How many times do you wear a clothing item before washing it?

StrawbsM

A thread in a different forum has gone way off topic discussing this so I thought I’d start a thread of its own.

Do you only wear something once then wash it?

Do different items get their own wearing durations?

Do you sniff and go?

What about school uniforms? Were you requested by the school to wash every day because of covid? Did you wash every day anyway? Do you do as I used to do and wipe dirty spots off school clothes with a damp cloth and wash properly at the weekends?

I’m interested in what you do. Can’t wait for the underwear posts 🤢

Gaz

Socks and jocks change every day

T-Shirts every 2 days

Jeans maybe 4 days

ELM327

Until it stands up on its own and maintains rigidity.

Then throw it out and buy a new one.

10-10-20

Yeah, that thread.

I certainly don't wash bed-clothes daily. You can get two days from a uniform, more with older kids, but shirts daily.

...and line-drying only saving 0.2 of a tonne of CO2 a year? That's a good case of manipulation of fact to suit the narrative.

StrawbsM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119707923#Comment_119707923

I would wear the same sports leggings, vest top and sweater for 2/3 days. I’m not doing sports they’re just comfy.

I wouldn’t wear jeans ever day but I don’t wash them after a single wear either. Same with dresses. They go on the “pile”.

Ubbquittious

You can wear a pair of jeans for 15 months with no ill effect

https://www.macleans.ca/education/university/student-sports-unwashed-pair-of-jeans-for-15-months-for-experiment/

victor8600

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119707923#Comment_119707923

^ Same.

HerrKapitan

Socks and jocks every day,

T-shirts every 4 days.

Two weeks for jeans,

Leg End Reject

Underwear and socks/tights, clothes I wear to work are changed daily.

Slob about the house clothes changed every 3 days, they're only on for a few hours each day.

PJs every second day.

Towels every 2 days.

Bedding once a week.

It all builds up in the laundry basket until there's a full load for the specific type of wash.

About 5 washes a week - towels, bedding and a combination of light and dark colours, plus the occasional white wash as I don't wear it often.

All line dried or on a clothes horse with the occasional use of the tumble dryer when required if it all builds up at once. Whatever needs to be ironed gets done at the weekend.

Strumms

Tshirts or shirts daily, underwear daily. Jeans or tracksuit bottoms just depends, when required.

Juran

Knickers, socks, tshirts, blouses everyday. Bra every day in summer or if sweating lots, in winter its every 3 or 4 days.

Pants, jeans, cotton sweaters every 3 days.

Pj's once a week.

Bedlinen every 2 weeks.

Bath and hand towels once a week.

I admit, I do like doing laundry, only house chore I like doing.

Day Lewin

Until they are dirty, on a case-by-case basis.

I have decades of experience doing laundry, and don't intend to do any more than I have to.

Also I am keenly aware of the environmental collapse in our planetary eco-system, so I don't plan to use one bit more of hot water, power or detergent than I need to: and I am STRONGLY opposed to washing down tons of micro-plastic fibres into the sea, from all our modern synthetic clothing.

For "synthetic" read plastic. Yes, we ourselves are now plastic-wrapped.

I weep for the Earth, I really do.

Too hard to say really. It's subjective. Change clothes and outfits so many times over a day to fit different tasks and situations - that any one item can be used for one day or over and over again over a week or two.

thefallingman

socks jocks and tshirts after one use, jeans, jumpers ect maybe a week. What about shower towels, i'd say once a week for that

StrawbsM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119712146#Comment_119712146

I usually use 3 towels over the course of the week. Wash my hair twice a week so the that towel goes over the bannister. The towels from my shower go over the bannister too. Husband would use his own 2. Hand towels - it’s only one section that ever gets touched so I switch it over. They only go in every other towel wash.

Undies daily of course, but other "constant wear" items: until it... doesn't smell but has a need to be "freshened up". So two or three times usually.

mohawk

Underwear and socks daily.

The baby destroys my clothes so I often only get a day out of most things. Was lethal when he was smaller and the reflux was bad. We would have to change clothes to leave the house and he would destroy those too.

Socks, underwear and t-shirts and so on that are in direct contact with my skin - get washed after one wear.

Everything else, depends...

Jeans - several wears. Shirts - that aren't worn directly on skin, definitely a few wears and they can be hung up to air.

