Underwear and socks:once
Shirts:2-3 times
Pants:up to a week, depending on material
Jeans:only if they get muddy or a bad spill, and then just a rinse will do.
Note: socks used group with shirts, but as I get older, I like my feet to feel cleaner and more comfortable.
I can’t remember the last time I washed my shoes.
Most other things, after once.
Except jeans, usually only after yard work or a rock show.
(Why do some people pay > $5 for a beer, then throw it?)
So please explain to me, those of you who wash other things but then barely wash jeans, why do you not want clean jeans? You do know that clothes that get dirty enough smell even if you can’t smell them? What makes jeans an exception to this?
I wouldn’t really call those “good” points. Also, I sweat in my jeans. I sit in things in my jeans. I get pet hair and children snot on my jeans. I get mud on my jeans. I’m going to wash my damn jeans.
@medz I worked with a guy that didn’t wash his jeans. He stunk. He would fill the entire break room with the most foul stench.
One day he got concrete powder all over the front of his pants. It was still there a week later.
I feel like the only time I can wear pants more often is in the absolute coldest parts of winter here, or only inside air conditioned places where I do nothing but sit on a couch.
@Kidsandliz my understanding is the more expensive the denim, the less often it should be washed. I exclusively buy pretty cheap jeans that are usually a combination of denim and some sort of stretchy material that eventually over-stretches with repeated use, so I have to wash my jeans pretty regularly or they would fall off of me all the time. (Also, I have a toddler, which means I am constantly battling some sort of stains.) According to the “fashion enthusiasts” l know who advocate against washing jeans, there is a sort of cold-soak method in the bathtub one can use to get out really heinous spills without “ruining” them, and they just put them in the freezer to reduce smelliness, apparently.
@Kidsandliz If it’s good, 100% cotton denim, you can get away with going a pretty long time between jean washings.
If you’re buying jeans that are mixed, like stretchy jeans, this does not apply at all. Synthetic materials will stink right up.
I wear the same pair of jeans almost every day, and have gone up to about four months without washing them. But I’m usually relatively sedentary when I’m wearing them, and change into something else for working out, serious manual labor, or dirty jobs.
I try to sniff-check them pretty thoroughly quite often. I’d like think my wife would tell me if they smelled. My kids usually aren’t shy about telling me if I stink, and their reports don’t seem to correlate with how long it’s been since I’ve washed them.
@Kidsandliz As far as WHY I don’t wash them, they’re raw denim. They don’t have fake wear and whiskering like most jeans sold these days.
As I wear them, they wear and fade naturally, and still look good.
I have a pair of Levi’s 501 Shrink-to-fit that I’ve worn more than 500 times, including through two moves. They’re faded, but they still look good, fit well, and are comparable to “distressed” jeans they sell new.
I wouldn’t get close to 500 wears out of a pair of jeans I was constantly putting through the washer and dryer.
@Limewater So if the key is 100% cotton then not washing 100% cotton sheets for more than a year would be the same thing. Do you go that long with your sheets too?
@Kidsandliz No. I don’t go a year without washing my jeans or our sheets. We do wash our sheets more often than I wash my jeans, though. Stuff happens in our sheets that doesn’t happen in my jeans.
But no, I’m not claiming cotton is magic. My undershirts still get armpit stink. The shirts I run in manage to get incredibly stinky after a day or two. My jeans just don’t, and I sniff them pretty hard and thoroughly.
Afaik, the “smell test” as performed by oneself, or by members of one’s household, or by persons who also don’t wash their jeans, is invalid by the smell standards of everyone else.
Those tests will tell that sort of tester nothing about how unwashed and long-worn jeans smell to people who do wash all their own clothes regularly.
The “wash all my clothes” persons might not say anytting to the person who does not wash their own jeans, but …
For people who don’t want to wear the pure denim fabric variety of jeans out too quickly, or does not want to over-shrink them: cold water/gentle cycle wash and air-dry or cool-dry or gentle-dry settings with the dryer will preserve the jeans.
pants or shorts or sweatshirts, two or three times depending what I’m doing while I’m wearing them, doing chores sometimes gets them dirty and/or stinky. shirts or unders or sox, once because… you get it.
Don’t go more than a week in underwear. Also, since you have to take off the other clothes to get to your undies, you should take the opportunity to turn those over, too.
Jeans/ shorts I can wear 2-3 times. Shirts, underwear, socks, once.
Rash guard, I dont know I’ve ever washed one.
If it sticks to the wall, leaves the seat up, orders pay-per-view or pizza delivery, or tries to escape on its own, it’s time to wash it.
@mike808 either that or kick it out of the house while telling it to get a job
Underwear and socks:once
Shirts:2-3 times
Pants:up to a week, depending on material
Jeans:only if they get muddy or a bad spill, and then just a rinse will do.
Note: socks used group with shirts, but as I get older, I like my feet to feel cleaner and more comfortable.
My complicated equation is: pants several times, everything else once.
Unless it’s brand new, then I wear it zero times before washing it.
Jeans - Wash as close to never as possible.
Suits - Same.
Sweaters - Same.
Everything else - Wash after wearing once.
Underwear and socks after one wear.
Denim jeans get washed once a month unless I sweat or get dirty.
Undershirts get washed after one wear.
Suits get dry cleaned after 2 or 3 depending on what I’m doing in them.
T shirts get washed daily unless nobody saw me wear it that day.
Uniform gets washed when it can stand fire watch without me.
I said I was going to discuss further in the comments, but Meh.
@UncleVinny
What they ^ (mostly) have said, though I’m not that averse to washing jeans…
God, I must be some sorta denim Hitler because I wash jeans every time I wear them.
But I also don’t wear jeans that often.
