Washing Raw Denim Options

[sixfive]

Those of you who wear raw denim, have y'all washed it before? I'd like to give them a wash to shrink it a bit but don't want to lose any indigo. Soooo:

How well does Woolite Black work?
Dry cleaners?
Showering with them?
Soaking in cold tub?

[superstitious]

I have absolutely no experience with this but wanted to at least try to help.

+ Washing & Soaking

There are several methods for washing. Most recommend if you wear your jeans constantly wait at least 6 months to wash them in hot water with detergent then hang dry them. Another method is to wear them into the ocean (not dirty oceans!) and then rinse them out with fresh (non salted) water and hang dry them. While you do not have to wait so long to wash your jeans, you will get the highest contrast fades if you wait since when you wash them the creases you created will be washed out and you might not get the creases in the same place, thus slowing down the fading. If your jeans aren’t that dirty, try soaking them instead. What does soaking do? Soaking cleans the denim, shrinks, and removes starch. Fill a bath tub full of water and lay the jeans inside out flat to float. Place bottles or something heavy on each leg and side to sink the jeans. The hotter the water, the more they will shrink. If your jeans aren’t that dirty but just stink, fabreeze them.

http://www.honestforum.com/dry-denim/14889...start-here.html