Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Original poster

How often do you wash your bras?

30 replies

HurdyGurdy19 · 04/12/2025 09:27

I have just invested a King's ransome on some new bras from Bravissimo.

I have just looked on the care instructions on their website, and under "how often should I wash my bras", it says there's no set rule, but they'd recommend every one to two weeks.

I'm not sure if they mean after continuous wear, or that you wear more than one bra during those 1-2 weeks.

I've always washed mine after a maximum of two wears. Maybe that's why mine have never worn well - I've been over washing them.

How often do you wash yours. And do you machine wash or hand wash.

If you hand wash, what detergent do you use?

OP posts:
Rocknrollstar · 04/12/2025 09:40

Always hand wash expensive , boned bras with Soft Wash or similar. I generally hand wash after three wears especially if it is warm weather. I can’t imagine wearing a bra every day for two weeks without washing. Yuk!

Buscobel · 04/12/2025 09:40

I had some very expensive bras from Rigby and Peller. I hand washed them for ages and they did last well. They are sadly no more and I machine wash mine now and usually after a couple of wears.

bigfishlittlefishtupperwarebox · 04/12/2025 09:41

I tend to wear two a week, so every 3 or 4 days roughly

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Clothing
mondaytosunday · 04/12/2025 09:44

I wear mine for two days, three at a push, then they get washed. None are expensive (about £25 - that may be expensive to some) and I don’t buy underwire so they go in the machine.

olderandnonthewiser · 04/12/2025 09:44

Depends what I’ve been doing. Got very hot and sticky in a big dept store yesterday so a clean bra went straight in the wash along with everything else. Other times it can be 2 or 3 days

Sweetiedarling7 · 04/12/2025 09:45

Depends if they get sweaty. If you have G cups like me you get under boob sweat at times in which case the bra needs washing after one wear.
If not I would probably wear a bra three times before washing.
I have pretty much given up under wire bras partly due to how uncomfortable the bloody things are but partly due to the awkwardness of washing them even with special bra bags.

WhatsTheEffingPoint · 04/12/2025 09:52

Every 3 days i change/wash mine, but im not sweaty person, with the exception of the sports bra, thats washed after 1 wear.

I machine wash my bravissimo bras (against their advice, but i got fed up of hand washing and trying to wring the water of of them), I also do them up before going in the wash so nothing catches. I then air dry them instead of tumble drying. I had a few where the wires popped out, spoke to bravissimo and they said the heat from the tumble dryers or hot washing melts the plastic tips in the wires so they then get sharp and push through, but they were good and did replace them.

Wellstonethecrows · 04/12/2025 10:00

I wash mine every 3 days. Apart from in summer when it is more frequent.

I just put mine in the machine on the short cycle. They aren't underwired.

I've always been aware that frequent washing is considered detrimental to bras but honestly I don't see how washing them frequently can be avoided if women care about personal hygiene- which the vast majority do.

Sprogonthetyne · 04/12/2025 10:02

I tend to wash every 3 day, but mine are only cheap, unwired ones from asda. They just go in the washing machine with everything else and get replaced as needed.

BettlejuicesMum · 04/12/2025 10:05

I have large boobs (H cup) so always get a bit of under boob sweat. Nice I know. As a result I only wear a bra once and then wash. And they never last long as you can imagine. I couldn’t imagine wearing a bra more than once, I feel similarly about this as I would to wearing my knickers or socks more than once. Not something I would do.

MiddleAgedDread · 04/12/2025 10:10

usually every 2 days unless I've done nothing but sit around the house in it, or sometimes daily if i've walked a lot and got sweaty. once every 2 weeks is gross, you wouldn't wear any other item of clothing that long without washing (would you??)

Belladog1 · 04/12/2025 10:11

I have to wear underwired bras as I have big boobs. I hand wash them as I have destroyed a washing machine before and destroyed bras after just one wash, even buying expensive wash bags to pop them in.

In the summer I would wash them every couple of days, in the winter I will stretch to three or four days. I don't wear them all day though as when I get home at 2.30pm the comfy home bra goes on.

DierdreDaphne · 04/12/2025 10:11

BettlejuicesMum · 04/12/2025 10:05

I have large boobs (H cup) so always get a bit of under boob sweat. Nice I know. As a result I only wear a bra once and then wash. And they never last long as you can imagine. I couldn’t imagine wearing a bra more than once, I feel similarly about this as I would to wearing my knickers or socks more than once. Not something I would do.

