# Hypothetical Underpants Scenario **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 27, 2010, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220 "2010-09-27T14:55:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220/41 "2010-10-01T21:14:40Z")
Happened to me last April…a 5 day trip to the UK got unexpectedly extended to 11 (_I hate Iceland!_). Found a laundromat next to a pub and had a few pints while my clothes were washing and drying. Good times. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220/42 "2010-10-01T21:19:18Z")
Bathroom-sink-laundering is really damn easy. I might buy more if I was towards then end of my current set of underwear’s life-cycle. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220/43 "2010-10-02T02:27:10Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > Depending on the situation, I might either buy more underpants or launder them. Finding a laundrette is more likely, since I’ll want to wash the rest of my clothes as well, so I chose the “launder them” option. My logic entirely. As for laundering in the sink: I’ve never gotten that to give me actually clean underwear, as I’m not going to use bleach in the sink with my hands, and I likely didn’t bring gloves. And if I’m going to go buy something, I can find a real laundry place or buy some new. The only way I’d do it is if I only noticed I was out, and didn’t have time to do anything else. And, even then, my priority would be to create time to wash the rest. ETA: > [@11811](#): > > Assuming I’m not visiting a private home (relatives or friends), I’d just buy more. I wouldn’t go to a laundromat in a strange town, and laundering in a hotel sink leaves the problem of clothes not drying quickly enough plus drying “hard” when they do dry. Yeah, I forgot about the drying problem. I’d be using a hair drier. Considering how long that takes, in the just-noticed emergency, I’d probably just go without, while still trying to find a place to launder my clothes. Heck, I think I did that in college when I forgot to do laundry. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220/44 "2010-10-02T02:35:59Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > OK, I’ll admit I’m weird that way, but if I were to hand-wash my dirty underwear, that means I would have to put my hands on my dirty underwear And this is a problem WHY??? (I’d do the sink washing thing, or else I’d just go and buy more. But then I’d probably overpack anyways. I ALWAYS take more stuff than I need) ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220/45 "2010-10-02T02:43:40Z")
Find a way to get 'em cleaned. Not just the underpants, but quite possibly some of the other clothes as well. When I pack for travelling, I assume a certain amount of re-wearing anyway, but depending on how dirty or sweaty clothes get (even in an office, you’ll perspire some) they might get to the point of making you… unwelcome. Many of the garments might be OK with just hanging and airing but chances are, shirts at least will be getting a bit stanky after 2-3 wearings. I’ll wear most clothes more than once, but underpants in particular - no. They’re getting a bit funky even at the end of a normal day. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220/46 "2010-10-02T04:28:38Z")
As a typical guy I have to say I don’t understand the premise. What’s all this stuff about packing a change of underwear? It’s only going to be two weeks. Okay, seriously, I’m probably going to be doing a load of laundry anyway. If not, I’d just buy some new underwear at WalMart. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220/47 "2010-10-02T04:48:06Z")
Eh, I’ll wash them and dry them. Either in a sink, or in a laundromat. Heck, I’ve washed military fatigues in a bathtub and dried them over the shower rack before, so washing a couple of pairs of panties in a sink is no big deal. ---
**Author:** ![Meyer6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cc9497/32.png) [@Meyer6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meyer6)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220/48 "2010-10-02T08:58:29Z")
I usually bring quite a few pairs with me (I am an efficient packer, but undies are small and light), but there have been many times that I have laundered underwear in a hotel or hostel bathroom. While it’s not quite the same as using the washing machine, it usually works fine and if you are in a hotel you can hit them with the hair dryer to speed up the whole process. Having said that, I once spent some time in the tropics during the wet season, and the humidity was incredibly high. I washed out several pairs of underwear in the sink and hung them up but they just. would. not. dry. I think it took 2 or 3 days for them to be dry, and by them they had taken on that nasty mildewy smell that the dishcloth has if you leave it balled up in the sink for a few days. I didn’t really have any other options at the time, having already worn every other pair twice and being far from any store, so I wore them like that, but the results were fairly disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220/49 "2010-10-02T09:18:57Z")
I backpack around the world frequently and travel very light, but experience has taught me that it is a false economy to pack too few undies. For a few years I tried the “wear one, wash one, dry one” method but if you’re on the move, you end up packing washed-but-wet undies far too frequently, and get out of synch. Then I realised that adding three or four - or even ten - more pairs hardly dents your packing at all: they’re very light and roll up small enough to squish in multiple gaps between all your other stuff. That said, in the OP’s hypothetical, if I were staying put I would indeed wash a load. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-underpants-scenario/555220.md?page=2)