Without a doubt rhythmic gymnastics leotard will not become dirty as much as any other sports clothing. But it should be washed after a season plenty of competitions or before leotard reselling.
Many leotards have complex designs made with paints, glitter. Some of leotards have volume elements. But all of these details should not an obstacle for leotard washing. We made this instruction for you to take care of your leotard that will serve you better and longer then. The instruction is based on a study video created by Svetlana Gerasimova's studio.
In order to wash a leotard you would need to have a relative small wash basin, simple detergent, for example Fairy, and a few large bath towels. Water temperature should be around 30 degrees Celsius.
When you will load the leotard in to a basin you will most probably see that water color has changed. No worries about that! Most of colorful lycra fabrics are impacted with fading. There is no need to presoak the leotard and you should start the washing immediately. It would be enough to rub the leotard gently in the places where it is most often becomes dirty. For example under the arms and in the panties zone. At the same time try not to rub the places where there is glitter paintings.
After that get the leotard out of the water, slightly press it out but do not twist it. Then the water in basin should be changed and the leotard should be rinsed in a clean water to wash out detergent of it. The water in basin should be changed at least 1-2 times during rinsing or till it will become clean of soap. Then the water should maximally flow down of the leotard. You can help with gently pressing the water out but not twisting the leotard too much.
Lay down large bath towel on a flat surface and put the leotard on top of it. Try to open it out as much as possible. Start to dry the leotard by rolling it into the towel from different angles slightly pressing the towel. This way the towel will get maximum moisture from the leotard and let it dry faster. As soon as the towel is wet, please change it to a new one. You can finish drying the leotard when the towel will become dry enough.
In order to avoid fading of the leotard, it would make sense to put folded towel or towels inside of the leotard and let it dry. The towel will not let fading colors to transfer to the other elements of the leotard. If the leotard has sleeves that also have colored elements or colorful lycra fabrics used, it is recommended to put small towels in the sleeves as well. Also it is recommended to put a towel between panties and skirt in case if there are any colored elements or colorful lycra patterns on those.
In the end leave the leotard to dry on a flat surface for a night. Did you ever wash a leotard?