How Often Should You Replace Your Sports Bras?

A worn-out sports bra can impact performance. Here’s how to know when it’s time to ditch yours.

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I have to confess: I have not replaced my sports bras in a very, very long time. I don’t mean a year or two—I’m talking six to seven years and, to be honest, probably more.

It’s not like my sports bras go unused and remain in a like-new state. I work out almost daily. I do hot yoga and regularly go hiking, biking, and jogging. I also like to take my dog on long walks. Sometimes, I even use the Peloton in my living room.

These sports bras support me through it all (pun intended).

Some of my bras, like the ones I use for yoga, are in fairly good shape, but the pieces I wear during intense activities like running? Those are pretty shot, yet they remain in my underwear drawer.

It turns out there are a handful of factors that can affect the lifespan of your sports bras—like how you clean them and the materials they’re made of.

While it can be tempting to wear the same one for years if it seems to be working well enough, replacing your sports bra is still a good idea. Here’s why.

When you work out, your breasts bounce. “A good sports bra stabilizes the chest to minimize movement, reduce strain on ligaments, and prevent discomfort, sagging, or even injury like micro tears in breast tissue,” says Casey Schumacher, Senior Director of Design & Performance at Athleta.

The more your breast tissue moves or “jiggles,” as this 2019 study puts it, the more pain you might experience. Up to 72 percent of women experience breast pain during exercise, evidence suggests.

Breast pain isn’t just annoying; it can affect your athletic performance, too. Research has found, for example, that excessive breast motion has been linked to gait issues in runners.

At the very least, discomfort from a flimsy sports bra may distract you from your athletic pursuits. Instead of focusing on your pace, you might not be able to take your mind off your breast pain or the itchy fabric rubbing against your skin.

Feeling embarrassed about how much your breasts move during a workout might zap your focus, too.

If you’re active, your sports bras will inevitably wear down. Spandex and rubber elastic, two of the most common materials sports bras are made out of, lose their compression powers over time, and with it, their ability to keep your breasts in place, says Susan L. Sokolowski, a professor of sports product design at the University of Oregon.

This loss of elasticity can, over time, cause your sports bras to be less supportive. This may cause your breasts to excessively move around or sag, which can be particularly painful during high-impact activities, says Schumacher. She adds that when the fabric and seams of an older sports bra deteriorate, you can experience chafing or skin irritation under your arms or along the bust line. This is especially true during intense or prolonged workouts.

The right time to replace your sports bra depends on a few factors, the biggest ones being the materials it’s made of and the quality of its construction.

However, the way it fits, along with how often you wear it and wash it, plays a role, too. “A bra that fits more tightly will experience more stretch. Therefore, the materials can be strained and break down faster,” says Sokolowski. Washing and drying it in hot temperatures can cause the fabric to crack and tear.

According to Schumacher, high-intensity sports bras, like the ones designed for HIIT and running, may break down faster since they absorb so much motion. Low-intensity sports bras (like the very-old ones I wear for yoga) usually last longer as they experience less stress, she says.

Knowing when to go out and restock your sports bras varies from person to person and product to product.

If you wear and wash your sports bras every week, you should aim to get new ones twice a year, says Amy Charlton, the Senior Director of Product at Adidas.

When your sports bra no longer has the same level of compression and support as when you first bought it, Sokolowski says, it’s time to buy a new one.

If your bra feels loose, the material splits or frays, or the pads get super crinkled, the end is near. If you can’t get rid of the post-workout mustiness no matter how often you wash it, treat yourself to a bra that hasn’t been completely drenched in sweat and body oils. The same goes for underwire that’s bent or poking you in the side.

If you don’t feel like splurging on a new bra right away, there are a few tricks that can help prolong the life of your sports bra.

Sokolowski says washing them in cold water with mild detergent and then hanging them up to dry is the way to go (as opposed to running them through the dryer); many of the materials sports bras are made out of, like spandex, do not withstand heat well.

Since many sports bras are made from synthetic fibers, if they wind up in a landfill, they’re going to be there for quite some time. “Spandex takes about 200 years to decompose, polyester between 20 to 200 years to decompose, and nylon takes about 30 to 40 years to decompose,” says Sokolowski. Bras made from cotton or wool are more sustainable and degrade much faster. But even those types typically contain a bit of spandex.

If your old sports bras are still in relatively decent condition, it’s worth donating them. You can drop off gently used bras at local charities or mail them to an organization like The Bra Recyclers, which donates used bras to girls and women in need.

Or, you can join me in perusing Reddit for upcycling ideas such as repurposing them into cleaning rags, using them as weed barriers in your garden, or cutting and sewing them together to make dog toys. You might not be able to stand the lingering stench of sweat, but your dog? They’ll probably love it.