Material
Elastane
The stretch fibre inside a blend, degraded by chlorine, heat and oils. It does not stain much, and it is the part that fails.
- SurfaceNon porous
- WashingHand
- Colour run riskMedium
- Reviewed7 September 2026
What elastane can and cannot take
- Heat Avoid
- Water and soaking Tolerates it
- Acids, including vinegar Use with care
- Strong alkalis Use with care
- Solvents Avoid
- Chlorine bleach Avoid
- Abrasives Use with care
Always test on a hidden area first and let it dry before you treat the visible mark.
General rules for elastane
Cold water and a mild wash. Elastane does not stain in any meaningful way, so what you are really doing is treating the fabric it is blended with while not damaging the stretch.
Chlorine bleach is the main thing to keep away, because it attacks the elastane itself rather than the colour.
Heat is the other. A tumble dryer or a hot wash breaks the elastic filaments, and a garment that has lost its stretch cannot be repaired.
Check the label
Elastane is almost always a small percentage blended into something else, and it is the weakest link in whatever it is in. Chlorine, heat and oil all degrade it, and when it goes the garment does not fade or tear, it simply stops springing back.
Stains on elastane
- Baby sick Rinse the mark out in cold water and hand wash the garment with a mild detergent. Elastane is smooth and does...
- Blood Blot first, then use cold water and a tiny amount of compatible detergent. Work from the edge, rinse or blot...
- Body oil Dry blot elastane, then wash only if the care label permits it using diluted delicate detergent. Do not apply...
- Breast milk Dry-blot first. Use this route only on an unstructured item whose whole label expressly permits hand washing....
- Bronzer Lift loose bronzer from elastane before it is rubbed in. Blot cream bronzer, follow the material or care labe...
- Coffee Blot without rubbing. Support the fabric and check the care label before adding water. Use a brief fibre-appr...
- Concealer Lift the concealer, flush Elastane from the back with cool water, pre-treat the oily residue with one drop of...
- Cooking grease Lift and blot cooking grease from Elastane, absorb the oil, pretreat both sides with washing-up liquid for 10...
- Deodorant Rub a fresh white deodorant mark off elastane while it is dry. For residue that remains, follow the care labe...
- Hair dye Blot Elastane, flush cool water through the back, pretreat with liquid detergent, wash to the care label and...
- Lipstick Lift lipstick from Elastane, work from the reverse with a drop of washing-up liquid, rinse cool, wash to the...
- Motor oil Blot motor oil from Elastane, absorb the residue, pretreat both sides with a little washing-up liquid, wash t...
- Nail polish Lift accessible free polish without rubbing and keep the item dry. The fibre, finish or construction makes a...
- Period blood Lift any tissue with a spoon edge, then blot. Use cold water and a tiny amount of compatible detergent for th...
- Pet urine Blot until nearly dry, then use only the cool-water quantity elastane can tolerate. Use a labelled pet urine...
- Sweat Rinse fresh sweat from the back of Elastane with cool water, pretreat retained residue, wash to the care labe...
- Tomato sauce Lift tomato sauce from Elastane, flush from the reverse with cool water, pretreat the remaining film, wash to...
Elastane, sold as Lycra or spandex, is a synthetic rubber spun into a filament and blended in small percentages with other fibres.
It is the weak link
A garment that is 95 percent cotton and 5 percent elastane can only be washed as gently as the elastane allows, because the elastane is what fails first and its failure is what ends the garment's life.
Chlorine destroys it
Chlorine bleach and chlorinated pool water both break the polymer down. The garment does not discolour, it goes slack, and it is not recoverable.
Heat does the same
Hot water, a tumble dryer and an iron all break the filaments. The stretch goes and the garment bags at the knees and elbows.
It does not really stain
Elastane itself is smooth and non absorbent. When a stretch garment stains, the stain is in the cotton or polyester it is blended with, and that is what the method is aimed at.
Sources
What we checked and when. Where a manufacturer instruction disagrees with anything here, follow the manufacturer.
-
How to wash swimwear, Simply Swim
retailer
UK swimwear retailer guidance to rinse swimwear by hand in cold water after every use because water alone does not remove chlorine or salt, never to use chlorine bleach because chlorine resistant does not mean chlorine proof, never to machine wash or tumble dry swimwear even once, never to iron it because high temperatures make the fabric disintegrate, and to air dry it in the shade allowing 24 hours between wears for the elastane to recover.
Checked 7 September 2026
-
How to clean polyester and synthetics, Woolite
manufacturer
Detergent manufacturer guidance that polyester is washed, dried and ironed at low to medium heat only because excessive heat can melt the fibres, that air drying is preferred to machine drying, that nylon is washed in cool water on a gentle cycle because repeated machine washing causes discolouration and loss of shape, and that acrylic knits are laid flat or dried at low temperature to keep their shape.
Checked 7 September 2026
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How to remove baby formula stains, Purex Stain Lab
manufacturer
Manufacturer guidance identifying breast milk, formula and baby spit-up as protein stains, explaining the role of enzymes, and warning that the mark should be checked before any drying heat because heat sets what remains.
Checked 7 September 2026