Towels - several uses. I mean, mostly you're very clean and there's nothing dirty / smelly going onto them - you've just showered! They're a major energy hog to wash and dry too. So, I try to keep them to a minimum. Mostly they only go smelly if you don't hang them up - it's mildew that causes the issue, not using them to dry off.

Also I find if you don't over load the washing machine and you're washing say a load of t-shirts and stuff like that you really don't need a wash that lasts anything more than about 1 hour absolute total and max. I've a fairly decent washing machine but it will do a normal wash of normal clothes at 30 or 40C in around an hour and they come out absolutely flawless and smelling lovely. The full cotton wash is about 3 hours! If you were working down a coal mine or something it might make sense.

The really quick washes are usually useless at rinsing which makes me itchy, so I don't use them much, but some of the long cotton cycles are far too long.

I also find clothes last a lot longer if you use colour detergent. The regular stuff seems to genuinely fade them a lot faster. Also found Persil Non-Bio leaves everything bobbly very quickly. I'm unconvinced about that non-bio = sensitive skin thing. The enzymes are great and never had itchy skin because of them.

NewbridgeIR

Socks, boxer shorts, t-shirts, regular shirts - wash after one wear

Jeans / Jumper / Towel - will go for a week

Motivator

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119711851#Comment_119711851

Smelly tits

Motivator

Shirts, T-shirts, socks & underwear absolutely one wear out of them. I tend to get one wear out of jeans as well. There is nothing in the world more horrible than farting in a pair of jeans. I instantly feel the need to wash them when I do it. Jeans are more often than not uncomfortable, I can’t ever understand how people wear jeans around the house. A friend of mine has two pairs of jeans - an old pair and a new pair. Except the new pair are probably 5 years old. He claims he has never washed them as he doesn’t want to take the good out of them.

I wear things once or twice then wash it. Anyone who washes things before they wear them has problems.

One eyed Jack

I’d only get one wear anyway out of any of my clothes, not that I’m particularly dirty or anything, just that I prefer to be fresh.

Love ironing though, it’s relaxing, and just means I look and feel better when I’m properly dressed.

Washing and tumble drying though, but definitely you can tell the difference between clothes which have been laundered and clothes which have been air dried on a line, it’s just noticeable, not that I’d be any way snobby about it 🧐

AndrewJRenko

I go through three pairs of jocks most days, as a result of of my cycle commute. One pair for the spin into work, shower and change into a fresh pair in work, wear that pair for the spin home, shower and change at home for the evening.

I'd get two or three days out of a base layer, a working week out of my cycling jersey and shorts or tights. Shirt, socks, t-shirts are changed after a single wear.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119719645#Comment_119719645

Some people go too far with some of that stuff.

There's also been a huge uptick in sales of laundry sanitisers since COVID, which are used in the last rinse and are then in contact with your skin.

They’re just adding more and more unnecessary chemicals to the environment and directly to your body too and they don’t provide any extra protection.

All you’re doing is causing issues for your skin’s micro biome by killing perfectly normal and healthy bacteria and other flora.

Star Bingo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119707923#Comment_119707923

Socks n jocks every third day.

T-shirts maybe a month accumulated

Jeans once in a lifetime. Except the baggy acid wash they’ve clearly bn through the ringer enough

Larbre34

Socks, jocks, gym shirts and gym shorts and stiff collared shirts, every day.

Casual t-shirts, polo shirts, after a few days of wear or sooner if they fail a sniff test in warmer weather.

Suits, blazers, hoodies & casual tops, jeans, all as infrequently as possible. I'd get a light dry clean on suits every few months, but rotate and refresh them all the time at home.

Jeans, honestly I'd wear them occasionally for two or three months without washing them, its so unnecessary when both me and my underwear are fresh daily and really jeans get fecked with too much washing.

Galwayguy35

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119723280#Comment_119723280

This has to be a joke.

The smell of dried piss from your jocks must be savage after 3 days!!!

Moonbeam

Tops and underwear daily, hoodies and jeans when needed.

StrawbsM

Do any of you with school going kids wash their uniforms EVERY night? Has your school told you to?

Back when mine were young I’d wipe the dirty bits on jumper/pinafore/trousers/tie with a cloth and I’d have a few shirts but I’d wash all at the weekend.

notAMember

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119711878#Comment_119711878

Exactly this. Wash it when it's dirty.

And if something needs airing out rather than washing, I put it on the line to air, without washing.