# Relax, it's only dirt - what are \*your\* household standards? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 2, 2004, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relax-its-only-dirt-what-are-your-household-standards/267192 "2004-10-02T13:31:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relax-its-only-dirt-what-are-your-household-standards/267192/41 "2004-10-07T18:50:23Z")
Bra - I change twice a week, but I only wear the bra during the day. Once I get home, if I’m there to stay I don’t wear it any longer. I have a seperate bra for sports, that I wash more often. Bedsheets - about once a month. There’s only two of us and no one comes into the bedroom. I should change it more often as I have allergies, but it’s just my bed. Don’t have any pets (well, a turtle in a tank), which is one big reason why the house stays clean. Much as I love animals, they’re dirty. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relax-its-only-dirt-what-are-your-household-standards/267192/42 "2004-10-07T18:59:17Z")
I think I’m the grossest so far. Bra, once a week. I take it off as soon as I get home, though. I hate the damn things. Sheets - uh, once a month - maybe. And I’m not single. No cat. Towels - once a week. Dishtowels maybe 2-3 days. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relax-its-only-dirt-what-are-your-household-standards/267192/43 "2004-10-07T19:08:31Z")
I’m a male that lives near DC so we get both hot and cold weather. I change my undies everyday. Work shirts I can wear two or three times since I usually take them off when I get home. I also wear my jeans for a week unless they get dirty smelly. Those also get taken off when I get home. The sheets get changed between every week to every other week. The litter box gets cleaned every couple of days, and gets a total change every couple of weeks. Unless he complains. ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relax-its-only-dirt-what-are-your-household-standards/267192/44 "2004-10-08T07:59:55Z")
Originally Posted by **Maastricht** Gojemörge [sp?] \* So, how often do you: 1. Change your undershirt? Please add if you’re male/female, live in a hot/cold climate, and do physical or sedentary work. \* No undershirt. Fresh bra daily [when and if I decide to wear one] - Female - Climate is slightly more miserable as yours, I’d say. 🙂 - I hang up [big] pictures, haul bronze art-works all through my gallery, but also sit a lot on my behind, talking to artists and clients. [plus computer work - ahem] _2. Change your bottom bedlinen?_ At least twice a week. I’d love to have clean sheets every day, but lack time to do so. \* 1. Clean your cat’s litterbox? \* Scoop every day. Clean twice a week. [I have two cats. They poop a lot] Towels: I don’t use those \* huge\* bath-towels. So I take a clean one after every wash. About the couch-covers: I agree with you on icky persons sitting on my couch when I might wanna nap on it. So I use \*grand-foulards, which I wash whenever necessary. [might be twice a _day_, depending on the persons sitting on it. 😃] \*Grand-foulards are big [bigger than throws] pieces of cloth that cover the entire couch. Available in all sorts of material, patterns and colors. I swear by them. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relax-its-only-dirt-what-are-your-household-standards/267192/45 "2004-10-08T11:36:11Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Cat litter: we have an automatic litter box, and it’s the best money I’ve ever spent. I love it, love it, love it. It’s a little tempermental, and it took us some time to work out how much litter it can hold (not as much as feels right), but people are shocked to find out we have cats, because there is NO odor in our tiny, tiny apartment. So the litter gets scooped 10 minutes after the cat’s been in the box, every time. With two cats, the little waste receptacle fills up about twice a week, so it gets emptied when full. No odor at all? Sounds almost too good to be true. I almost boughtd one of those airtight litterboxes, but I was afraid that all the smells trapped inside, would gross out my cat so much he wouldn’t use the box anymore. I know \*I \* wouldn’t like a toilet that had no ventilation, so I figured my cat wouldn’t either. The litterbos is in my study, so I would be very much interested in a non-smelly box. **WhyNot** , could you please post a link describing/how to order your automatic litterbox? > [@phall0106](#): > > Jackets/sweaters/coats/sneakers get washed as needed (usually once a week with my son’s jackets, and once every two weeks for his sneakers). You wash \*sneakers? \* Ordinary sneakers? In the washingmachine? And they come out okay? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relax-its-only-dirt-what-are-your-household-standards/267192/46 "2004-10-08T11:48:57Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > The litterbos is in my study, so I would be very much interested in a non-smelly box. > **WhyNot** , could you please post a link describing/how to order your automatic litterbox? It’s called a LitterMaid. If you Google it, it will come. The only caveat is that you do need to be diligent in emptying the waste receptacle, especially if you have multiple cats. Visually, it’s kinda odd, as it’s a bit larger than a standard box, but one asthetic bonus is that you’re never looking at cat poop - just a clean, smooth zen-garden of perfectly raked cat litter. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relax-its-only-dirt-what-are-your-household-standards/267192/47 "2004-10-08T12:07:28Z")
