablespoon vinegar per 1 quart water). Vinegar helps set the color and prevent fading from swimming pool or hot tub chlorine and sunlight.

2. Rinse it before and after you swim or soak. Chlorine weakens fibers and causes your suit to wear out faster. Running it under cool water before you swim will keep the fabric from absorbing so much chlorine, and rinsing it after wards gets rid of the little bit it does. A hot hot tub will weaken the fabric, too.

3. Don’t leave it piled up in the corner. No studies have found that a swimsuit can harbor waterborne germs, but it can breed other things if you leave it, damp, in a beach bag. “It could attract mildew, and it can attract mold spores from the air,” says Laurie Batter from the National Swimming Pool Foundation. “It becomes a good medium to grow things,” she says. Bacterial growth isn’t good for the fabric or the person wearing it. If you can’t take your suit home immediately (that is if you’re tub soaking at a friend’s), she suggests laying it across the backseat of your car. If you’re home, hang it up to dry as soon as you leave the tub.

4. Keep it away from the machines. The agitation and heat from washing machines and dryers will cause the fibers to break down more quickly. Stick to hand washing and line-drying. Why wash a swim suit? It’s NOT dirty for heaven’s sake!

5. Switch to SilkBalance Natural Water Care for Spas & Hot tubs which is gentle on swimsuit fibers. Suits don’t fade or disintegrate as rapidly when you use SilkBalance in your hot tub in place of harsh chemicals. Here’s a quote from Olympic Hot Tub customer and SilkBalance user Sally Downs, ” It is so easy and convenient to use just once a week and there is no smell of chlorine on your skin when you get out of the water. Silk balance also does not create damage to your bathing suit.”

6. Buy an inexpensive suit for wearing in the hot tub. Save your “good”suit-the one that makes you look like a model- for those times you’ll be seen in public. Wear the cheap suit for hot tubbing at home. Avoid “full suits” which trap air and seem to blow up on your body making you look like the Pillsbury doughboy.

7. Consider no suit. That’s right, go nude, The most natural swimsuit of all is your birthday suit—and it will last as long as you do. Give it a try at the next opportunity.  If you do go in the buff,  see #5 above. SilkBalance is a must and really makes your skin soft.

RES EST SERVAS VOLUPTAS. Pleasure is a serious business.

Thanks for reading Hot Tub Bliss. We hope you went from “Ahhhh” to “A-Ha”! Be sure to ‘Like’ our Facebook Page.