Clean you or clean clothes?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Hypothetical.

Let’s say that yesterday was a fairly ordinary day. No particularly hot weather or strenuous exertion, but you ended up … not quite fresh.

Either before bedtime or the next morning, if these are your only two choices, which are you more likely to do:

  • Take a nice shower, but put on the same clothes as before
  • Skip the shower, but put on a fresh change of clothes
0 voters

The premise here is that – for whatever reason – you can’t do both.

We can either assume that ‘the next day’ is a day off, or a regular workday, or … whatever you want to assume.

Which are you more inclined to do?

2

Not quite fresh covers a lot of ground. MOST of the time that I’m in that situation, I’ll clean myself, rather than my clothes. In terms of odors, it’s probably more me than my clothes anyway, and even if it’s 50/50, I feel gross when my skin/hair is oily/greasy/dirty.

So even with day-old clothes, it’s probably more comfortable than day-old me.

But there are lots of activities (especially outdoors ones) that can make my clothes filthy while leaving -ME- only less than fresh. So there are always exceptions - still voted to clean myself based on the more usual scenario.

3

That’s me too.

In cool = non-sweaty weather an ordinary pair of long pants can be as fresh-smelling after 4 days as before first use. Outer shirts much less so but can often run 2 days if protected by an inner shirt. Me? I stink after a few hours tops.

So faced with either / or in cool weather, it’s a no brainer: I wash me.

In hot sweaty weather day 2 is gonna stink no matter what, but a clean me with stinky clothes is more comfortable for me, and not that much less stinky than dirty uncomfortable me in clean clothes.

4

I always, always take a daily shower. And If I am home I generally
always wear everything clean except I might wear pants 3 days in a row if they are not in bad shape.

I usually travel with only a carry on which limits my choices of clothing. The last trip I had to wear my jeans about 8 days in a row.
I struggled with that one and was hyper vigilant looking out for a washing machine somewhere.

So for me it has to be a shower and put on the dirty clothes.

5

Why not keep the same cloths and not take a shower? I’ve done this on weekends and nothing bad has happened.

6

Too bad stepping into the shower clothed, thus at least semi-cleaning both body and wardrobe, isn’t an option in this hypothetical. Yeah, I’m prone to trying to find loopholes. :wink:

7

I’d pick the clean clothes. I don’t mind my body being dirty but I’d want to keep the bed, furniture, etc. as un-soiled as possible. Having clean clothes is a barrier between dirt and that, to some extent.

8

I have fairly oily hair that starts feeling icky to me after about 30-36 hours unwashed (depending on length, which varies a fair bit over the course of a year). Pure internal psychological pressure would force me to wash myself and just live with the dirty clothes.

9

Medieval Historian Ruth Goodman claims to have done an experiment along these lines while filming for a documentary - for a month, she didn’t wash but did change her clothes every day, a colleague did the reverse.

According to her, “clean clothes” won by a mile

10

I remember seeing a study, in a modern setting, where clean clothes won by a mile, as well. Old clothes are startlingly obvious, even if not to the wearer (who’s accustomed to the smell). So, I would definitely choose clean clothes.

A couple decades ago I worked in the same space as a hippie couple who would bathe in a sauna frequently but had only sporadic access to clothes washing, and few sets of clothes. I would know they were coming to the shop a good 30 seconds before I saw anything, just because of the stale clothes smell emitted by them.

11

I do think the math would change based on number of days involved. But the OP is just the “next day”, and my answer remains unchanged for that duration. :slight_smile:

12

One-day clothes smell, too, after a day and into the next, just not as much.

13

Fascinating:

and

Thanks for mentioning her/that. Nothing I’d ever heard of. I think the detail makes it worth the quick read(s).

Excerpt:

Personally, under the circumstances in the OP, I mix it up and don’t find much difference either way. I’m not an inherently stinky fellow, so – provided I don’t push beyond a day or two – I’m either basically good, or I simply associate with people who are too genteel to be honest with me.

Either way … :wink:

14

If you are a History Nerd at all, “How to be a Tudor” and “How to be a Victorian” are great reads. She’s very engaging