> [@gum](#): > > Gojemörge [sp?]. Wow! That’s “Goedemorgen”(goodmorning) indeed, phonetically written in a heavy Amsterdam accent ! Impressive, from a foreigner. 😉 > [@Elvez](#): > > What’s an “undershirt”? Like a wife-beater? (Shoot, did I really just say that? :smack: ) I never understood the reason for those things. Wouldn’t another layer just make you _hotter_ (temperature-wise, not more attractive)? Wel, my Dutch English dictionary gives the English words “vest, undershirt” for the Dutch word “hemdje”, but maybe it isn’t American English. I’m a woman and I wear undershirts because the fabrics of shirts, sweaters, pants etc are often uncomfortable if worn directly on the skin. Also, they allow you to wear thinner elegant fabrics even on colder days, while still being warm. I looked up why [“wife beaters” are called that.](http://www.wife-beaters.com/shirts.html) > [@](#): > > wife beater (noun) 1. tank-style underwear shirts. Origin: based on the stereotype that physically abusive husbands wear that particular style of undershirt. With such stigma attached to undershirts, it’s no wonder most men don’t wear them. IMHO, tees meant to wear as clothing are too loose-fitting to wear comfortably _under_ a shirt or sweater. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relax-its-only-dirt-what-are-your-household-standards/267192/48 "2004-10-08T12:14:20Z")
Thanks **WhyNot**! I’ll Google for it. Mmmm…perfectly raked Zen gardens… About the wife beaters, it seems there has been [a fashion-update:](http://www.bobfromaccounting.com/2_25_02/wifebeaterarticle.html) > [@](#): > > “Anybody can wear a white sleeveless t-shirt nowadays,” Wentworth said. “But wearing a mesh half-shirt is a clear indicator that you are both an alcoholic and a wife abuser.” ---
**Author:** ![Sassafras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@Sassafras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sassafras)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relax-its-only-dirt-what-are-your-household-standards/267192/49 "2004-10-08T13:06:27Z")
It’s weird to me to wear a bra more than one day in a row, but to change your top every day. Your bra is closer to your body, with all its sweat and skin flakes, so it makes more sense to me to change it everyday, more so than your outer clothing. I do both , btw. :wally I change my sheets about every week,. I do wear a nitegown for about three days in a row, but I shower at night so I figure it stays pretty clean. Towels I use about 2x before throwing them in the laundry. I don’t have cats, but I change the litter in the mouse cages other other day and wash them once a week. ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relax-its-only-dirt-what-are-your-household-standards/267192/50 "2004-10-08T14:48:14Z")
Originally posted by **Maastricht** > [@](#): > > - Wow! That’s “Goedemorgen”(goodmorning) indeed, phonetically written in a heavy Amsterdam accent ! Impressive, from a foreigner. ;)\* I’m hurt. I googled for a _Maastricht_ accent. ‘Goodmorning’ in Amsterdams would be, imho, something like: ‘What? Yeah, whatever’ _hehehe_ 🙂 Originally posted by **Sassafras** > [@](#): > > - I don’t have cats, but I change the litter in the mouse cages other other day and wash them once a week.\* How about if I were to put a ‘LitterMaid’ in your house and leave my cats to clean your mouse cages? 😉 I’m kidding, I’m kidding. I love mice 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relax-its-only-dirt-what-are-your-household-standards/267192/51 "2004-10-08T15:09:23Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > The same goes for most of my clothes; they are worn once or twice, then hung on my clothesrack. The clothesrack is located in a light, drafty place in my house. The clothes are then worn again and again. I check them critically before and after wearing them though, and when they’ve got any visible stains, or no longer pass the sniff-test in critical places (ahem), I’ll wash them. Yes, but you live in Holland, where it’s cold and rainy most of the year. We only get to actually sweat for two or three days a year. 😃 Sometimes I can go for three days without actually having to shower (I sit at a desk all day), and I won’t smell like a wet dog either. When I was living near Washington D.C., I sometimes changed and showered two or three times a day during the summer. When I was in Belém, Brazil (at the mouth of the Amazon) I changed and showered five times a day! When my wife (who is from Belém) moved here, she thought I was crazy for not showering at least twice a day (once in the morning, once before going to bed). Now even she sometimes goes two days without showering. Maybe everyone should mention where they live when answering this question? ---
**Author:** ![Sassafras](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@Sassafras](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sassafras)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relax-its-only-dirt-what-are-your-household-standards/267192/52 "2004-10-08T16:50:43Z")
> [@gum](#): > > How about if I were to put a ‘LitterMaid’ in your house and leave my cats to clean your mouse cages? 😉 > > I’m kidding, I’m kidding. I love mice 🙂 I love them ,too. They are adorable and spoiled. and I bet your cats would love 'em , too 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relax-its-only-dirt-what-are-your-household-standards/267192/53 "2004-10-08T19:40:30Z")
