How often do you change your bra? yes, it's been done before.

[cabbageroses]

I just feel a bit mucky putting a bra back on after 1 day- and often I need a different colour/style so the one I have worn is draped over a chair.

Do you put yours back in the drawer or what?

[LaDolceRyvita]

I'm all for ventilation....even in the depths of winter!

WHO washes their sheets daily?? I do NOT believe it!

[wotss]

I think perhaps people were much stricter about airing clothes & bedding than we are today - hanging sheets & blankets up to air every day, or airing outside between washing. Hanging up clothes to air when they changed for bed. Wearing a thick flannelette nightshirt between you & the sheets

I don't wash my bras after every wear - but I do hang them up to air, they don't go back in a drawer. And I am a bit obsessed with fresh air & having my bedroom well ventilated.

I wash them much more often than I used to simply because I do more washing loads anyway, so it makes sense to pop them in - but even back in the day when I had two bras, went clubbing in them & was lucky if I remembered to wash one of them when I made my twice termly visit to the launderette - they didn't smell & didn't give me any skin problems.

[Ragwort]

I agree that WTWTW has a point - I believe that in general, people wash things far too frequently - maybe I am lazy but the thought of washing sheets and towels daily seems ridiculous to me - yes, it is lovely having fresh sheets but the time and effort (not to mention resources) seems to outweigh the 'niceness' of having clean sheets.

I don't know why everyone has to have clean clothes every single day - yes, if you do sweat heavily or drop lots of food down your top but most people don't.

I am very aware that I put my DS in a clean school top today because he had a small mark on it - it doesn't really matter but I am wary of what other mums will think of me if I send him in a slightly grubby shirt - and I feel ridiculous for mentioning that.

I have recently stayed with elderly relatives - they didn't use the washing machine at all in ten days and clearly wore the same clothes more than once - they do not smell at all and they are busy - walking/gardening etc. I do think the modern generation has an obsession with washing.

[LaDolceRyvita]

Many many years ago, I went on holiday with my Mum and her elderly aunt. I was probably around 21. My mum's aged aunt was aghast that I would need to wash my hair on a daily basis (it was a hot country) and had taken several changes of swimwear with me. I spent the whole holiday with her telling me how "it was in (her) day".

I can imagine, that she and her peers must have smelt rather off putting. They bathed only when absolutely necessary. Wore undies for several days (!!) and Sunday night was hairwash and "rags in" night (to make her hair curl).

My goodness, I'm all for a short wash and using less detergent etc etc, but frankly, clean undies daily and, if needs be, twice daily.

It's how we live now.

In history, people all walked about waving pomanders because they stank.

[WhereTheWildThingsWere]

Calm down and have a

It is something I feel very strongly about and for the record I do not smell

I'm not sure why you are so uptight and defensive about it, but it is true that if people are not prepared to make small changes then we have bugger all chance of making big ones.

[ChippingIn]

Where was it I said 'sod everyone else' - Oh that's right - I didn't!

It is not advertising fed paranoia FFS. I wash them daily because I like clean clothes, I like to smell & feel fresh - I don't give a flying fuck what you do, nor what advertising tells me I need to do.

I'll tell you what happens when you wear your knickers twice or three times. You smell. You might not be able to tell - but you will smell to others - if you are happy with that then great. Frankly, I'm not.

If ideas like this continue to persist blah blah blah ...there are bigger issues in the world than how often I wash my bra - I suggest you go and put this much energy into them.

[WhereTheWildThingsWere]

Ah I see, sod everyone else, an awful lot of the world are having to do far worse than make things 'do'.

If you wash everyday and don't have any problem when sweating, there is no need to wash clothes everday, it is pure advertising fed paranoia.

What do you think would happen if you wore knickers twice? Three times? I can tell you from personal experience, sod all.

If ideas like this continue to persist the next gerenations are going to be well and truly fucked and whether or not they have washed their bra today is going to be the least of their worries for our childrens children.

[ChippingIn]

Topsi - your comment is snipey because it implies that those of us who wash our bras after one wear are stupidly being taken in by 'washing companies'. It isn't so. I wash mine because although I wouldn't say I'm sweaty (and I certainly don't have a 'sweat problem' ) I know that you do sweat from under your bust, everyone does. My knickers often don't look or smell dirty either - so by your assessment I should wear those again too? To me it's no different. Also - no one said 'disease'. Bacterial infection is more likely.

