Shirts and blouses: after 1-2 wearings. Dress pants or slacks: after 2-3 wearings. Jeans: after 4-5 wearings. Sweaters: up to 6 wearings, if worn with an undershirt; 1-2 wearings if worn without an undershirt.
In most cases, you can wear the likes of work clothes up to five times before they need to be washed. Things like a suit can be worn multiple times, button-down shirts can usually be worn up to four times and pants can last for up to five wears as well before washing is necessary.
Pants and sweaters are the workhorses of your wardrobe—they can stand about five wears before they need to go in the wash. T-shirts and Henleys are good for one to two wears, depending on how much you sweat. Jeans can go a whole season without needing a wash—but do wash them occasionally.
Colder water is always safe, while warmer water is not. Can I wash my clothes twice in a row? Sure you can. But don't do it repeatedly, at least to the same article of clothing, as it's more wear and tear on the fabric.
"Around a third of dirt on our clothes is from mud, stains, food – the marks you can see. "But with the average male producing up to 55 grams of body soil per day – this is made up of sebum (grease), sweat, skin flakes and bodily fluids such as saliva and urine - need I say more.
When you don't wash your clothes as often as you should, they may begin to develop unpleasant odors. This includes body odors or a strong, musty smell that often occurs when clothes are put away while they are still damp or not cleaned adequately.
Viruses and fungi may die within days. But E. coli and salmonella, which can cause diarrhea, may survive a few weeks. Staphylococcus aureus, which causes staph infections on skin, may survive a month.
Here are some basic guidelines on how often to wash clothes: Shirts and blouses: after 1-2 wearings. Dress pants or slacks: after 2-3 wearings. Jeans: after 4-5 wearings.
If washing clothes on back to back cycles only happens on the odd occasion you can relax and know there probably won't be any long term damage to your clothing. However, regularly over washing clothes can cause excessive wear and tear by causing fabric to thin, colors to fade and stitching to become weakened.
Everyday Wear
The clothes we wear to work or around the house can probably afford to go a few days between laundering—especially if you work from home. "If you're wearing something for a few hours, and not sweating, it's probably okay to wait 2 to 4 wears before washing. Or, after a full day's use," says Dr. Gonzalez.
A good rule of thumb is to wash your jeans after every 3-10 wears, or when they start to smell. If you're regularly active in your jeans (think: manual work, anything where you work up a sweat), wash them every 3 wears, but if you're working at a desk, you can probably go through multiple wears without washing.
The Experts Weigh In
A Twitter poll of the show's viewers found that the biggest group, 46%, wash once a week. The American Cleaning Institute, however, is a little more lenient with its suggestions, recommending that pajamas are washed after three or four wears.
“It's always in your best interest to wash clothing before wearing,” he says. Nilsson agrees, saying washing new clothes “reduces the content of chemicals,” especially residual chemicals that may be left over from the manufacturing process.
Probably – and it's not just your time that you could be saving. Over-washing our clothes is a sustainability issue that's often not discussed, but garment care is actually responsible for a significant amount of an item's carbon footprint over the course of its life.
“We recommend washing bath towels after every three uses, or at least once a week, to ensure truly clean towels,” said Kate Elks, Brooklinen director. “Brooklinen's bath offerings, including bath towels and sheets, hand towels, and washcloths, only differ in size, so you can care for them all the same way.”
So how often should you wash your clothes? “The first rule is to check how close to the body you wear the item,” Lewenhaupt says, That means you'll likely wash socks and undershirts after every use, but outerwear may go weeks or even months between laundry days.
Every three to four times you wear or use them: bath towels, bras, slips, dresses, sweaters, skirts, pajamas, slacks and jeans. Weekly: sheets, pillowcases and bath mats. Monthly: mattress pads, bathrobes and pillow liners.
If you accidentally forget to put laundry detergent into your machine before starting it, washing clothes at high temperatures may remove some water-soluble stains. However, the odour will still remain, and it may even intensify as the clothes dry because you haven't used any agents to remove them.
There's no hard and fast rule for how many times you can wear clothing again, but experts say there are a few types that should be washed after every use: underwear, socks, tights, leggings and activewear. This advice also applies to any other clothes with stains, sweat, odor or visible dirt, Mohammed said.
T-shirts, tank tops and camisoles should be washed after each wearing. Outer clothes like dress shirts and khakis can be worn a few times before washing unless it is hot out and you are sweating or they are visibly dirty or stained. Jeans can typically be worn 3 times before washing.
For the average person, every other day, or every 2 to 3 days, without washing is generally fine. “There is no blanket recommendation. If hair is visibly oily, scalp is itching, or there's flaking due to dirt,” those are signs it's time to shampoo, Goh says.
The University of Arizona laundry study found that adding bleach to the load reduced the number of viruses by over 99.99%. Other commercial disinfecting laundry detergents can also help kill bacteria and germs that regular detergents might leave behind.
Potential Harm From Wearing Unwashed New Clothes
Donald Belsito, a professor of dermatology at Columbia University Medical Center, told the Today show: “I have seen cases of lice that were possibly transmitted from trying on in the store, and there are certain infectious diseases that can be passed on through clothing.
Surprisingly, even though your sheets and clothing are clean, bacteria can still be found in them. According to published research, domestic washing machines clean soiled clothing and textiles but do not sterilize them.