D) dog hair E) did I get beer on it
I can’t remember the last time I washed my shoes.
Most other things, after once.
Except jeans, usually only after yard work or a rock show.
(Why do some people pay > $5 for a beer, then throw it?)
So please explain to me, those of you who wash other things but then barely wash jeans, why do you not want clean jeans? You do know that clothes that get dirty enough smell even if you can’t smell them? What makes jeans an exception to this?
@Kidsandliz http://www.businessinsider.com/how-often-you-should-wash-jeans-2016-3
I know it’s kind of lame to respond purely with links, but the CEO of Levi’s makes good points: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/levis-ceo-explains-why-you-should-never-wash-your-jeans-a6881031.html
I wouldn’t really call those “good” points. Also, I sweat in my jeans. I sit in things in my jeans. I get pet hair and children snot on my jeans. I get mud on my jeans. I’m going to wash my damn jeans.
@medz I worked with a guy that didn’t wash his jeans. He stunk. He would fill the entire break room with the most foul stench.
One day he got concrete powder all over the front of his pants. It was still there a week later.
I feel like the only time I can wear pants more often is in the absolute coldest parts of winter here, or only inside air conditioned places where I do nothing but sit on a couch.
@Kidsandliz my understanding is the more expensive the denim, the less often it should be washed. I exclusively buy pretty cheap jeans that are usually a combination of denim and some sort of stretchy material that eventually over-stretches with repeated use, so I have to wash my jeans pretty regularly or they would fall off of me all the time. (Also, I have a toddler, which means I am constantly battling some sort of stains.) According to the “fashion enthusiasts” l know who advocate against washing jeans, there is a sort of cold-soak method in the bathtub one can use to get out really heinous spills without “ruining” them, and they just put them in the freezer to reduce smelliness, apparently.
@Kidsandliz If it’s good, 100% cotton denim, you can get away with going a pretty long time between jean washings.
If you’re buying jeans that are mixed, like stretchy jeans, this does not apply at all. Synthetic materials will stink right up.
I wear the same pair of jeans almost every day, and have gone up to about four months without washing them. But I’m usually relatively sedentary when I’m wearing them, and change into something else for working out, serious manual labor, or dirty jobs.
I try to sniff-check them pretty thoroughly quite often. I’d like think my wife would tell me if they smelled. My kids usually aren’t shy about telling me if I stink, and their reports don’t seem to correlate with how long it’s been since I’ve washed them.
@Kidsandliz As far as WHY I don’t wash them, they’re raw denim. They don’t have fake wear and whiskering like most jeans sold these days.
As I wear them, they wear and fade naturally, and still look good.
I have a pair of Levi’s 501 Shrink-to-fit that I’ve worn more than 500 times, including through two moves. They’re faded, but they still look good, fit well, and are comparable to “distressed” jeans they sell new.
I wouldn’t get close to 500 wears out of a pair of jeans I was constantly putting through the washer and dryer.
@Limewater So if the key is 100% cotton then not washing 100% cotton sheets for more than a year would be the same thing. Do you go that long with your sheets too?
@Kidsandliz No. I don’t go a year without washing my jeans or our sheets. We do wash our sheets more often than I wash my jeans, though. Stuff happens in our sheets that doesn’t happen in my jeans.
But no, I’m not claiming cotton is magic. My undershirts still get armpit stink. The shirts I run in manage to get incredibly stinky after a day or two. My jeans just don’t, and I sniff them pretty hard and thoroughly.
@Kidsandliz
Afaik, the “smell test” as performed by oneself, or by members of one’s household, or by persons who also don’t wash their jeans, is invalid by the smell standards of everyone else.
Those tests will tell that sort of tester nothing about how unwashed and long-worn jeans smell to people who do wash all their own clothes regularly.
The “wash all my clothes” persons might not say anytting to the person who does not wash their own jeans, but …
For people who don’t want to wear the pure denim fabric variety of jeans out too quickly, or does not want to over-shrink them: cold water/gentle cycle wash and air-dry or cool-dry or gentle-dry settings with the dryer will preserve the jeans.
It’s Florida, usually only once.
I will make an exception for t-shirts or pants that I only wore for a few hours if I didn’t sweat.
There’s also the hoodie I bring to the movies. I wash it when the cuffs get too stretched out or if I drop it on the ground on accident.
pants or shorts or sweatshirts, two or three times depending what I’m doing while I’m wearing them, doing chores sometimes gets them dirty and/or stinky. shirts or unders or sox, once because… you get it.
Don’t go more than a week in underwear. Also, since you have to take off the other clothes to get to your undies, you should take the opportunity to turn those over, too.
Yay, a poll question!!! I can now continue my day knowing the world knows me a little better.
There’s no way to answer this question unless you drill down into categories. Underwear and jeans are wildly different.
According to recyclebank.org it’s far better to wash denim less often both for the fabric as well as the environment.
@Milyvan1
/giphy tree hugger
How many times should you wear something before you wash it?
How many times do you wear something before you wash it?
This is really three polls…
Undies once…everything else wash when dirty…if not hang up, air out, rewear
If it comes into continuous DIRECT CONTACT with groin, pits, feet, or back, once.
If it comes into contact with arms or neck only, thrice.
If it comes into direct contact with legs only, one week of wear or more.
Jackets get hung in the ozone-ifier every other week or whenever I feel like it, dry-cleaned maybe every three months depending on use/exposure.
Hmm! Not sure I’ve ever washed gloves, except some work gloves. I try to keep my hands clean…
The real question is:
How often do you wash/clean/sanitize your belt? What about your wallet?
@medz - My wallet is cleaned out at least once a week.
Is this a challenge
@meh427
Yes. For you, specifucally.
Ready. Set. Go!!!
/giphy unwashed
