# Washing brand new clothes before wearing? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 29, 2012, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-brand-new-clothes-before-wearing/623478 "2012-05-29T20:29:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-brand-new-clothes-before-wearing/623478/21 "2012-05-29T22:13:15Z")
Male No. I know that the clothes may be impregnated with all kinds of deadly substances but figure they are no worse than those I face daily. So I don’t bother except for the folded, pinned shirts that require washing and ironing to avoid looking like a homeless guy dressed for his court appearance. ---
**Author:** ![randomface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@randomface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randomface)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-brand-new-clothes-before-wearing/623478/22 "2012-05-29T22:15:49Z")
Male, yes. I seem to remember a story from when I was a kid (may or may not have been an urban legend) about a shipment of blue jeans making people sick because they had pesticide spilled on them at some point in the manufacture/shipping process. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-brand-new-clothes-before-wearing/623478/23 "2012-05-30T00:06:21Z")
Always wash. There’s weird, scratchy stuff on most clothes that ought to be washed off. To return crispness to shirts, one need only starch and iron them. Plus, fresh starch smells way better than the stuff they use at the factory. ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-brand-new-clothes-before-wearing/623478/24 "2012-05-30T00:28:30Z")
> [@randomface](#): > > Male, yes. > > I seem to remember a story from when I was a kid (may or may not have been an urban legend) about a shipment of blue jeans making people sick because they had pesticide spilled on them at some point in the manufacture/shipping process. House had an episode about this. I wash underwear before wearing, as well as any other garment that looks or smells suspicious (which generally isn’t many). ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-brand-new-clothes-before-wearing/623478/25 "2012-05-30T00:36:56Z")
I wash everything before wearing except socks. Why not socks? I have no idea. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-brand-new-clothes-before-wearing/623478/26 "2012-05-30T01:03:22Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Damn, do you know how many germy hands and chemical-y machines touch those clothes before you put them against your skin? > > I’m a girl, I always wash first. Of course, I have a laundry room in my own home and rarely purchase dry-clean-only items so perhaps my attitude would change if that weren’t the case. But for now…ick. Agree with this. I do buy quite some dry clean only and yep, I get those cleaned too. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-brand-new-clothes-before-wearing/623478/27 "2012-05-30T01:14:03Z")
Female, no. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-brand-new-clothes-before-wearing/623478/28 "2012-05-30T01:18:20Z")
> [@randomface](#): > > Male, yes. > > I seem to remember a story from when I was a kid (may or may not have been an urban legend) about a shipment of blue jeans making people sick because they had pesticide spilled on them at some point in the manufacture/shipping process. Not an urban legend. [Here](http://www.unit5.org/chemistry/Chem%20Matters%20Articles%20by%20Topic/Intro%20to%20Chem/Text%20Only%20Articles/The%20Mystery%20of%20the%20Poisoned%20Boy.pdf) is one story. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-brand-new-clothes-before-wearing/623478/29 "2012-05-30T01:19:25Z")
Guy. Yes I’ll wash pants and shirts before wearing them, generally to loosen them up and get them feeling the same as the rest of my clothes, but I don’t bother with packaged stuff like socks and underwear. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-brand-new-clothes-before-wearing/623478/30 "2012-05-30T03:11:04Z")
I always wash new clothes to remove excess lint and dye. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-brand-new-clothes-before-wearing/623478/31 "2012-05-30T03:13:36Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Girl, I don’t wash because sometimes they never look as good again so you might as well get at least one wearing out of them at their best. This exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Stendhal\_Syndrome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@Stendhal\_Syndrome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stendhal_Syndrome)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-brand-new-clothes-before-wearing/623478/32 "2012-05-30T03:32:59Z")
Female, sorta mysophobic, so yes. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-brand-new-clothes-before-wearing/623478/33 "2012-05-30T03:35:18Z")
Male, no. Just wouldn’t occur to me. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-brand-new-clothes-before-wearing/623478/34 "2012-05-30T04:05:08Z")
Male. Always wash before wear. For many reasons, but mainly to clear out the wrinkles and the smell. I never thought about the chemicals, but I guess the smell should have been a giveaway. ---
**Author:** ![kjbrasda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/74df32/32.png) [@kjbrasda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kjbrasda)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-brand-new-clothes-before-wearing/623478/35 "2012-05-30T04:11:44Z")
yes yes yes. My mother-in-law is still getting over a bad rash from clothes she didn’t wash after buying. It looked more like multiple insect bites than an allergic rash though. ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-brand-new-clothes-before-wearing/623478/36 "2012-05-30T04:31:16Z")
Girl. No, I rarely wash clothes I purchased prior to wearing. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-brand-new-clothes-before-wearing/623478/37 "2012-05-30T04:53:10Z")
Male, yes. A lot of new clothes have a strange odor, plus you never know what else they’ve been in contact with. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-brand-new-clothes-before-wearing/623478/38 "2012-05-30T04:59:33Z")
Ever since a sighting of a woman who looked and smelled like she took “water is for frogs” too literally coming out of the try-on area, yes. Although not socks… ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-brand-new-clothes-before-wearing/623478/39 "2012-05-30T06:03:57Z")
Male, and I always have to wash anything before wearing it. Maybe it’s psychological, but it feels itchy if I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-brand-new-clothes-before-wearing/623478/40 "2012-05-30T06:05:58Z")
Girl. I don’t wash new clothes before wearing, unless it’s underwear. I would definitely wash new bed linens before putting them on my bed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-brand-new-clothes-before-wearing/623478.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/washing-brand-new-clothes-before-wearing/623478.md?page=3)