Im not especially big boobed but I'm the same. If I don't wear a clean one every day- instant under-and-between boob itch. I think I have a permanent candida infection there , but I can keep on top of it mostly by washing the bras (and me) daily (and using antifungals in warmer weather)

And yes my bras do get worn out, so I tend not to get very expensive ones. Prefer unwired which do last better I think.

Sesma · 04/12/2025 10:14

My bras are quite inexpensive and just get put in the washing machine with everything else after a couple of wears, I also have quite a few so it's easy to do this. Some women have to have expensive bras that need careful handwashing so they probably do completely different to me

LoveSandbanks · 04/12/2025 10:15

Shop bought bras I would chuck in the washing machine after 2-3 wears. All of my bras are hand made now so they get hand washed after 1 or maximum 2 wears. I resisted hand washing bras for years but it’s actually really simple. Warm water with soak washing liquid. Leave for 10-20 minutes. Give it a good agitation then leave again. Rinse, roll in a towel to get out excess moisture and hang to dry.

HostaCentral · 04/12/2025 10:17

Changed once a week unless really sweaty, and hand washed. I often have a light and a dark one on the go at the same time, so alternate. Do two bras across two weeks. I have a soft bra for the evening.

My Bravissimo bras last years and years.

schoolfriend · 04/12/2025 10:18

I don't wear underwired bras so they go straight in the washing machine after a couple of wears. Sometimes after just one wear if it doesn't do with my outfit the next day.

Nopayrise · 04/12/2025 10:21

Wash underwired bras every 2-3 wears but rarely wear the same one two days in a row and hang to air in between (just on a hook on the back of the door) If I am wfh I usually wear a soft bralet instead which I wash after each wear. I guess because it feels closer fitting?! Plus damaging them isn’t such an issue (I throw underwired bras in with everything else on 30 tbh…)

VenusClapTrap · 04/12/2025 10:23

Weekly. In the washing machine. They are good bras from Rigby & Peller and they last a couple of years without any problems.

pitterypattery00 · 04/12/2025 10:25

Depends on time of year/what I've been doing - from 1 day in summer to 2-3 days when it's cooler/I haven't done much. Can't imagine not washing them for 2 weeks! I just chuck mine in a normal wash but they are not particularly expensive (M&S) - they usually last me several years.

GiantTeddyIsTired · 04/12/2025 10:29

Every 2-3 wears in winter, every wear in summer. And the worn ones are hung up to air like the others do, and (TMI) I do give them a quick sniff to make sure they don't smell before I put them on each time, in case I've got extra-sweaty at some point and not noticed.

I do them in one of those padded bags in a hopeful attempt to stop the underwires wearing through. I should hand wash them really, but I just don't have the will.

Non-underwired I wash every wear (I have some ones that are just moulded, stretch fabric that are super-comfortable, which just get put in with the normal washing.

PrincessOfPreschool · 04/12/2025 10:39

Approx 1-2 x per week (prob about 5 days). In summer if it's a sweaty day, I would wash.

SquareBreathing · 04/12/2025 10:46

I’m Vata, so I rarely sweat, but I couldn’t wear a bra more than twice, and even then it wouldn’t be for a whole day. I tend to not wear one at home - so when I come in I change into sweats & remove bra.

I suppose what they’re saying is: if you’re time-poor but cash £ then fill your boots with machine washing/tumble drying. But expect the tips of the underwire to melt and the wire to come through and the bra to just look less than pristine after a couple of months.

Otoh, if you can be bothered to slosh the bra around in a bit of Woolite, and have the room to then drip-dry it ((clip it to a hanger or put it on a clothes-horse with a towel underneath to catch the drips - in winter) then it’s going to last a lot longer.
I’m in the second category. I like to keep things “good”.

Original poster
HurdyGurdy19 · 04/12/2025 12:18

Interesting how everyone does it a little bit different. But no one, it seems, would wear a bra for 1-2 weeks before washing it.

I will definitely be handwashing these ones after a maximum of two wears, as they're both pretty, and expensive (to me, anyway) to try and keep them in good condition. I am on a quest to lose weight, and although I've lost two and a half stone since mid-September, none of it seems to have come off my boobs- still a HH cup 🙄

OP posts:
MrsSkylerWhite · 04/12/2025 12:20

Exercise bras, after one wear. Others, if they start to be a bit niffy, maybe 3 or 4 wears.

Swipe left for the next trending thread