# Traveling with underwear **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 24, 2017, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-with-underwear/794527 "2017-08-24T06:22:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-with-underwear/794527/41 "2017-08-25T02:59:44Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Who the hell wears a clean pair of underwear everyday? I go through like 2 a month at most. I don’t know about others but I for one don’t shove my undies up inside my butt. I used to have 7 pairs of clean underwear. One for Monday, one for Tuesday, one for Wednesday, and when I got to Sunday I’d put on the last clean pair and wash the rest. But I got to thinking, what if something happened on Sunday and I wasn’t able to do the wash, I would be out of clean underwear. So I wised up. I now have 12 pairs of underwear. One for January, one for February, one for March… ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-with-underwear/794527/42 "2017-08-25T03:00:55Z")
To be sure, ick-factor notwithstanding, if the OP’s hypothetical “couple” are actually, y’know, a _couple_, then they’ve probably already shared all the _E. coli_ and other germs they’ve got with each other. Wearing undies for a second day still has a day’s worth of ick factor, but I don’t really see a hygiene problem with swapping drawers. But… as numerous posts have asked: Why? But, . . . washing your underwear in the hotel room sink – Now _there’s ick factor!_ ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-with-underwear/794527/43 "2017-08-25T03:23:16Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > But, . . . washing your underwear in the hotel room sink – Now _there’s ick factor!_ Why? ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-with-underwear/794527/44 "2017-08-25T04:05:17Z")
Because that’s the sink in which you brush your teeth. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-with-underwear/794527/45 "2017-08-25T04:13:44Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > Because that’s the sink in which you brush your teeth. And in which you brush your teeth, where the _prior_ guest may have been washing his underwear! Ick! Obligatory **Cecil** column, [just for the **Slug Signorino** illustration](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1317/does-flushing-the-toilet-cause-dirty-water-to-be-spewed-around-the-bathroom). ---
**Author:** ![UDS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecae2f/32.png) [@UDS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UDS)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-with-underwear/794527/46 "2017-08-25T05:11:07Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > And in which you brush your teeth, where the _prior_ guest may have been washing his underwear! Ick! Yes, but you don’t _know_ that the prior guest has been rinsing his smalls in the sink; you know that you have. Therefore, ick. It’s all about perception. ---
**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:** [August 25, 2017, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-with-underwear/794527/47 "2017-08-25T06:00:37Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > But, . . . washing your underwear in the hotel room sink – Now _there’s ick factor!_ > [@UDS](#): > > Because that’s the sink in which you brush your teeth. I don’t wet my toothbrush by rubbing it on the surface of the sink. I hold it under the faucet and wet it with fresh water. So why would I care if underwear has touched the inside the sink? ---
**Author:** ![Evan\_Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b487fb/32.png) [@Evan\_Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evan_Drake)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-with-underwear/794527/48 "2017-08-25T06:26:19Z")
Just go down to the hotel kitchens and ask to use their sink. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-with-underwear/794527/49 "2017-08-25T11:10:07Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Who the hell wears a clean pair of underwear everyday? I go through like 2 a month at most. I don’t know about others but I for one don’t shove my undies up inside my butt. eeeew :smack::eek: ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-with-underwear/794527/50 "2017-08-25T15:03:30Z")
> [@glee](#): > > eeeew :smack::eek: Judging from some of the responses, I suspect washing their tighty-not-so-whities in the toilet would be an improvement. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-with-underwear/794527/51 "2017-08-25T15:11:11Z")
Wait, the OP literally meant wear the other person’s? I figured they were just a shitty writer and wrote “wear the same pair twice” in a weird way. I see nothing wrong with wearing the same pair twice in a row for what amounts to, like, an extra day or whatever. But switching? What a dumb premise… ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-with-underwear/794527/52 "2017-08-25T16:16:16Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > Yes, but you don’t _know_ that the prior guest has been rinsing his smalls in the sink; you know that you have. Therefore, ick. > > It’s all about perception. My perception is that the cleaning staff cleaned the sink before I got there, I clean my underwear with soap, and I rinse out the sink with soap. How would I survive if I were that worried about a tiny chance of a trace of my own ick? ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-with-underwear/794527/53 "2017-08-25T17:49:42Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > Because that’s the sink in which you brush your teeth. It’s the sink where you presumably wash your hands after you’ve wiped your bottom. How is that not ick for the teeth brushing, then? ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-with-underwear/794527/54 "2017-08-25T20:02:35Z")
To the OP, you don’t need to bring any underwear. Just look for used ones in the trash. That way you can do your grocery and clothes shopping at the same time! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-with-underwear/794527/55 "2017-08-25T20:11:43Z")
Exofficio and others make lightweight, wicking underwear that can we washed in the sink and dry by the morning. The idea posed by the OP is stupid, unnecessary and unhygienic. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-with-underwear/794527/56 "2017-08-25T20:17:48Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Exofficio and others make lightweight, wicking underwear that can we washed in the sink and dry by the morning. I don’t know if it was that brand but I bought some undies that were supposed to work like this and the results were unpleasant. They did clean up ok but a day wearing synthetic fibers was much stinkier than cotton or wool. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-with-underwear/794527/57 "2017-08-25T20:18:17Z")
> [@UDS](#): > > Because that’s the sink in which you brush your teeth. Do you rub your toothbrush along the sink walls? Geez. Totally harmless to wash in the sink, and very common. Of course you rinse afterwards, and the maids clean it. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2017, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-with-underwear/794527/58 "2017-08-25T23:56:42Z")
Real revolutionaries don’t wear underpants. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2017, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-with-underwear/794527/59 "2017-08-26T19:42:59Z")
You people are crazzz-y…i would never be that situation…except maybe a zombie apocalypse…and I not really losing sleep wondering about it! ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2017, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-with-underwear/794527/60 "2017-08-27T22:43:54Z")
Is it possible to have mods slap NSWE–Not Safe While Eating–tags on posts like this? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-with-underwear/794527.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/traveling-with-underwear/794527.md?page=4)