Wearing workout clothes in a pool

July 18, 2017 9:48 PM

Is it likely that workout clothes that look and feel just like swimsuit material would be visibly damaged in a pool?

I saw a previous askme asking if it was ok to swim in workout clothes and most of the answers were saying "They're not made for swimming, they will be heavy and uncomfortable." I have some workout clothes that look & feel exactly like a swimsuit except they're better quality & have much better coverage & support. But because they are solid black in color, I was wondering if there was any way to find out in advance if I jump in the pool will I come out wearing a bleached mess. Because in my experience a lot more things are bleach resistant these days but black dye is a special case. I'm not worried about increased wear & tear over time, just want to know if they'll make it through a few times at least.

I'm also not talking about working out in the clothes and then getting into the pool. These would be just for swimming.

posted by bleep to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (9 answers total)

I often wear an ordinary sports bra for casual swimming/hottubbing, and it works out fine. Take extra care to rinse the clothes thoroughly as soon as you can (because chlorine is bleach, and keeps working as long as it's sitting on the fabric, more or less) and otherwise you should be totally fine for a couple of times.
posted by restless_nomad at 10:04 PM on July 18, 2017 [2 favorites]

I wear compression capri pants over my bathing suit. I don't even buy expensive ones - Old Navy works fine. Mine have been through dozens of trips to the beach and pool and through the wash without fading.
posted by ereshkigal45 at 11:01 PM on July 18, 2017 [1 favorite]

Try dropping some bleach or diluted bleach onto a hidden corner of the material and see what happens.
posted by aniola at 11:24 PM on July 18, 2017

I would be concerned about the reverse: would you leave the pool a stained mess?
posted by steady-state strawberry at 2:37 AM on July 19, 2017

When I started sewing, I was surprised that swimsuit fabric is also sold as dancewear fabric or as dress fabric. There's nothing particularly special about swimsuit fabric - it's a mix of synthetic material - polyester/nylon/spandex, etc. as suggested above, rinse it out well after swimming like any other swimsuit, and perhaps rinse it out once before you go in the pool if you're worried about it bleeding color.
posted by umwhat at 4:18 AM on July 19, 2017 [3 favorites]

I wear black swim leggings, and they do not feel particularly different from workout clothes (although mine are chlorine resistant fwiw). Plus, they are super comfortable. I say go for it!
posted by daikaisho at 4:42 AM on July 19, 2017

My dad wears his cycling gear into the pool after summer rides, and then just hangs it up on the line, judging that the chlorine in the pool water will do the work of deodorizing it and such. I asked him if he worries that the chlorine will damage the elastomers in his clothes and make them wear out, but he said no and they do seem to still be fine after a year or two of this treatment.

So I'd say yeah, go for it.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 5:40 AM on July 19, 2017 [1 favorite]

My Old Navy sports bras spend quite some time in the pool (because sometimes I wear men's trunks and a sports bra and sometimes I wear a women's-coded swimsuit) and they fare just fine.
posted by joycehealy at 8:25 AM on July 19, 2017

I just bought some paddleboard pants and a rashguard shirt. I fully intend to wear them for workout and swimming. (Some paddleboard/surf gear for women is neoprene, avoid that ... it's VERY hot.)

Yes, the capri length swim pants do get kind of heavy, but not sloppy because they're form-fitting.
posted by typetive at 9:26 AM on July 19, 2017