Take care if you’re wearing jewelry, as it can catch easily on the ripped parts. Be careful when sitting with your legs under a desk or cafe tables; sometimes items under desks can catch on clothing, especially if you cross your legs or knock against parts of the desk.
Do not wear jewelry if washing the jeans by hand, in case it gets caught on the ripped sections. Do not scrub jeans, as this weakens the denim fibers. Do not wring the jeans. Let them drip dry while being air dried; you can pop them into a salad spinner and whir them around a bit to remove extra water. To dry, hang them over several rungs of a clothes airer, to give plentiful support to the jeans. The airer can sit in the bathtub, or outside under a covered balcony or porch.
Avoid using bleach or anything else that might fade the jeans. Bleach also weakens denim, not just fades it. Wash the jeans separately from other clothing that might catch on the distressed parts of the jeans. This includes being careful about hooks, metallic buttons, zippers, etc. on other clothing that might catch on the ripped jeans when being washed.
Another possible form of support for keeping ripped jeans intact is placing them inside a mesh wash bag. Use a large one and be careful not to catch the distressed parts when zipping it up.
