Quote Originally Posted by spazzdog
I always wash (with fabric softener) and dry mine. Never had any problem.
It doesn't really cause a 'problem', but I find that anything with some kind of spandex in it really looses many of its stretchy characteristics after many washes. It could make the difference between 2 and 5 years of use (or 10!!! as I've seen on this thread!!)

Also, I'd beware of fabric softener, unless you find an unscented one... (to keep the risk of infection low)

Supposedly, fabric softener has also some tricky effect on spandex (plus: I was told that spandex + some fabric softeners + very hot dryer = risk of fire, haven't checked with a scientist though...).

Enjoy the season!