To wear same work uniform for 2 days?

[WrendaleCountryDogs]

I live alone and I'm trying to cut back on my laundry to save money.

I work in a care setting and we have to wear a polo shirt and black trousers. I work 4 days in a row. I always wear clean clothes every day. I wear an apron when I'm providing care so it's very rare I actually get my clothes dirty. I'm paranoid about smelling as we had a colleague who had really poor hygiene and smelt awful (management wouldn't speak to her so i actually spoke to her and she was really grateful as she had no idea. See my next sentence!). Also I grew up in a poor household and bathed once a week and wore same clothes for days on end. I was picked on for being smelly.

Anyway. I shower daily.
Whilst the weather is cooler and therefore I'm not constantly sweating, I wondered if I could get away with the same work uniform 2 days in a row? Obviously if I was actually dirty I'd change.
I was actually thinking..
Day 1 and 2 clean sets then hang them to air, then Day 3 wear day 1 and day 4 wear day 2.
Would I smell? I wear deodorant. We can't wear strong smelling perfumes but I spray a little light smelling body spray on 2 or 3 times a day.
Do I need a clean bra every day? Again I always wear a clean bra.

I'm really overthinking this aren't I?

Oh and I always shower before work (I work afternoons and shower just before I leave)

I think clean uniform every day is a must in a situation where you are in very close contact with people.

I've worked as a care worker and always had to have a fresh top/tunic every day, as I knew I had perspired onto the clothing. Even though I showered every day, I still needed a clean top.
Could you handwash the shirt if needed? I've done that too. Takes no time. Then hang to dry. And have 4 tops, so a fresh one each day and 1 load of laundry each week?

I work in the NHS and we have a clean uniform every day for infection control reasons.

Tell that to my Trust who will only provide one set of uniform to part time employees. Work any less than 34 hours? One set for you! 🤢 And it’s plastic.

Does your workplace have a policy on this - even if not NHS then you might find you are required to launder uniform daily on a hot wash.

in a healthcare setting it isn’t so much about whether you personally smell or not (although it’s better if you don’t) but there will be a lot of invisible dirt
/germs that you pick up regardless of whether the uniform looks dirty.

this might include germs you bring in public transport. Your service users touching you. Picked up from walls/doors/bathroom fittings at work that harbour dirt. Airborne viruses also.

then you are hanging all this up to ‘air’ at your home!

a few practical suggestions:
If you don’t already have 4 sets of uniform ask work for more.
then wash them all together at the end of your 4 shifts (most of us under load our machines so it probably won’t take much more energy)
bra you could wear more than once.
any option to launder mid week at work?

I do but currently wear stuff under my clothes as it's blummin cold!
So I wear the official work top and trousers 2/3 days in a row but stuff underneath that touches my skin or that gets sweaty/dirty gets washed daily.

In the summer tops always get washed daily and trousers almost daily ( or clean on, I have more than one pair)

In an office, fine but in a care setting I don’t think so.

I do housekeeping in a care home. We launder all staff uniforms and hang them up fresh in the staff changing room for infection control reasons. Maybe suggest this to management? Or even check with housekeeping if you could chuck your work stuff in a load.

The people I look after aren't poorly. It's independent living for over 50s where we provide support to enable them to live independently. So we ensure they've had their medication, assist with showering if needed and same with meals if needed.

I actually have 5 tops and 4 trousers so thats not an issue it just takes so long to get things dry as I live in a tiny flat and don't have a tumble dryer. I don't have room for a heated airer or anything like that.

I guess I'll just have to try cut down elsewhere!

I wear polo shirts and jeans for work - I wear the same pair of jeans for 3/4 days (if they look clean, no spills) and I wear a thin base layer long sleeve top under the polo shirt, so I change the top every day and get two days wear out of the polo shirt.

You're focusing on the inside of your uniform (quite rightly, personal hygiene is important) but in your job, it's more about what's on the outside. Despite wearing aprons/protective items, inevitably dirt, germs and bodily fluids will get onto your uniform that you can't necessarily see. I would wash daily. I used to work in childcare so I would get snot and dribble on me every day. I couldn't wait to change out of my uniform and get it in the machine. Also, check your shoes and clean regularly, easily forgotten but likely to have nasties on in this line of work. Ask for more uniform if it helps the process. I think you can claim financially for laundering a uniform at home? Is that still a thing?

Not in a Healthcare setting, but I wear one pair of trousers all week.
Thin teeshirt (well, thermal vest currently) gets changed daily, and 2 jumpers switched around over the week.

@Delladon yes you can, but it’s the tax relief for it 😊

From gov.uk website

I voted YABU for asking this question on MN where the level of hygiene hysteria is ridiculous. Do whatever you think is reasonable but don’t expect a sane answer here.

I'm not a clean freak but in and out of peoples homes I'd want clean uniform every day.

You can claim tax relief on costs of laundering uniform. HMRC will adjust your tax code to compensate for work expenses like this

@schnauzerbeard - I posted info on this above for the op I think it is potentially £125 tax relief per year so it’s not massive but every little helps

I work in a care home and fresh uniform each day is an absolute MUST!
If someone is leaning over you, changing your soiled pad wearing the same uniform they changed a soiled pad on you the day before, that's not nice. Freshly washed clothes smell hugely different to day old ones and carers are often right up in the faces of residents/patients/clients/service users.

You need to invest in either multiple uniforms and do one big wash or just wash and dry them daily. There's no compromise. Your body may not smell bad, and you may shower daily but clothes do smell after a shift and care work is HARD. Physically and in the conditions we deal with (often bodily fluids/ bowels smell in the air getting on us) we don't stay fresh despite PPE.

If you're in a care home, you can likely use their laundry facilities to save your uniform laundering costs.

I would OP. Especially the trousers. You'll maybe need to wear a top every day in the summer though.

I work in same type of job as you op. Supported living for over 50s. We are lucky because we can leave our uniform top at work to be laundered for next day.

Is it possible to wash and dry yours in the laundry at work? Or do they not have a laundry?

I think you're BU for needing to ask.
You're a fully grown adult. You shouldn't need to ask if your clothes need washing

I would wear the trousers a couple of times but clean top everyday.
Wash them all on your first day off and they'll be dry for day 1.

Of course you can wear your uniform more than once, care setting or not.
Washing it comes at your own personal expense, unless you can have it laundered at work (doubtful in an over 50's independent living situation)
Assuming you are paid minimum wage or thereabouts I don't think anyone has the right to tell you to spend the little income you have on washing a uniform required to do a job.
Also, ask yourself, who actually knows or can tell how often it is washed? It won't smell horrific after two wears especially if you are showering regularly.
I have worked in care, some of the things expected from workers paid minimum wage are outrageous. I would do whatever I had to in order to make my meager take home pay go further.