Our Anti-Sand Guide: Removing Sand from a Swimsuit and Keeping Places Sand-Free

Imagine this:

You spent the day at the beach, fishing for all the fish—and around in the cooler for a cold one as you watch YouTube—and it’s the perfect vacation day. Then, on the way to the car, you feel it.

There’s a gritting feeling in places.

How’d you get sand in your chafe-free trunks?!

That’s one of many mysteries in the universe, but fortunately getting rid of it (and preventing it!) isn’t quite so mysterious. In our article, we go over how to get sand out of your trunks so you don’t have the feeling of sandpaper in your shorts for the rest of your vacation. Plus, we’ll talk about how to prevent sand from getting in other places too, like your beach bag, dirtying up your sunglasses, and you guessed it: how to keep sand out of the car. Stay sand-free. Buy some trunks. Keep reading for more!

How to Get Sand out of a Swimsuit: Step by Step

Getting sand out of your trunks isn’t impossible, but it is a step-by-step process. Follow our steps to keep your swim trunks in good shape and not ruin your washer and dryer! By the way, they work great on kids’ swim outfits too!

Don’t Wait Until Later!

Once sand is in your bathing suit, it’s important to get it out as soon as possible. Sand build-up can cause some irritation, not to mention that it’s harder to get out once it has had time to get trapped in the fabric and fibers of your chafe-free swim trunks. As soon as you get home or get some privacy with a clean pair of shorts, change and shake your shorts off outside. You’ll want to then turn them inside out and do it again to get as much excess sand off as possible.

Next, Rinse Your Shorts Out.

Once you’ve knocked the sand out of your swim trunks, you’ll need to rinse them. In your kitchen or bathroom sink, rinse your trunks off in cool water. You can use a mild detergent at this point to hand wash your compression-lined trunks; or, simply rinse as much of the sand off as you can—it usually takes five to 10 minutes, depending on how much got in your trunks.

If you choose to wash your trunks in the laundry, it’s a good idea to put them in a separate wash bag to prevent the shell of your trunks and our chafe-free lining from getting tangled on other garments. It’s also very important to still rinse them out. Sand in your washer and dryer can eventually lead to damage, and no one wants that bill!

Let It Dry!

Assuming you hand-washed it, you’ll want to let your trunks dry completely. Some choose to roll it in a towel to squeeze out excess water and speed up the process, but either way, let it get completely dry. Lay it out in a sunny spot on the deck—the perfect time for an ice cold drink and some TV—and then once it is, you can shake it out again. The process of hand washing your chafe-free swim trunks should have loosened up any sand left in them. If not…

Bring Out the Big Guns— aka the Hair Dryer.

If all else fails and sand has made itself at home in your compression lining, use a hair dryer (on the cool setting) to blow it off the swim trunks. If that doesn’t work, we suggest putting the shorts on display and charging admission for spectators to see the sand that wouldn’t budge (just kidding, it really should work just fine.)

Sounds like a lot of fuss, huh? Here’s our guide on how to keep sand on the beach, where it belongs, and out of your chafe-free trunks.

How to Keep Sand Out of Short Swim Trunks & More Sand Prevention Tips

Beach advice of the season—what you should keep sand-free to make your beach trip a good one. Here are the 5 places and things you should keep free of sand, including your picnic basket and short swim trunks. Our tips on how to avoid pesky sand particles will keep you comfortable all season long.

1. All Swimsuits, Including Long & Short Swim Trunks

   There’s nothing worse than sand sneaking up in your swimsuit, but one way to help combat this is wearing long swim trunks rather than short swim trunks. DryFins inside liner also helps prevent chafing that can be worsened from water and sand. Ensure your swim trunks are the right size and aren’t too loose, this is another common issue that can lead to sand ending up in places it shouldn’t. These same rules also apply to boys swimsuits.

2. Picnic Baskets & Coolers

   To keep your food sand-free during a beach day, make sure you bring along all necessary equipment for a good beach set-up: blanket, beach chairs, umbrella, paper towels, and wipes. Once sand reaches your picnic basket or cooler, it’s challenging to get rid of it. Our biggest tip is to make sure everyone wipes off their hands before opening any containers with food and drinks. Also keep these away from areas where kids may be running around and playing, like behind chairs or near the umbrella.

3. Beach Bag

   Your beach bag generally holds many key essentials, sunscreen, cellphones, keys, wallets, goggles, and towels. Invest in a bag with several compartments to keep beach necessities away from important things like keys and cell phones. Another tip is to keep your phone in a plastic bag to protect it from sand and water. Lastly, keep the kids away from your beach bag to prevent sandy hands from digging around for toys or goggles.

4. Sunglasses

   Have you ever dropped your sunglasses in the sand and had to spend the rest of the day flicking off particles of sand? Yeah, no fun. Invest in a handy pair of sunglass straps to keep them on your face while you’re running around with the kids or wading in the water. This is one of the easiest ways to prevent a drop in the sand or the ocean!

5. Your Car

   Looking for ways to keep sand out of the car? If you drove to the beach, then you’re probably looking for some tips to keep your car sand-free on the way home. One way to do this is to line the seats of your car with a sheet, something you can easily wash later on. Another option is to bring additional water with you so you can wipe off feet and legs before getting in the car. One of our favorite ways to do this is keeping a soft bristled brush in the car to wipe off the bottom of shoes with water.

Do you know what’s a lot of fun? The beach.

Know what isn’t? Sand in your pants.

Don’t let sand get in your pants!

Use our article above to remove sand from your favorite beach outfit (that’d be our chafe-free shorts and spiffy shirt, right?) and prevent it from getting in your clothes and stuff in the first place! Say goodbye to sand at the end of the day, and hello to the rest of your sand-free vacation!

From your long and short swim trunks to the beach bag, it’s simple to prevent sand from ending up in places it shouldn’t be and get rid of it when it does!

Frequently Asked Questions

Whether the beach bum lifestyle is your thing or it’s the mountainside country club with imported sand, we’ve got the answers to your sand questions here!

How do you get sand out of rash guards?

Do a magic trick for your friends! Have someone pull the rash guard tight, then scrape the sand right off with your nails. The tension will make it easy to get off of the special material of our rashguards.

Does salt water damage swimwear?

Chemicals and the salt in saltwater can absolutely damage the fabric of your shorts. Be sure to rinse your DryFins chafe-free swim trunks off promptly after each outing to extend the life of your shorts.

Can I put sand clothes in the washing machine?

It’s important to make sure all of the sand is removed from your swim trunks, or any garment for that matter, before putting it in the washing machine. Use our steps to get all of the sand off your clothes to present wear and tear on both your clothes and the washer.

Does baby powder get rid of sand?

The experts—aka TikTok influencers—say that baby powder can actually remove sand from both you and your shorts. But, make sure your shorts are dry first!

Can sand ruin a dryer?

Yes, it can. Sand can get trapped in the inner parts of the dryer and damage the machine. That’s why it’s important to make sure your swim trunks are free of sand before putting them in the wash.