Need Help with Fraying Khakis (light, washing, washed, male)
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I am not sure if there is a better forum for this or not but I thought I would give it a shot. I am a male, work in an office setting (business casual is our dress code) and wear khakis on a daily basis. I usually like to have 3 or 4 pairs that I can rotate.
I have a real problem, though, in that they seem to fray prematurely. I know that no set of pants last forever but pretty much all of the khakis that I have bought have lasted for less than a year, with the norm being 6 to 8 months. I have even had several pairs of Dockers that lasted 2 to 3 months tops. My pants do not have cuffs at the bottom of them, so the fraying is not typically there but happens most often on the back belt loops and in the butt. I tend to notice it getting worse right after pulling them out of the washer. I do try to follow the washing instructions and I try to do minimal time in the dryer to avoid any issues with heat. I also don't wash them on a weekly basis to try to help them last longer but it doesn't seem to work.
Does anyone else have this problem? Are the khakis that are made today just that poorly made or do you think that I am overlooking something? Would turning them inside out before washing help? I hate having to replace khakis after 6 months and 8 to 12 washes.
You just need a few more pair. If you wear them every day and only have 3 or 4 pairs, you wear them more than once/week. That's a lot. I wouldn't expect them to last long.
My husband and I wear khakis every day, too. We washes and dries them, and they do start to fray. I wash mine in cold water, delicate cycle , and hang them to dry. They seem to last a while. I probably have more than he does, too.
You just need a few more pair. If you wear them every day and only have 3 or 4 pairs, you wear them more than once/week. That's a lot. I wouldn't expect them to last long.
My husband and I wear khakis every day, too. We washes and dries them, and they do start to fray. I wash mine in cold water, delicate cycle , and hang them to dry. They seem to last a while. I probably have more than he does, too.
I am thinking of doing nothing but cold wash (with the pants turned inside-out) and do just a few minutes in the dryer on the absolute lowest setting just so they are not soaking wet and then hang them to dry the rest of the way. I am hoping that will help them last a little longer. It seems kind of pointless right now to spend $40 or more on a pair of khakis just to struggle to get them to last 6 months.
For all my nicer pants that can be machine washed, I only machine wash cold on the delicates cycle (with minimal soap turned inside out) and I only wash them around once a month. Sometimes I just hand wash and skip the machine. Either way they never go in the dryer. This seems to slow any fraying/fading.
You may want to try a trick that vintage textile dealers use to restore tensile strength to fabric. I don't see why it wouldn't work to stop your fraying problem.
Soak the pants in 2 cups of Downy for every gallon of water. Keep the pants in the solution until it doesn't feel slippery anymore. This may take a day or longer. Rinse in cold water and air dry.
Going forward, I would wash my pants in cold water on the delicate cycle and hang to dry. I would wash more often than you are doing, but that's my own preference. I don't wear anything twice without washing. You'll need to iron, but using light spray starch will also help protect the fabric. Good luck.
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