I don’t wear any clothes twice. I have no sense of smell, so I can’t check them, and I’m terrified of going around stinking without knowing it. Sheets, uh, I change them once in a while when it occurs to me. I don’t get to spend as much time on them as I’d like anyway! My kitties go outdoors mostly, and I use the scoopable litter. So, maybe once a week or as needed. Towels, changed at least once a week. Female, hot climate, sedentary job. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relax-its-only-dirt-what-are-your-household-standards/267192/54 "2004-10-08T20:31:42Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > So, how often do you: > [ol] > [li]Change your undershirt? Please add if you’re male/female, live in a hot/cold climate, and do physical or sedentary work. [/li][li]Change your bottom bedlinen? [/li][li]Clean your cat’s litterbox? [/li][/ol] 1. I live in a dry warm climate, so I never wear undershirts. I’ll generally wear a regular shirt for a day, usually in one wearing but I might wear it more than once if I only had it on for a little while the first time. My job is sedentary, as is my life mostly except for my workouts at the gym. Jeans I’ll wear two or three times, but I can’t get dressed without taking a shower first. So I’m OK, I think. I am, right? 1. About 1ce a week. 2. Scoop out the clumps twice a day; change to new litter when it gets low. We have four cats. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relax-its-only-dirt-what-are-your-household-standards/267192/55 "2004-10-08T20:42:00Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > With such stigma attached to undershirts, it’s no wonder most men don’t wear them. IMHO, tees meant to wear as clothing are too loose-fitting to wear comfortably _under_ a shirt or sweater. Not only that, but a visible undershirt of any kind, like when it has a round collar and can be seen under a V-collared shirt, is almost universally considered to be the acme of lameness. You could get around that, presumably, by having the right type of undershirt for all your various outershirts, but then the whole thing just gets too complicated to deal with. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relax-its-only-dirt-what-are-your-household-standards/267192/56 "2004-10-08T20:53:55Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > Wel, my Dutch English dictionary gives the English words “vest, undershirt” for the Dutch word “hemdje”, but maybe it isn’t American English. Correct. “Vest” in America means what’s called a “waistcoat” in England–the third piece of a 3-piece suit. 3-piece suits enjoyed a brief renaissance about 30 years ago; if that had continued, you probably would have been aware of the different usages for “vest”. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relax-its-only-dirt-what-are-your-household-standards/267192/57 "2004-10-08T21:03:37Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > IMHO, tees meant to wear as clothing are too loose-fitting to wear comfortably _under_ a shirt or sweater. T shirts intended to be used as normal clothing are almost always much thicker in material than undershirts, and they’re not always oversized either. Gap over here sells some tees that are actually nice enough to wear with a suit coat and pants, and they’re sized like normal shirts. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relax-its-only-dirt-what-are-your-household-standards/267192/58 "2004-10-09T00:37:47Z")
Well, my undershirts are [these](http://www.hanes.com/mens/F-UW-crewneck.jsp), but Crew neck (That means rounded, like a T-Shirt, right?) They are thinner than a regular shirt. 1. Well, I don’t have a set standard. If I’m working (Hah! I’m jobless right now!), then I put on a fresh one and go to work. If I’m just going to class, I usually put an undershirt on if I’m wearing a V-neck collared shirt (That term you guys are using refers to a Polo-style shirt, right?), and then if I get hot, take the overshirt off and sit in my room in an undershirt, but I usually won’t go out in it. About 50% of the time I’ll just wear one under regular T-shirts, for some reason. Probably something to tuck into my pants so my belt doesn’t hurt my stomach overlap 😛 2. Once every 1 or 2 weeks, again, no set schedule 3)No cat. ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relax-its-only-dirt-what-are-your-household-standards/267192/59 "2004-10-09T01:16:20Z")
- I don’t wear undershirts - I wash my sheets every Sunday - I don’t have a cat - those animals are filthy! ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2004, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relax-its-only-dirt-what-are-your-household-standards/267192/60 "2004-10-09T06:23:41Z")
Originally posted by **Manduck** > [@](#): > > _- I don’t have a cat - those animals are filthy!_ I’d say that! - If I were a duck. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relax-its-only-dirt-what-are-your-household-standards/267192.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/relax-its-only-dirt-what-are-your-household-standards/267192.md?page=4)