How to Get Chlorine Smell Out of Swimwear (and Make It Last)

If you swim regularly, you know the smell. That sharp chlorine tang that clings to your costume, your towel, your gym bag — and somehow follows you into the office the next morning. Worse, chlorine isn't just a smell problem: left in the fabric, it slowly destroys the elastane that gives swimwear its stretch. Here's how to get chlorine smell out of swimwear properly, and keep your kit fitting like it should.

Why swimwear smells of chlorine long after you've dried off

The smell isn't actually chlorine itself — it's chloramines, the compounds formed when chlorine reacts with sweat and skin oils in pool water. These bind to synthetic fibres and don't rinse out with water alone. And because swimwear is mostly polyester and elastane, the same low-temperature washing problem that plagues gym kit applies here: ordinary detergents at 30°C simply don't break these residues down.

Step 1: Rinse immediately — poolside if you can

The single best thing you can do for your swimwear is rinse it in cold, clean water as soon as you're out of the pool. Most pools have a shower; wear your costume in and give it thirty seconds. The longer chlorinated water sits in the fabric, the more damage it does to the elastane and the deeper the smell sets in.

Never leave a wet costume rolled up in a swim bag overnight. That's how you get the mildew-plus-chlorine combination that no wash fully shifts.

Step 2: Wash properly — not just a rinse

A rinse removes loose chlorine, but chloramines and body oils need a proper wash:

• Cold or 30°C wash. Heat is elastane's worst enemy — it's why old costumes go baggy.
• Gentle cycle or hand wash. Swimwear is delicate; a mesh laundry bag helps in the machine.
• No fabric softener. As with all technical fabrics, it coats the fibres and traps the smell in.
• Use an enzyme-based sports detergent. This is the difference-maker. A detergent built for synthetics at low temperatures breaks down the chloramines and body oils that regular detergent leaves behind — which is exactly what Titan Wash was formulated for. Swimmers use it for the same reason runners and cyclists do: it cleans the fabric, not just the surface.

Step 3: Dry it right

Squeeze — don't wring — the excess water out, then lay flat or hang to dry away from direct sunlight and radiators. UV and heat both break down elastane. Never tumble dry swimwear; one hot cycle can age a costume more than a season of swimming.

What about the stubborn cases?

If a costume already smells strongly, soak it for 30 minutes in cold water with a dose of sports detergent before washing. For swim towels and poolside kit, the same rules apply — cool wash, proper detergent, thorough dry. And if the smell is coming from your swim bag rather than the costume, empty it after every session and let it air out; a damp bag re-contaminates clean kit.

Make your swimwear last more than one season

Chlorine damage is cumulative. A costume that's rinsed straight away, washed properly and air dried can last years; one that's left wet in a bag and blasted with hot washes will be see-through and saggy within months. The routine takes two extra minutes:

• Rinse cold immediately after swimming
• Wash at 30°C with a sports-specific detergent
• No softener, no tumble dryer
• Dry flat, out of direct sun
• Air your swim bag between sessions

Do that, and the chlorine smell goes for good — along with the baggy costume problem.

Swim often? Shop Titan Wash sports detergent → — built for synthetics, chlorine and everything the pool throws at your kit.

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