How often do you wash school blazer?

Surely it's just down to how sweaty your kids are? Very sweaty, like me and mine, will require cleaning more often.

Blazers are washed weekly here. Oldest is in year 9, his have never looked worn out from over washing..... Only needed new ones because he doesn't stop growing. You'd certainly smell him coming if I didn't wash his as often 🤢

I wash them every week on a Friday - all polyester and have lasted at least 2-3 years without fading (navy). And I'm definitely not in the "wash a towel after every use" camp. I have DDs and if they smell of anything it's perfume (and plenty of it). I feel sorry for teachers having to breathe in a combination of sweat, Lynx and cheap perfume on a daily basis!! 😁

This thread has blown my mind, I don’t think I’ve ever washed a blazer.

There’s obviously differences in fabric and how sweaty different kids are. A boy playing football in it yes I’d have washed more frequently. Every 6 weeks was fine for DD.

I don't even wash my towels every week and I've still had to put the blazer in the wash again because it smells. No wool option, they have to be worn all day, and it's hot in school. It was definitely whiffy at the armpits and I'm not fucking about with Febreeze - which is what hell smells like.

Plenty of people on a local Facebook group I belong to declare themselves in the daily towel wash camp. Perfectly reasonable if you work down a coal mine but a) these genuinely are as rare hen's teeth in SE Essex and b) most of them are retired anyway.

Perusal of MN laundry threads reveals that some people wash their towels after every use and will wash a jumper that's been worn for 2 hours.

I suspect those people may be in the "every week" brigade. I'm with Wombat - when it needs it; and definitely once a term. School is too cold for 90% of the year for them to get very sweaty.

‘Surely people don’t wash them every week’ - I think people saying this might have younger kids and not 15 and 15 year olds.

I washed as needed. I only did it half termly until it was smelly. After it was smelly it was very regular.

Isn’t that the key point, you wash it when you need to. Some need it more often.

Surely no one sticks rigidly to a timescale and refuses to wash it as they did it 2 weeks ago if it stinks.

Wool blazers might smell less. Great. Most schools don’t have them. Most parents wouldn’t choose them if given the choice - they’d rather pay less and be able to machine wash and never need to dry clean EVEN if that means binging in washing machine weekly or fortnightly.

once a term.
It's a blazer !!

Surely people don't wash them every week???!!

We have old fashioned thick wool blazers. Go to dry cleaners occasionally. Not had any smell issues…yet…

It's polyester thus easy to wash, and I do so when it's dirty or smelly.

I had a wool one and I don't think if was washed in 4 years.

If I was PM i'd ban school blazers. Expensive, uncomfortable and impractical.

Yes, but most schools have a set blazer - you can’t choose wool or polyester. And most have the poly version.

Parents tend to prefer it for cost and also for being mackine washable. But they do smell more than wool and need regular washing. Comparing the regularity of washing to wool blazers or adults in wool suits, especially of these aren’t worn 5 days a week isn’t a like-for-like comparison.

In years 9-11 I tended to wash weekly or every 2 weeks. Was same blazer they had since Yr7, so lasted 5 yes. Blazer still in good condition at end of all that washing - just polyester one. Went to 2nd hand sale at end and sold for about £15. I’d imagine another child will be fine with it until they grow out of it or leave school. Can’t fault that blazer which cost about £50 in terms of value per wear.

A 100% cotton shirt, and a wool blazer will go a long way to reduce sweating.

Lots of school shirts are mainly polyester now, and with a polyester blazer on top, no wonder teens get sweaty.

My teen dc wear cotton and wool, remove their blazer in class, wash regularly, use deodorant, change out of their uniform when they get home, wear a clean shirt daily.

Their shirts are not even usually sweaty when they get home, nor is their blazer.

The black polyester ones go brown if you wash them all the time. Sniff test is the way to go.

I think there’s a difference between an adult who has completed puberty and probably isn’t hugely physically active whilst wearing their suit and a teenager mid-puberty.

Teens have to speed across large school sites, sit in rooms that can often be warm in winter or summer with 30+ others crammed in a small space, plus their hormones are working overtime. They certainly sweat. Those with teens have usually experienced this and know from the school shirts that the armpits can go heal low and the whiff be really unpleasant. Usually there’s just that shirt beween their armpits and blazer….the sweat will reach the blazer.

Ultimately you have to do a sniff test. If it smells it needs washing regardless of how long ago it was washed. Isn’t that the key thing, apart from when there are obvious spills or stains? Surely no-one wants to send their child to school being smelly, and not with the excuse of ‘but that blazer was washed 2 weeks ago so shouldn’t need another wash’.

Kids do sweat to different amounts, so not everyone will need it doing exactly to the same frequency, but expecting to need to do it more regularly in mid teen years seems a sensible starting point.

Or your own, for that matter? I wear jackets a lot at work, I can go months if not years without dry cleaning them!

Those who are washing blazers every week - how often does your OH dry clean suits?! (If you have an OH who wears them.) I know kids get dirtier, but still.

Ours is thick wool and dry clean only 😱

Had it a year, didn’t have it cleaned as he mostly worr it into class then took it straight off, now he’s grown out of it 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

Hate blazers, so old fashioned and impractical, and wish department of education would ban schools from making them part of uniform.

Your DDs wore the shirt for a whole week and their skirts only washed occasionally?

you can’t wash a wool blazer every week!

my DS wears a clean shirt and clean trousers daily. Jumpers washed twice a week. The blazer goes on top like a jacket. Obviously it gets washed or sponge cleaned if muddy etc. He’s definitely not the smelly kid, thanks… and I hate Febreze.

I've had donations for the secondhand shop very much like that, but usually minus the safety pins... My proudest moment was when I restored what I refer to as a collection of its component parts to a saleable condition and hung it up on the rack.

(And yes, it did get a good wash as well).