WTWTW - yes, we might all make things 'do' for a bit longer - then we'd end up smelling like the people who are forced to make things 'do' for longer than is desirable. We don't need to smell.

[PureBloodMuggle]

Depends on how many matching pants I have for it and the maximum amount of matching pants I buy per bra is 3. Though if I've sweated on any day (don't usually) I'll put it in the wash then

This thread reminds me that I haven't had a white bra for over two years. Really should do something about that.

[WhereTheWildThingsWere]

I am not saying others shouldn't wash their stuff if it does indeed need washing.

I object to being told I am unhygenic for not washing things after every wear when in my case they do not need it.

I also object to alot of thoughtless washing that goes on, people who wash sheets, towels, jeans daily, we squander resourses so easily in the west as we are in such a privileged position.

If we were all walking a consiserable distance to fetch water, boil it, then wash by hand, you can bet an awful lot of our stuff would 'do' for a few more days.

[topsi]

But it's true, they try to make us believe that we will all catch some disease if we don't use special bacterial spreys on our surfaces etc. Unless your bra smells or is stained then where is the sense of washing it every day. As said before if your body is clean and you don't have a sweat problem then why??
Why is the comment 'snipey' it is my opinion?

[ChippingIn]

topsi - it has nothing to do with what the 'washing companies' have tried to make me believe. Snipey little comments like that are pathetic.

[topsi]

If it needs washing then wash it, if its not dirty or smelly then don't that is all I am saying. Personally I hardly sweat at all and have never caught any infections from my underware from these deadly bacteria that the washing powder companies try to make us believe we should be scared of.
If you sweat alot then of course you need to wash your underware.

[spiderslegs]

Can I just stick my hand up & say I've never owned a bra......

[PrettyCandles]

I get so pissed off with people who criticise daily washing of bras and shirts. I don't criticise them for not being sweaty or smelly! I'm not obsessed with hygiene and perfect whites, I don't want to have to spend even more on bras because they wear out faster from so much laundry, and I certainly don't want to do any more laundry than absolutely necessary.

So, you people who can't understand why anyone would only wear a bra or top once before washing it, come walk a mile in my sweaty shoes and see what it's like being a woman who doesn't 'merely glow'.

[topsi]

Every couple of weeks. Again I think we are all obsessed with washing stuff. Unless it is visibly dirty or smells then why wash it? I don't wear the same bra every day though I prob alternate between a couple. I wash every day and change my knickers every day.

[muminthecity]

On birthdays and at Christmas, same as my knickers.

[WillbeanChariot]

I change every two days unless sweaty. I would go longer but they go sort of stretched and saggy after a couple of days' wear.

Expensive ones are handwashed, the rest in the machine. I wish I could be arsed to hand wash them all as I am well endowed and have to buy good ones. But I can't.

[ChippingIn]

WTWTW - we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one :)

[WhereTheWildThingsWere]

ChippingIn I don't wear knickers that often.

And I wash daily so my bras are full of nothing, except boobs, if I have them on.

We are obsessed with washing atm, it is ridiculous, tops will often last me three or more days so to wash a bra daily seems stooopid.

Washing bras often is particually bad as it ruins the support they give really quickly and good ones are not cheap.

[Ragwort]

verysomething - I'm the same as you - surely its bad for the environment to do so much washing - I expect lots of people are frightened off from writing the truth on this thread !

[ChippingIn]

WTWTW - washing any clothes/knickers is 'bad for them' - does that mean you don't change your knickers daily? A couple of weeks... it will be full of dead skin, bacteria, sweat.... that can't be good for it either!


iWILL - no, I don't wash them by hand they just go in the machine with everything else. If it's a particularly special or delicate on it goes in a mesh bag, but not the 'ordinary' ones.

[PrettyCandles]

Every day. Even twice a day if sweaty and have changed clothes for whatever reason, eg going swimming, or Going Out in the evening.

I always wash my bras on an easy-care cycle with other lightweight laundry, ie not towels or jeans. I bag the bras up in 3s or 4s and they never get damaged or damage other laundry.

It does occasionally happen that I pass the Bra Event Horizon and have to fish one out of the laundry basket in desperation, but I would never put a bra back in the wardrobe unlaundered.

[Dropdeadfred]

putting on a fresh, clean bra feels lovely though