Lingerie is unlike other clothing. Items are generally made of more delicate fabrics and are often of a finer construction. This means that they are more susceptible to damage from the normal wear and tear of the washing process.

Always inspect the label of your lingerie before washing. They are far more likely to have specific care instructions than any other clothing that you buy, and this is to ensure that you don’t treat these items like any other garments. They are called “delicates” for a reason, you know!

The most common symbol you will see is that of a hand reaching into a basin. This means hand-wash only and applies to almost all lingerie and hosiery. The embroidered surfaces of many bras, knickers and other night-attire will suffer inside a washing machine. Even ones which are quite robust will deteriorate over time so hand-washing will prolong the life of your item, preserving both printed patterns and the lace detail. Materials such as Lycra will actually degrade quite quickly as a result of machine washing so this is a particular one to watch out for.

When hand-washing in a basin or sink, you should use a specific garment washing liquid soap, or traditional soap flakes.

As with a normal machine wash, ensure you separate your dark and light colours because dyes will still run. You should also check to see if anything you are washing has a fastener or any kind of hook which could snag on the other lingerie as you wash them round. Anything which could damage the other things you are washing should be removed.

Lycra will also start to perish more quickly during a dry clean, and the symbol telling you to avoid this is a circle with a cross through it. Many corsets however are dry-clean only due to their construction and this is simply the circle.

Bleach is represented by a triangle, and you will know not to bleach an item when you see a triangle with a cross through it. Most light fabrics will suffer with bleach, and colours too are effected.

The sign of an iron with a cross through it is straight-forward. Ironing can easily damage lace and embroidered surfaces.

Tumble-drying can cause as much damage as washing. The symbol telling you to avoid this is a circle inside a square with a cross through it.

Finally, think about the colour combinations of lingerie under normal clothing. Denim or other dark fabric worn over white lingerie can dull or dye the material underneath so try to avoid this.

Follow all these instructions and you’ll should see an improvement in the life span of your sexy lingerie.