# How often do you wash your clothes? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 24, 2003, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-wash-your-clothes/157191 "2003-02-24T17:28:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-wash-your-clothes/157191/1 "2003-02-24T17:28:25Z")
I was washing a wool sweater in some Woollite and was scouring the Internet for miscellaneous clothing care tips becuase I an idiot and have only recently graduated from throwing everything in the washer and then throwing everything in the dryer and blasting it til dry. At least I seperate by color. Anyway, I was reading about handwashing sweaters (pain in the butt if you ask me) and it mentioned that you should only have to wash it once a year. Once a year? I generally wash my clothes after every wear. Well my shirts and underwear. Well, my pants take repeated wears before they get the machine. And I suppose I let stuff like sportcoats go a little while in between washing. The question is: what stuff do you wash after each wear? Is there anything that doesn’t need such regular cleaning? Is it possible I am overwashing a lot of my clothes? Please feel free to regard me as an idiot in the realm of clothing care. In fact, if anybody wants to throw out any general tips, go right ahead. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-wash-your-clothes/157191/2 "2003-02-24T18:40:07Z")
Underwear: after each wearing T-shirts: after each wearing Outer shirts: every other wearing Jeans: every other wearing Hand-washable sweaters: every 3rd wearing unless you have a sweaty day Dry-cleanables: I’m in a bad zone with mine right now, but I would say every 7 wearings unless you spill something. How’s that? ---
**Author:** ![Rubystreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Rubystreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rubystreak)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-wash-your-clothes/157191/3 "2003-02-24T18:49:03Z")
I have so many clothes that I only do laundry every 3 weeks or so. I guess what you’re really asking is, how often do I wear something before washing it. Anything that comes in direct contact with sweaty bits, such as shirts, t-shirts, socks, and underwear, get washed after one wear. Jeans can sometimes get 2 wearings if I’m not a slob. Flannel shirts, sweatshirts, and cotton sweaters will get washed after 3-4 wearings, until the get dirty or covered in cat hair. Wool sweaters I wash 2-3 times a season. They never touch bare flesh (I am allergic to wool, so I always were a long-sleeve shirt underneath). They need to drip-dry, so I do them at my dad’s house b/c he has a big washer and a nice drying rack. Dry cleanables almost never get cleaned by me, unless I can get away with washing them in the gentle cycle. i only dry clean when I have no other choice bc/ it’s a PITA. ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-wash-your-clothes/157191/4 "2003-02-24T21:00:43Z")
Underwear and socks, after one wearing. If I’m out of socks, though, I’ve been known to wear a pair for an extra day. Pants can go through several wearings, no problem. Shirts – well, it depends. If I haven’t done any sweating, I’ll wear them a couple of times between wearings. I do a lot more laundry during the summer. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-wash-your-clothes/157191/5 "2003-02-24T21:35:54Z")
I wash everything after one wearing, with two exceptions: sweatshirts that are almost always worn with a t-shirt underneath, and jeans. Those can be worn five or six times without being washed — in the case of jeans, five or six days in a row. We had a previous thread on this subject where a few people thought that was weird, but they were shouted down. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![irishgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@irishgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irishgirl)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-wash-your-clothes/157191/6 "2003-02-25T00:53:52Z")
it all goes into the box, either when i get bored wearing it, it smells a little funky, or as is more often the case, i’ve split something all over it (i tend to gesture wildly as i eat). once i have enough for a wash (dark or white) i wash it. wool by hand when stinky/stained. knickers and bras by hand when i run out. since i own approximatley 352618951 pairs of pants, this is a rare occurence. the last time a did an underwear wash our flat was festooned with multicoloured smalls for 3 days. my flatmate was unimpressed. she’s a wash one, wear one, and one for emergencys kinda gal. ---
**Author:** ![NOS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@NOS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NOS)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-wash-your-clothes/157191/7 "2003-02-25T01:17:19Z")
NORMAL Clothes like Pants, T-shirts, and other things: after each use Dry Cleans: Once a month (i hardly wear ne thing that s dryclean only, just caps which i dont wash) ---
**Author:** ![monica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@monica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monica)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-wash-your-clothes/157191/8 "2003-02-25T01:54:49Z")
Underwear: After each wearing Shirts: After each wearing Bras: when they need it Pants: After every or every other wearing, depending on their state. Socks: After every wearing Pajamas: varies ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-wash-your-clothes/157191/9 "2003-02-25T07:38:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hey you! \* > **Anyway, I was reading about handwashing sweaters (pain in the butt if you ask me) and it mentioned that you should only have to wash it once a year.** That sounds about right. I have a gorgeous, fourteen-year-old Dale wool sweater, and I’ve washed it about a dozen times. It’s a pain in the butt to wash properly, but I only wash it at the end of the season before storing it unless I spill something on it. (Some seasons have been so warm, I haven’t worn it at all, so it gets washed less than once a year on average.) I don’t wear it against my skin, so it doesn’t get sweaty. Washing any more often than that would be useless and would only wear it out faster. ---
**Author:** ![kirk280980](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c77e96/32.png) [@kirk280980](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kirk280980)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-wash-your-clothes/157191/10 "2003-02-25T12:44:42Z")
Although I live on my own, I still manage to wash a BIG load every day. So I guess you could say that my stuff gets washed pretty frequently. Jeans: Every 1-2 wearings. Shirts: Wear once, then wash. Underwear: Wear once, then wash. MA1 jacket: Wash every 2-4 weeks. Towels: Use once, then wash. Bed linens: Wash and starch once a week. Dry clean: Never; I refuse to buy such items. I can’t remember the last time I actually put something dirty into my washer - I just like putting on fresh clothes each day, sometimes twice a day in summer when it gets hot and sticky. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-wash-your-clothes/157191/11 "2003-02-25T13:30:40Z")
Towels - Once then wash? You’re good. Mine are good for at LEAST a week. Maybe more. I figure, they’re only used on clean skin and hair, so what’s the panic?? ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-wash-your-clothes/157191/12 "2003-02-25T13:58:36Z")
I go to the laudromat every Saturday. I will wear jackets, pants and sweaters twice, but anything else gets washed after one wearing. Sheets and towels every week. ---
**Author:** ![Horrifying\_Howler\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df788c/32.png) [@Horrifying\_Howler\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horrifying_Howler_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-wash-your-clothes/157191/13 "2003-02-25T14:11:59Z")
Today I got a dryer, and I have to say this is the happiest day of my week. I used to drag out the times between washings, because it takes so long for everything to dry. Underwear of course got washed after every use, but at one point I had to go into town to buyy more, because they were not drying. Sometimes I would wear pants for a week before washing them. Shirts two to three times. ---
**Author:** ![Chum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3ab097/32.png) [@Chum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chum)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-wash-your-clothes/157191/14 "2003-02-25T14:31:23Z")
I only begin to think about doing laundry when I’m down to about 2 pairs of undies. I have a large number of undies, so this equates to doing laundry one time a month. I wear shirts as many times as I can - until they’re stinky or I get something on them. I wear jeans for a _long_ time. We’re talking a week and a half. Hey, I’m a college student - I don’t care. I tried hand washing my sweaters once, and it was a horrible experience. I would rather risk shrinkage and/or ruinage by machine wash. ---
**Author:** ![FranticMad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c68b51/32.png) [@FranticMad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FranticMad)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2003, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-often-do-you-wash-your-clothes/157191/15 "2003-02-25T16:03:03Z")
Wash my clothes?