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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To massively reduce how often I wash clothes?

295 replies

MyOtherProfile · 22/02/2020 11:38

I'm always thinking of ways to lessen our impact on the planet and have recently started wearing clothes many more times than I used to. Previously I would wear things probably twice (undies excepted!) before washing but I've been thinking that even that might be too much. I look for dirt and I smell check but now I'm only washing clothes when they fail either of those checks. I'm now on the 5th day of the top I'm wearing (not consecutive so nobody would know). Sid anyone else doing this? I don't really want to hear from people who are just going to say ewww I have to wash clothes after every wear.

OP posts:
dazzledandconfused · 23/02/2020 20:10

Anything made from natural fibres I could wear multiple times without washing. I tend to avoid tops made from manmade fibres though as they get stinky pits after one wear.

clareken260 · 23/02/2020 21:07

Have just bought a washzilla. It is a vaguely sphere shape with ceramic beads inside. It means you don't need washing powder or conditioner, so clothes don't smell of anything. Haven't tried it yet, but definitely intend to.

annamie · 23/02/2020 21:24

Why do people feel the need to say they wear clean knickers every day. Surely that’s a basic standard.

JRUIN · 23/02/2020 21:30

@Wilkie1956mog I'm glad to see you wear clean knickers every day, but you wear socks for two days running??!! Why? It's not like they even take up any room in the washing machine Confused

JustInCaseCakeHappens · 23/02/2020 21:54

Why do people feel the need to say they wear clean knickers every day. Surely that’s a basic standard.

so is wearing clean socks, clean tshirts, clean bras everyday, but not everyone seem to have the same basic standards...

annamie · 23/02/2020 21:59

Yes but no one has said they wear the same knickers two days in a row. So ergo fresh knickers every day is the norm.

TildaKauskumholm · 23/02/2020 22:24

I have a (lovely, bentwood) coat stand in the bedroom and put my to-be-worn-again 'outdoor'clothes on there, DH has a chair for his. We change into indoor clothes when at home. Can't imagine anything needing washed after one wear except undies and socks.

Dowser · 23/02/2020 22:26

Remember the himba tribe and scarlett moffitt
The tribal women said ‘they are washing clean clothes. ‘
I usually do two days for a dress, maybe three for a sleeveless one. Three days a cardi. Three days a bra. Pants daily.
I sweat rarely. I use the rock crystal deodorant which are fab and don’t leave any residue on clothes and I don’t smell, neither does dh.

Yes I think we tend to over wash things.
We are just so lucky to have clean potable water on tap in this country.
Those poor himba had to walk three hours and then dig for their water

Dowser · 23/02/2020 22:30

I also wash on the 30 minute and 30 degree heat cycle and don’t have a tumbler, so our stuff goes on the line or radiator

Dowser · 23/02/2020 22:34

Queen bee
What about putting dress on hanger and on the washing line for half an hour
You might get three or four wears that way

aspoonfulofyourownmedicine · 24/02/2020 00:27

Depends. I can get away with wearing a pair of leggings and jumper dress more than once if I haven't been at work - however, I work with children and sometimes cannot identify which bodily fluid is wiped onto me.

Work clothes get washed after every wear. Underwear and socks washed after every wear.
PJs every couple wears as I don't sleep in them.

Bedding and towels weekly.

DH work clothes every wear (they reek), squash kit, kickboxing kit every wear
DS uniform and kickboxing kit every 2-3 days
Hoodies, jeans etc, every few wears

NotALurker2 · 24/02/2020 03:49

@Oscarsdaddy Febreeze is as bad as BO IMO.

maddiemookins16mum · 24/02/2020 06:11

I take a lot of these competitive clothes washing posts with a pinch of salt as there’s a good chance that when wearing their 5 day old whiffy top ‘to save the planet’, they’re using disposable nappies up to 4.

anascrecca · 24/02/2020 06:21

I'm the same as you OP, I do the sniff test and check for stains. Things can be worn several times before washing. I'm not going to die because my clothes have a few more germs on them. I haven't used fabric softener for years. Towels are dried after use on radiator and washed when stinky. We all know we should be looking after our planet but most people don't seem to give a shit or think it applies to them.

goldopals · 24/02/2020 08:35

It depends. I wash jeans after they're visibly dirty which is after a few wears, tops and other layers directly touching my underarms after one wear and apply the sniff test to everything. The baby's clothes get washed after one wear

Wilkie1956mog · 24/02/2020 08:55

I wear my socks (never tights or pop six, I only wear cotton ankle or knee socks) for two days
(sometimes) but I wash my feet twice a day every day, morning and evening and use talc on my feet. If I've been out or in summer I do change my socks daily.

Damntheman · 24/02/2020 11:25

I change pants and socks daily, everything else gets washed when it's dirty. So t-shirts and bras maybe 3 or 4 days, jeans can go weeks, a sweater could go several days. But then I live somewhere cold so my clothes likely can last longer than someone living closer to the equator.

catsarecute · 24/02/2020 20:47

I always used to get at least 2 wears out of everything but the menopause is looming and now I find I need to wash tops/dresses after one wear as I am getting much more sweaty. I do agree we need to do much more for the climate though. I try and do other things instead. And I haven't used fabric conditioner for at least 15 years which must be some help (I hope) - I don't think it's needed and don'y miss it at all.

MyOtherProfile · 25/02/2020 07:23

I always used to get at least 2 wears out of everything but the menopause is looming and now I find I need to wash tops/dresses after one wear as I am getting much more sweaty.

Oh no! I hadn't thought of this. Will have to keep an eye out for this.

OP posts:
Harls1969 · 25/02/2020 20:05

I wash my work clothes after every wear (I work in a school, you don't want to know what I get wiped on me 🙊😂). PJs usually do 2 nights unless I've had night sweats. Undies after every wear, home clothes - tops usually changed daily, jeans after a couple of wears. We all have our own towels and I wash them twice a week. Bedding weekly. I do try to wash as much as possible on 30° though

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