Okay tlw I concede. I probably could wash my panties in cool water, but as Green Bean stated I use Hanes Her Way and you would not believe the amount of abuse my panties can take before falling apart:D
Another recommendation for Hanes Her Way undies. The day I make any special efforts to wash my underwear is the day I start going commando. On a separate rant issue, I’m happy with HHW undies, but I wish to heck they would get their sizing standardized. Every pack of panties I buy from Wally World is a crapshoot (hee - no pun intended) as to what size the panties will actually be on my bum, regardless of what size is on their labels.
(When I read your OP, celestina, it occurred to me that I have never once thought about what my mother would say about what I post. Maybe I should think about that a little more. :D)
I like bunched up panties. Particularly when they’re thrown haphazardly into the corner or tucked into the glove box.
I’ve found (YMMV) that quality clothing is a better value. Mind you that price does not always equal quality; but Gold-toe socks or Calvin Klein underwear last me significantly longer than other brands I have tried, and are therefore worth any added cost.
Panties: they’re not the best thing in the world, but they’re right next to it!
I thought it was just me! :eek: I have found the colored ones to be generally larger than the white ones, but I have a pair of black ones that I can’t even wear.
Nitpicks:
Water over 140 degrees F. is enough to begin sanitizing. Few microbes that we face in everyday life survive 140 degrees. Most people don’t have their water that hot, so you point is still relevant, just slightly inaccurate.
Have you tried a lingerie bag? Mesh zip-close bag that you throw your undies in, then toss in the washer. It keeps them from getting pulled on and such while they’re being washed. I used to wash mine this way but the bag I had finally fell apart, and I haven’t bought a new one. Try the Woolite and washing them alone in that bag on the delicate cycle, if you’re still concerned about their condition.
This thread just solved a mystery for me. I was wondering why my panties seem to be falling apart much more quickly lately.
Now it occurs to me that maybe 6 months to a year ago I started throwing them into the dryer instead of just letting them hang dry.
Thanks for all the panty-washing (and drying) tips, folks.
Same here. I haven’t worn undies in… god I can’t even remember.
I couldn’t agree more. I’m a HHW girl, and I will not make special efforts to wash undies. My unmentionables tend to hold up pretty well in the wash.
Hanes Her Way and/or Fruit of the Loom seem to last me quite a while. Nice & comfy & cotton, too, none of this itchy weird lace & polyester stuff (v. sensitive skin when it comes to lace). So another vote for these brands.
Not to say that I don’t have undies that are in very bad shape, but it takes 'em, oh, a year or something? to get that way.
My mother posts these sorts of things on messageboards herself! Heh heh. :o
Hanes Her Way are pretty good, but I’ve switched over to Jockey For Her because the elastic at the top is inside a sewn casing instead of just being a band of elastic, which has a tendency to get ravelly after a while. Jockey fits really nicely, too… The french cut ones are especially flattering to those of us with less than washboard tummies… 
featherlou said: “(When I read your OP, celestina, it occurred to me that I have never once thought about what my mother would say about what I post. Maybe I should think about that a little more. )”
Awww. That’s a nice sentiment. I confess I do want to make my mother proud of me, but I also get a kick out of getting on her nerves by being really silly and saying and doing naughty things that she knows I know better than to do. It’s so much fun standing there and watching her smile and try lecture her grown child about her behavior. 
She can’t help herself. Although I am an adult, I’ll always be her little girl.
Waverly said: “I like bunched up panties. Particularly when they’re thrown haphazardly into the corner or tucked into the glove box.”
Now why doesn’t this suprise me, you naughty, naughty fella, you. I agree that good quality clothing is a better investment, but I also think that good quality clothing doesn’t equate with designer names or even with paying a king’s ransom. I try to buy good quality when I can, but I refuse to help Calvin Klein and his ilk pay for his yacht or whatever. You know?
galen ubal said: “Panties: they’re not the best thing in the world, but they’re right next to it!”
[giggle] You’re so cute, you charmer you! You better watch out saying stuff like that in the Pit. [giggle] You might have all kinds of women wanting you to get in their virtual panties.
Denise V, I haven’t tried a lingerie bag for my panties, but I do use one for my bras and pantyhose. Hmmm. Thanks for the tip.
** Spoiler Virgin** I’m so glad this thread has helped you! I never dreamed when I started it that there were others out there like me who lamented the fact that for some reason they couldn’t fathom their panties were falling apart. You know, we do have to wonder about an industry that makes undies that are so cheap that they fall apart. What kind of message are they really sending? I mean really, do they want us to wear panties or not? I do declare. I’m fast getting to the point where I’m going to choose a day and just say fuck it. I’m going commando!
Nenya_Elizabeth said: “My mother posts these sorts of things on messageboards herself! Heh heh”
Wow. Your mom sounds like a really interesting, feisty lady. Good for her!
Aleq, yes, I was looking at my Hanes Her Way panties, and I noticed that the top elastic band is unraveling like you say.
Oh, Green Bean and all you folks that have recommended Hanes Her Way, you’re right. I found that I do have some of those in my panty collection, and they’ve taken abuse in the washer and dryer and held up much more admirably than the panties that are the subject and inspiration for this rant. I don’t know how long I’ve had them, some are falling apart, but at least it took them awhile to do so, and some–for some odd reason–are tighter than the others. Thanks for sharing your observations.
As soon as you said “Panties from Wal-Mart”, I knew where this thread was going. I’m sitting here at my desk in some Wal-Mart undies…
…anybody who didn’t know better would swear that my clothes dryer had fangs and claws, looking at these bad boys.
But… but… there’s no, erm… “goo” with which to contend?
I do “free-ball”–OK, I know that’s the boy-term for zero drawers, but I like it–occasionally (and I almost always end up on an impromptu clothes-shopping trip on those days, which means I can’t try on any pants :mad: ), but to do so on a regular basis would mean washing/cleaning my pants and jeans more often…
And I figure undies are cheaper and easier to clean and/or replace than the perfect pair of crepe-wool slacks or those groovy dark-denim jeans…
And in a skirt, well… I’d just be paranoid about slipping on a giant booger at a party and landing ass-out and legs up…
Rowf, rowf! Yip, yip!
You and me both, baby. With my clumsiness quotient (noted hereafter as my CQ), that is just about guaranteed to happen. (Did you get that giant booger reference from last week’s ‘Friends’ episode, by any chance, or do you just habituate less than genteel establishments?)