Do you ever wear your clothes more than once before washing them? Many people do because there is no set rule about how often to wash your clothes. This has recently sparked debates on social media. Some people wear the same clothes multiple days before washing them while others wash them after every wear. CNN wanted to dive deeper into the topic and asked doctors what they thought about the clothes-washing debate.
Dermatologist Dr. Anthony Rossi told CNN, “Our beliefs about clothing hygiene are largely societal and cultural. People tend to over wash and over hygiene themselves because especially in America, we have a luxury of being able to do that stuff all the time.”
Microbiologist Dr. Manal Mohammed pointed out a psychological reason why some people may wear clothes more than once before washing them. He told CNN, “Rewearing the same clothes — particularly on consecutive days — is linked to avoiding decision fatigue, hence wearing the same clothes involves less decisions to make and less stress every morning.”
If you don’t wash your clothes enough it could lead to skin irritation or infections. If you wash your clothes too often it could shorten the life of your clothing. Here are a few rules that experts agreed should help guide you on how often to wash your clothes.
1. Underwear, socks, tights, leggings, and activewear should be washed after every wear
These types of clothes are usually tight to the skin and there are bacteria that live on the skin. If you don’t wash your clothes, these bacteria can build up on the clothing and cause skin issues and even infection. If you don’t wear underwear then you should wash your pants every day.
2. Clothes with stains, sweat, odor, or visible dirt should be washed
Any clothing with stains, sweat, odor, or visible dirt on them should be washed. These could also be carrying bacteria that could affect your skin.
3. Base it on how much you sweat
Some people just sweat more than others. If you sweat a lot, you should wash your clothes after every wear. Sweat can harbor bacteria and if it builds up on your clothes it could cause skin issues.
4. Outerwear should be washed every two to four weeks
Coats and jackets don’t usually have direct contact with your skin so you can get away with only washing them every two to four weeks, depending on how much you wear them.
5. It depends on you
The bottom line is that how often you wash your clothes is going to be variable. If you are very active, get a lot of dirt on you throughout the day, or sweat a lot, you are going to have to wash your clothes more often.
To read the original article from CNN, click here.
Resources
- Rogers, K. (2023, February 3). How many times can you wear pajamas, jeans and other clothes without washing them? experts weigh in. CNN. Retrieved February 17, 2023