I have 2 pair of jeans like that with the spandex. They are also dark blue. I've never put them in the dryer as I'm afraid they will shrink. I've never turned them inside out and they haven't faded any after several washings. I don't think I could always remember to turn them inside out. Anyway, it hasn't hurt them.

Today I received the Wonder Wash I ordered from laundry alternatives. I absolutely love it! I have a HE set of washer/dryer but I wanted something for those small loads of hubby's work clothes (oilfield - ugh!), vacations without electricity, etc. I played with it for 2 hours and got the washing for 4 people done in that time. Fast, efficient, and even gets the oily grime from the uniforms out! I can fit 3 pairs of MY jeans in it (plus size) and they come out great. 7 M Adult t-shirts and 4 pairs of undies in one load; I only did one set of uniforms at a time...they get really grungy. I'm not saying I will use it all the time, but here are the facts: I did 4 1/2 regular loads of laundry in 2 hours using 12 gals of cold water (reused rinse water for next wash), same amount of soap, and NO electricity. Very easy to turn, did not seem unstable at all. Larger loads turn easier FYI. No leaks. Simply fill, wash, drain, fill, rinse, drain. I used a garden hose. Unit has suction cups to help it stay in place, but didn't have any trouble with that. I set it up outside so I didn't have to bother with wringing out much, just hung straight out on line, drippy wet. It was breezy and 90 degrees...jeans dried in a little over an hour. NO wrinkles. Took about 7 mins per load. Definitely going to use it for uniforms regularly, save my good washer. I did use an old salad spinner I never use from the cupboard (crank of course) to spin out water from socks and undies...works GREAT! I would wring what water I could from them, set the clothes in evenly, gave it a 30 second spin and VOILA! they were MUCH dryer! I am seriously considering a sturdier, larger salad spinner. I would like to be able to do laundry easier on camping trips (2 weeks long) and vacations so don't want to go electric. I figure I can pack clean clothes in both during travel and just set up in the bath...no more laudromats! Considering the success with the salad spinner, I think the regular spin dryer would work great. The same place I bought my mini washer sells some that crank up to 3200 rpm's and can handle about 13 lbs wet laundry. By my calculations, I can only spin the salad spinner at about 700 rpms (every turn of handle turns interior 4 times...can turn handle about 3 times per second if I REALLY try...12 X 60 = 720). Well, there ya go. My experience with the crank-style mini washers is exceedingly good. Definitely worth the total price of about $60 including shipping.

LOL Marilyn. You're right, not everyone has donkeys, horses and pigs! Too cute. I wear mine a number of times before washing. Even when shovelling snow I wear them again the next time I do it. The bottoms get wet and some dirty, but not enough to wash every time I shovel. Others I wear to the store and wear them a number of times as well before washing (inside out). Mine are cheapie Walmart. I keep wanting to try the Costco ones but haven't done it yet. Hubby loves his from Costco, and like everywhere else, men's clothing is cheaper than women's there as well. I love wearing yoga pants, they are so comfortable, and apparently, those at Costco are good quality.

Kay: You have to go to Edit Profile, Advanced Settings and scroll down to where it says "Climate Zone for Garden Forums" and just input your zone in the box and then click on Update. No need to click on the lookup button or use the words Zone. Just add whatever number you want. It will show up next to your name with parenthesis like it is showing now with yours being (8). Hope that helps and I miss Jean. Maybe her daughter will help her too. She is so funny and I do love her posts. :)