What tips do you all have for keeping a racing suit functional as long as possible? I have been thoroughly enjoying my first one, after a few fashion/fitness models this is so much more comfortable!!!! However, it has already "given out" in a couple spots and I've only worn it about six weeks. For me that is 4 - 5 times/week. Will 30 workouts mark the beginning of the end of a racing suit? I do rinse it out after every swim in medium temperature water = cool shower water.
Any tips of the trade??? What do you all do to keep your suits going?
Thanks!!!
Tzivia
Parents
Former Member
My daughter used to go through a suit a month, with 5 day/week usage. Drove me nuts. The pool she was swimming in was too heavily chlorinated and kept at about 86° (pool manager used the seniors' noon swim as his excuse for keeping it that high). I used a couple of different types of advertised "suit saver" products, which made no difference at all.
Then about a year ago, I started swimming, and we changed pools. Suits started to last a bit longer. I have a Nike suit that I just love, and it has given me about 7 months of faithful service (3-4 practices/week) and still fits great. The only sign of wear is in the middle of the front liner. I attribute the wear difference to a product that someone on this board recommended. A de-chlorinator that you use for aquariums. I found one at Wal-Mart for less than $2, called Chlor Out. The 4 oz bottle lasts about a month. After we swim, we rinse our suits in cool water at the pool, and when we get home, I put them to soak in a sink of cold water with about half a teaspoon of Chlor out; swish them around a few times and squeeze them a couple of times - pull them out and hang them up to dry. I use far more than the few drops the bottle states is necessary to de-chlorinate regular tap water, but I'm a firm believer that it works.
So, if you don't want to change fabric as others have suggested, give this kind of a product a try. We swim at least two meets per month and our year-old competition suits still look and feel like new.
On a different, but slightly related topic, I have found the best deal on grab bag suits at 4 Seasons swimwear (www.4swimwear.com). If anyone has other recommendations for good quality, inexpensive practice suits, I'd love to have them!
Cheers!
Reply
Former Member
My daughter used to go through a suit a month, with 5 day/week usage. Drove me nuts. The pool she was swimming in was too heavily chlorinated and kept at about 86° (pool manager used the seniors' noon swim as his excuse for keeping it that high). I used a couple of different types of advertised "suit saver" products, which made no difference at all.
Then about a year ago, I started swimming, and we changed pools. Suits started to last a bit longer. I have a Nike suit that I just love, and it has given me about 7 months of faithful service (3-4 practices/week) and still fits great. The only sign of wear is in the middle of the front liner. I attribute the wear difference to a product that someone on this board recommended. A de-chlorinator that you use for aquariums. I found one at Wal-Mart for less than $2, called Chlor Out. The 4 oz bottle lasts about a month. After we swim, we rinse our suits in cool water at the pool, and when we get home, I put them to soak in a sink of cold water with about half a teaspoon of Chlor out; swish them around a few times and squeeze them a couple of times - pull them out and hang them up to dry. I use far more than the few drops the bottle states is necessary to de-chlorinate regular tap water, but I'm a firm believer that it works.
So, if you don't want to change fabric as others have suggested, give this kind of a product a try. We swim at least two meets per month and our year-old competition suits still look and feel like new.
On a different, but slightly related topic, I have found the best deal on grab bag suits at 4 Seasons swimwear (www.4swimwear.com). If anyone has other recommendations for good quality, inexpensive practice suits, I'd love to have them!
Cheers!
