# Do you wash new clothes before wearing? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 23, 2007, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-new-clothes-before-wearing/412812 "2007-07-23T05:08:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-new-clothes-before-wearing/412812/1 "2007-07-23T05:08:09Z")
Title pretty much says it all. When you buy brand new clothes, do you wash or dry clean them (if applicable) before wearing them? Why or why not? ---
**Author:** ![Dottygumdrop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Dottygumdrop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dottygumdrop)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-new-clothes-before-wearing/412812/2 "2007-07-23T05:13:40Z")
Always - and [this](http://home.howstuffworks.com/question470.htm) is why! Formaldehyde is not something I want against my skin! YECH! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-new-clothes-before-wearing/412812/3 "2007-07-23T05:23:56Z")
Pretty much, yes. Sometimes I just rinse them, however. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-new-clothes-before-wearing/412812/4 "2007-07-23T05:38:46Z")
No, it just never occurred to me. I’m not prone to allergic reactions or anything like that. Although sometimes I do like to wash/dry something (pants in particular) to see if it’ll shrink before I get them hemmed. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-new-clothes-before-wearing/412812/5 "2007-07-23T05:46:55Z")
no, too lazy, can’t remember ever hearing about a real problem that it would solve ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-new-clothes-before-wearing/412812/6 "2007-07-23T05:58:06Z")
No, unless they are going to altered, then we will wash them first for shrinkage purposes. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-new-clothes-before-wearing/412812/7 "2007-07-23T06:12:31Z")
I almost always wash before wearing - with the exception of white socks or basic underwear. Often the clothes have slight wrinkles or are stiff from being folded or in a package and generally it is easier to just throw them in the wash and let the perma-press kick in than try to iron them out. Plus there is something funky about wearing clothes that smell “new”…smelling “clean” is nice, but that “new” smell just doesn’t work for me. Now that I read about the formaldehyde, maybe that is the odor that I don’t like - but whatever it is, it just screams “hey, I got new clothes everybody!” ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-new-clothes-before-wearing/412812/8 "2007-07-23T06:46:21Z")
I ALWAYS wash everything before wearing. While clothes are in the store, many people try them on, and they probably get thrown on the floor in the dressing room, etc. So basically, the clothes are at least somewhat dirty (being tried on by dozens of strangers with varying levels of cleanliness), so of course I wash them. I also wash new clothes to get rid of that weird new smell and to soften the fabric and get rid of wrinkles or stretching (in knit fabrics). ---
**Author:** ![Ms.Pumpkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@Ms.Pumpkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms.Pumpkin)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-new-clothes-before-wearing/412812/9 "2007-07-23T07:33:31Z")
Nope, never have. I probably should, as my skin is extremely sensitive, but it’s never been a problem. ---
**Author:** ![I\_m\_Ron\_Burgundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9fc29f/32.png) [@I\_m\_Ron\_Burgundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_m_Ron_Burgundy)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-new-clothes-before-wearing/412812/10 "2007-07-23T07:34:59Z")
No. I like the ‘new’ smell. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-new-clothes-before-wearing/412812/11 "2007-07-23T07:54:05Z")
OK, I can see the point of washing them first: remove dies, soften them, etc. But I never have. I’ve never been bothered by wearing new clothes before they’re washed. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-new-clothes-before-wearing/412812/12 "2007-07-23T10:00:57Z")
Ha, no. When you have to wash your clothes by hand, you don’t do laundry unless something’s actually dirty. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-new-clothes-before-wearing/412812/13 "2007-07-23T10:25:30Z")
Thanks for all the replies so far. I appreciate it. For those of you who always wash before wearing. What if it’s a dry clean item? Do you have it cleaned first? ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-new-clothes-before-wearing/412812/14 "2007-07-23T10:52:44Z")
[QUOTE=nyctea scandiaca] I ALWAYS wash everything before wearing. [/QUOTE] Including hat and shoes. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-new-clothes-before-wearing/412812/15 "2007-07-23T12:54:22Z")
Having worked a fitting room as part of a job…yes, yes, always yes! You never know who might have tried that shirt on before you. And I don’t buy dry clean only items, so that’s not an issue. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-new-clothes-before-wearing/412812/16 "2007-07-23T12:54:42Z")
I wash all clothing before wearing. I tend to break out in pretty rashes and hives if I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-new-clothes-before-wearing/412812/17 "2007-07-23T12:58:32Z")
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I NEVER wash socks before I wear them. It ruins the “new sock cushiness” that I positively adore. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-new-clothes-before-wearing/412812/18 "2007-07-23T13:38:32Z")
Nope, never. Very few allergies, non-sensitive skin, and really I just don’t care. There’s very little I’m worried about that can live for that long outside human skin. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-new-clothes-before-wearing/412812/19 "2007-07-23T13:57:23Z")
Most of the time I do. Not dry-clean items, though. And every so often there’s this thing I just bought today that I want to wear tonight. And always socks and undies. I do it mostly because I’m squicked at the thought of all the hands that may have touched it before me. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Duality](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.duality/32/4098_2.png) [@Mr.Duality](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Duality)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2007, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-new-clothes-before-wearing/412812/20 "2007-07-23T14:08:01Z")
Not in the past, but will from now on after following the link provided by Dotty. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-wash-new-clothes-before-wearing/412812.md?page=2)