Breeches, especially show breeches with real leather seats, can be a significant investment, so it’s important to care for them properly to prolong their usefulness. Follow these care tips to keep your breeches clean for both the training and show rings and to extend their lifespan, which can be especially helpful if you’re on a budget. Plus, we offer advice on how to get stains and “yellowing” out of white breeches.

How To Properly Wash, Care For and Store Breeches

1. Always turn your breeches inside out prior to washing. This helps prevent fading. Many manufacturers are also including silicon-grip knee patches and full seats in breeches; by turning them inside out, you can also protect silicon gripping from the wash cycle.

2. Machine- or hand-wash in cold water and use a mild detergent specifically designed for soft leather. Do not dry clean breeches.

3. The first time you wash your breeches, add 1 teaspoon of white vinegar to the wash cycle. This will help set the dye in the leather.

4. After washing, promptly remove the breeches from the washing machine to reduce the risk of the leather bleeding onto the fabric; this is especially important for dark leathers.

5. Roll the clean breeches in a towel to remove excess water. This will decrease drying time, which helps prevent leather from drying out, cracking or becoming rigid.

6. Allow your breeches to air-dry, and do not expose them to full sunlight or direct heat. Do not tumble dry or iron.

7. If the leather in your breeches has cracked or hardened, use a leather conditioner for use on washable leather apparel.

8. Spray a stain and water repellant like Scotchgard™ on your white show breeches (excluding the knee patches or full seat) before wearing. This will help keep them clean longer.

9.) After washing, store breeches in a cool, dry, well-ventilated location, away from direct sunlight. Avoid storing them in plastic bags, which can encourage moisture accumulation. If you store them in a wooden container, wrap them in a clean pillowcase to protect them from the acid in the wood, which can cause brown spots on clothing.

Combat “Yellowing” In White Breeches

If you’ve ever owned a pair of white synthetic-blend breeches, you may have noticed they tend to yellow over time. While you might not be able to get them perfectly sparkling white again, Charlotte Coffman, senior extension associate in the Department of Fiber Science & Apparel Design at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, offers advice on how to reverse or at least reduce the yellow appearance.

In an effort to get your white breeches sparkling white again, many riders use bleach. Coffman explains that when you combine bleach and spandex, a staple component of many synthetic-blend breeches, it can result in permanent yellowing. “You may not have noticed the discoloration until after you removed the breeches from storage because the process can occur over time,” she noted.

However, if you did not bleach your breeches or the care label says it’s safe to bleach them, the yellowing may have resulted from a number of other causes:

• Too much heat. Clothing containing nylon, for example, should only be air-dried or dried at a low temperature.
  
• Prolonged exposure to sunlight.
  
• Washing in an overloaded machine. This may cause loosened soil to be redeposited on garments, creating a yellowish effect.
  
• Oxidation of protein stains. Stains that might not have been evident earlier can react chemically with oxygen in the air over time, slowly changing the color of the material.
  
• Deposits of metals, such as iron and manganese, from your water supply. These can cause yellowish-brown stains on fabrics.

To avoid this issue altogether, always be sure to to read the washing instructions on the breeches’ label. For example, if an all-white garment cannot tolerate bleach, the care label will read, “Do not bleach.” With the label precautions in mind, try one of the following procedures to treat the yellowing depending on how you think occurred:

1. For yellowing caused by washer overloading, dissolve 1/4 cup powdered detergent in enough water to cover the breeches. Let them soak for 8 to 12 hours and then rewash in plenty of water.

2. If the care label says that your breeches can be bleached, add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of regular bleach to the wash water and detergent, and then wash. Always be sure to use the amount of bleach recommended on the product label, and never pour full-strength bleach directly onto your breeches. Instead, dilute bleach by pouring it into the bleach dispenser or by adding it with the detergent as the washer is filling with water, before adding the clothes.

If you’re uncertain of your breeches’ bleachability and you’re sure they don’t contain spandex perform a colorfast test on a hidden part of the item like a hem or pocket. Add 2 teaspoons of liquid bleach to 1/4 cup of water. Apply a drop of this solution to the hidden area and wait a few minutes. If you don’t see a color change, it’s safe to use bleach.

If the yellowing showed improvement following bleaching but was not entirely removed, try a bleach soak prior to another full wash. Soak the breeches for 10 to 15 minutes in a solution of 1/4 cup of regular liquid bleach per gallon of water. Then run them through a complete wash cycle.

3. To remove protein stains that have oxidized over time, soak the breeches in an enzyme product such as BIZ or Wisk. Follow the directions on the product label, then rewash.

4. For yellowing caused by minerals in your water supply, try treating your breeches with a dye-remover product.

5. If all else fails, you can try to minimize the yellowing by treating the breeches with a bluing agent. Follow the directions carefully, though. Too much bluing can produce an equally undesirable grayish appearance.

For tips on how to find the right breeches for your body shape, click here.