To worry about not washing new clothes before wearing them?

[strawberryjeans]

I usually wash everything that we buy new. I haven’t washed the dress I’m wearing today, got it from Sainsbury’s a few months ago.

Is it that bad? 😅

OP, in order to dye fabric it has to be washed several times anyway. It has been washed before it got to the shops.

I never do unless I want to soften them a bit - but recently have washed two pairs of jeans twice as the dye in them STINKS!

It’s the only time the clothes look nice! After I’ve washed them they are always that little bit less perfect so I wouldn’t be wasting the joy of that first wear when it looks it’s best. <I maybe need to learn to be a more careful clothes washer but in this house everything goes on the economy wash!)

Nope 👎

Bed linen yes, men’s shirts out of packets yes, but only because they are crispy and stiff.

clothes for me, absolutely not, they look much better prewashed.

I wash eveything new. Can’t stand the smell of new stuff. That and also potential for clothes to have been kicked around a shop floor, lying in a stock room, handled by many, sweaty armpits and other areas from being tried on. Just yuk.

I generally wash new clothes to soften them and take away that shop smell. The only time I might not is if I've bought something that needs to hold its shape for some kind of occasion and I risk losing that by washing. I wash bed linen and towels too before first use.

I wash pants, bras and bed linen and towels on a quick wash when new. Clothes, I don't bother to wash

OP, you are so reckless. People wearing unwashed new clothes is the biggest killer in the northern hemisphere.

I never thought about this until one of my children had a reaction to a new item of clothing. He’d never had any reactions to anything before. Our GP said reactions to dyes or chemicals on clothing are reasonably common although they’re not usually as bad as the one my child which had which was complicated by it getting infected and we ended up seeing a dermatologist. She said she always washed new clothing and advised us to.

I mostly wash new clothing now but I don’t think most people do. We didn’t before this happened.

Chemical smell?? Where did you buy it?

I wash everything that is washable before I wear it (except for tights). I broke my rule once with a nightdress and came out in a very nasty rash. There are a lot of chemicals in clothing to keep stuff looking pristine in the shops. I'd rather not be putting those chemicals on my skin. If you are prone to allergies you should wash clothes before wearing them.

I'm another vote for never washing new things. Unless you know you have an allergy or skin condition which might flare up (I don't) or the item is obviously dirty (in which case, why buy it the first place?) why bother. I have never had any kind of adverse reaction to wearing newly bought clothing.

I do, however, wash charity shop clothing which is clearly second hand.

I've just come to this thread from another one about how mothers coped in the past with having loads of children.

I suspect one of the reasons is that they didn't waste their time washing perfectly clean clothes 😂

Some people wash them twice....

Another one who washes new clothes to get rid of the chemicals that are added to protect the clothes during storage and transport. But wouldn’t worry about a single instance of not doing it. It is a very sensible thing to do though - known strong carcinogens, and often in concentrations that are well above legal limits.

Rat piss 😂😂😂😂

I did this for PFB... not for DC2!

Yeah maybe I am a new clothes washer but simply as I feel it makes them a bit more comfortable. However if I didn't wash something for whatever reason I wouldn't be worried about it

No I don’t. DH might iron a new shirt that’s been folded in a packet.

I wash new clothes, especially jeans and trousers, to check that they won't shrink. I can then return them within the return window if they do.

I once had some pyjamas from Next where the trousers shrank 4 inches in leg length.

When my MIL gave me clothes as presents, I always used to think that they were second hand, because they just didn't look new at all. It was only after years of this that I realised it was because she routinely washed new clothes.

I thought she was crazy! It seemed on a par with her practice of never drinking any water - in her own home or our home or anywhere else - without boiling it first.

Washing gradually wrecks clothes, right from the first wash. I would never deprive myself of the small pleasure of wearing shop-new clothing, just because of some sparse sweaty molecules they might have acquired in-store.

Have never had clothes shrink in wash.

Nope. Never knew people did this until I heard it on MN. I've twice deliberately saved brand new bedding for the spare room when I had guests so they had the lovely fresh out of the packet stuff. Which to me is a nice thing but apparently is a terrible faux pas.

It really isn't.