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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To not wash new clothes before I wear them?

90 replies

Happyyellowcar · 09/06/2015 18:59

DH got lots of socks for Christmas which have sat in the packet in his drawer until yesterday. Today they all appeared in the washing basket - he will not wear any items of clothing until they have been washed at home. It added to my already overloaded washing pile and it took ages to pair them afterwards. I wear new stuff without washing them first without a second thought. I dress the DC in new clothes without washing them first too (the clothes not the kids). Is this really a thing? I get irritated by it - AIBU or him?

OP posts:
keeptothewhiteline · 10/06/2015 07:42

just something he has always done fine- then he knows how to do it- let him continue.

morelikeguidelines · 10/06/2015 07:46

I would never wash new clothes before wearing. That is the best wear they have - before they have been washed!

Original poster
Happyyellowcar · 10/06/2015 07:48

To the posters determined to derail this thread and turn it into a feminist issue I have this to say:
So DH is a "lazy sod" and an "entitled arse" because I choose to do his washing? Well he goes to work at 6.15am and gets back at 7pm at the earliest, he usually WFH from about 9pm - 11pm every single night, quite often gets calls in the night and works a lot at the weekend too. He does a lot of cooking, DIY, cuts the grass, is in charge of the online shop and the bins. If I am out at the weekend then yes he even puts on loads of washing. I have 2 jobs which are predominantly home-based and I go through periods of being v busy and periods like now when I don't have much to do. Am also on mat leave so yes I do the bloody washing. When would DH fit in 2 or 3 loads per day when he is out 13hrs a day?
So please stop insulting him, and me and wind in your bloody necks. That is all.

OP posts:
keeptothewhiteline · 10/06/2015 07:54

OP you are the one wittering on about washing socks and being "irritated" by it.

Mehitabel6 · 10/06/2015 07:57

Fair enough if he has no time to wash and you have- but therefore you get the say as to what is washed!

Original poster
Happyyellowcar · 10/06/2015 08:32

Do those posters who refuse to do their DH washing actually go through the washing basket and take out any items of clothing which the deem "disrespectful" and leave them to one side for DH to do? Or do they have a separate washing basket just for DH? Just wondering?
keepto I was irritated because we disagree on whether new clothes need washing, not on who does the washing, please reread my earlier posts before wittering on yourself.

OP posts:
Dowser · 10/06/2015 08:51

I've found this advice qwebec

The laundry: It’s not over though. After your super cream fest, it’s laundry time! Any clothing worn in the past week, all bedding, and all stuffed animals should be washed in hot water and dried in heat. Alternatively, if you are unable to wash something in water you can place it in a plastic bag, tightly close it, and leave it alone for one week. If the mite does not have a human host in several days, it cannot survive. -

Maybe that's what we need to do with new clothes.

Iive never had a problem and worn new clothes unwashed. The only times I've washed them is when they smell like they've been hung around in a warehouse too long and smell a bit stale.

Love to hear about the poster who mentioned working with lingerie.

silverglitterpisser · 10/06/2015 08:57

Always wash new clothes. U don't know if they've been tried on in the shop (not referring to socks here obviously) , where they have been stored etc n I prefer to wear things clean n without residue of someone else's deodorant or worse but also because new stuff has either an odd or no smell to it n I like our clothing to smell like a tart's handbag meadow Grin .

Mehitabel6 · 10/06/2015 13:29

I would just sort the basket for what needed washing and remove those that didn't and put them back where they belong.

Soduthen116 · 10/06/2015 13:32

Never heard of anyone who washes new clothes.

How bloody odd!

42andGaffaTape · 10/06/2015 13:50

After working in a shop, yes I do wash new clothes. As I tell others, you can brush mouse poo off but not the wee.

Confused
wiltingfast · 10/06/2015 14:07

Really, I think this is obsession with sterile cleanliness is just another stick to hit women with with. It is a total waste of time and energy and in the end I prefer the evidence of my eyes to the "stories" on the internet. If it looks clean, smells clean, it probably is clean. I've enough laundry with the actual dirty stuff frankly.

So OP to answer your question! He is def BU and more so since he expects you to pander to it. And while yes I see he works v hard and I can see you certainly wouldn't refuse to do his laundry I'd be telling him that wasn't laundry darling and is unlikely to get "prioritisied" any time soon.

But then I dislike laundry. Esp the putting away bit at the end and ESPECIALLY socks!

Spog · 10/06/2015 14:24

I always wash new clothes.
a lot of other people may have tried these clothes on before I buy them.
and not all people might be as clean and hygienic as we would hope.

millyv · 10/06/2015 14:34

I never washed new clothes until
A week after the birth of my daughter, I put on a brand new pair of joggers from Next and within half an hour my stomach where the waist band was and down the inside seems of my legs were on fire- Id had a major allergic reaction.

Ended up having to go to the doctors, really strong antihistamines that meant I had to express before twice a day before I took them, which then lead to engorged breasts and mastitis....

I now wash all of mine and my daughters clothes but my husband isn't bothered...

Apparently all containers are sprayed with chemicals inside them to kill any nasties before they leave certain countries!

I'll try and add a picture to show you how horrific my skin was...Confused

millyv · 10/06/2015 14:40

This is just one leg a week after the incident...

It was horrible!!

The only way you know that your clothes aren't covered in chemicals / germs are to clean them before you wear them.

Spog · 10/06/2015 14:40

i read that clothes are rinsed in a solution that contains formaldehyde, during manufacturing.
that's enough to ensure i wash any new clothes i buy, before i wear.

Spog · 10/06/2015 14:45

Jesus millyv.
hope you're ok now. Flowers
that's the kind of thing i worry about getting from new clothes.

Sgtmajormummy · 10/06/2015 14:49

Anybody see the "House" episode about a boy in a coma because of chemicals on a "fallen off the back of a lorry" pair of jeans?
Serious deja vu here.
Btw I only washed newborn clothes before first wear.

WhatALoadOfOldBollocks · 10/06/2015 14:56

I always wash new clothes for 2 reasons...I dislke the smell that many of them have, and I must have read somewhere that it's best to wash them before wearing to remove the dressing on the fabric, which can cause skin irritation.

Delphine31 · 10/06/2015 14:59

I wash all new clothes before wearing them. I've done this for years, and long before I had even heard of MN.

I love the feeling of wearing something new, and knowing it is clean as well as new just adds to that!

My skin is on the sensitive side though so I tend to be a bit more careful about these things than most people.

millyv · 10/06/2015 15:03

Yes all fine now but I can't help feeling bitter about the whole experience... you live and learn!

Soduthen116 · 10/06/2015 15:06

Still never met anyone who does this so amazed. Does it depend where you shop? I wouldn't buy soiled or smelly clothes. Wink

BrittaTheNeedlesslyDefiant · 10/06/2015 15:07

I don't know anyone in real life who washes new clothes, only on mn have I seen this phenomenon...

Always makes me Grin when someone says this. MN users exist in real life ya know. It's not like MN is a gated commune with its own micro-society Grin

Yes, I wash new clothes. Ever since I read about the crap they spray on them to protect them from insects and so on during transit and storage. Actually prefer to buy second-hand clothes, mainly due to cost but also because they'll have been washed multiple times already.

Soduthen116 · 10/06/2015 15:08

mill that looks horrific. How awful.

DonnaKebab66 · 10/06/2015 15:11

I've got sensitive skin, and get far more problems from the chemicals in washing powders than in wearing them new. I've never, ever washed new clothes. To em it's a bizarre idea. The only exception would be if I bought something in a charity shop/eBay, but I rarely buy new clothes that way.