to ask how often you wash your clothes

[Vistada]

For me its after every wear (apart from jeans and joggers which is around 2-3 wears)

However this means i have a never ending flow of laundry

How many wears from freshly laundered would you go.

Socks and pants after every wear. Bras probably every three days. Tops usually after every wear (I do a lot of walking and exercise!) but leggings I tend to wear twice depending on what I've been doing.
The kids clothes are filthy so they're washed every day but pyjamas they'll wear a couple of times before being washed.
DH can probably wear a shirt two days.
Jeans are very rarely as it just trashes them!

Socks and pants after every wear. Bras can usually get two or three wears out of unless it is very hot weather and I am more sweaty than usual.

T-shirts usually after each wear too.

Jeans and other trousers can go for around three wears. Same for shorts and cardigans.

Similar to others -
socks and pants after one day

T shirts, tops or dresses after 2 days. (I hang them back up inside out after first wear so I know to wash them next time)

Trousers, jeans and bras after 4-5 days

Coats, once or twice a season

After every wear, including jeans and jumpers. Towels, every other day. Bedding 1-2 times a week. Jackets and coats are dry cleaned/spot cleaned/washed if they can be.

It's by choice, not necessity. We aren't smelly/sweaty people, no animals on furniture (we have a very well trained cat, everything is cleaned to avoid smelling like her though). I just like things to be clean and smell nice!

Washing jeans after every wear is just insane.

Air them and spot clean any spills

Do you think about the environmental impact @TravellingT or not really?

I know a lot of people think they should just wilfully continue to use more resources and create more waste than they need to ‘because China/government/big business’ etc but I don’t really subscribe to that way of thinking.

I don’t understand why anyone needs to write underwear and socks after one wear. Isn’t this obvious? Surely no one would wear these more than once ( not taking into account disabled, severely ill, stuck in the bush or any other circumstances that make it difficult)

Underwear, socks, pyjamas, dresses and tops - every day
Trousers - after 2 or 3 wears
Dressing gown - fortnightly, unless I spill something on it

I think because washing clothes and linens has become so much cheaper and more convienent people have forgotten other ways to keep things fresh.

Well aired bedding (that isn't soiled) shouldn't need changing more than once a week.

Same with bath towels. Air them properly and they should be fine for a week or so.

In the past people didn't tend to wear outer clothes next to their skin as much, so that would protect them from sweat.

Do people think like that @TravellingT ? Wilfully destroying their children/grandchildren’s futures? I’ve not heard this attitude expressed so I’m genuinely interested.

Oops I meant @waterlego !

@Theoldwoman i wear socks several times unless I’ve done a run in them. I’m old now (60s) and my feet don’t smell. One of very few advantages of being post-menopausal is lack of sweating.

@sorrynotathome, yes some do. In discussions about waste/using more resources than needed people will often say ‘oh well, nothing I do will make a difference, China creates tons of carbon emissions and lots of rich people have got private jets so little old me using my tumble drier won’t make any difference’.

It’s not an attitude I understand but I see it often. They’ll also often point a finger at the person asking the question ‘unless you’re vegan and don’t have a car and never fly, then you don’t get to have an opinion on other people’s use of resources’. Again, not something I really understand as the point is about using excessive resources needlessly. It isn’t ‘all or nothing’. Maybe we should all get used to justifying our use of resources a bit more. I certainly hold myself to account much more than I used to ‘do I need to drive? Could I walk instead?’ ‘Do these clothes really need washing?’ ‘Do I really need to replace my mobile phone or do I just want a new one?’ etc

@sorrynotathome sadly, yes - lots of people think like that. That because China/the government/USA/other people aren't doing anything that it's not their problem, or why should they bother. I do a lot of work in this field as part of my job, and it's a very prevalent attitude, which I find really sad.

Of course whether one individual uses their washing machine 3 times a week vs 7 times a week on its own doesn't make a huge difference, but imagine if 20 million households in the UK used their washing machines 2 times less a week. So much less detergent being used (therefore less packaging, less transportation, less manufacturing), washing machines lasting longer and not being replaced as much (again - manufacturing, raw materials, transportation), not to mention less electricity, water, sewage etc etc etc. It's the action of collective individuals that really can make a difference, but lots of people just opt out because 'other people'.

The impact of 40 million fewer washes a week would add up to something very appreciable indeed. But behaviour change stems from attitude change, and I can't see where that change is coming from.

Yes @waterlego and @ReviewingTheSituation i see what you mean. I think like you and do what I can, whereas many people find justification for doing nothing. I get it and it’s depressing. Particularly those who seem almost proud of how much energy and water they are wasting.

Looking at the number of women who don't wash their bra after one wear, I am not sure it's that obvious

Socks, Bras, knickers after everywhere. I used to only wear clothes once then wash them. Now cost of living lol when they look like they need it!

Another way to look at it is that more frequent wash can be done at lower temperature and end up wasting LESS energy than occasional wash.

Aside from the fact that my clothes are not clean after one wear

Once a month, whether they need washing or not.

Underwear after every wear... Everything else used to be 2/3 wears but now it's every wear because even with deodorant tops have that underarmy smell (not BO but not pleasant IYSWIM) and jeans etc are a bit... crotch-y. I blame periomenopause.

Obviously pants/socks every wear

Tops depends, between 1-3 wears. Trousers just when they get dirty, maybe 3-5 wears. Might be more for jeans.

Jumpers again when they get dirty. You think I'm washing a wool jumper every couple wears?

Im pretty certain I can smell my own BO. I'm clean and not a particularly sweaty person. I try and reduce the amount of washing I do. Obviously if its been a sweaty or dirty day clothes will get washed but otherwise I try and get an extra day

I've mentioned this before but I will repeat.

Many years ago when I was doing my secretarial training, one of the other girls had an awful BO problem. The tutor decided to get the CEOs secretary in for the 'office hygiene' talk. I have used this system ever since.

At the end of the day, put your clothes in another room or cupboard as that re-acclimitazes your smelling function. Then later on, or the next day, go back to them and have a sniff. As you have been smelling other things in the meantime this means you can now pick up any nasty odours. You can then work out if your clothes need washing more often or not. It really works. Some people need to wash their clothes more often than others.

I wash knickers and gym stuff after every wear but as an example I have been wearing the same jumper since Monday. It has not been hot and this morning before I put it back on I had a sniff and even the underarms still smell of fabric conditioner.

There is so much waste and environmental damage caused by this obsession with washing everything after one wear.

The issue with the girl with the problem at the training centre was solved immediately without anyone being singled out or either side being put in an embarassing situation. Try it.

@SacAMain Less frequent washes can also be done at lower temperatures 🙂

After every wear unless it's jeans and u changed into them to go out the house for an hour or so I might wear them the next day

I can’t wear top several times, I could 10 years ago but not now. Sometimes I wear trousers/ jeans only a couple of times, sometimes more. The same with home clothes it depends on what I’m doing. I don’t want to go into a competition when to wash what but it’s true that a lot of people smell and it’s not pleasant. I don’t want to be the one so I wash my clothes quite often.