Yes, It’s Actually Possible To Overwash Your Clothes: Here’s How Often You Should Really Be Doing Laundry, Depending On The Garment
When you’re an adult, it seems that laundry is a never-ending chore. For all the washing you do, you still somehow end up with a mound of clothing in your laundry hamper at the end of each week.
If you’re sick of doing laundry, we’ve got some good news for you—you may actually be over-washing your clothes. Yes, there is such a thing as too much laundry.
Not only does it take up your precious time, rack up your energy bill, and decrease the lifespan of your clothing, but it is also responsible for polluting the planet.
Laundry has a huge impact on the environment. The task requires the use of a lot of precious water and generates greenhouse gases. Plus, chemicals from detergents and dryer sheets can contaminate the world’s waterways. The solution to lowering your carbon footprint and being more gentle on the environment is to change your laundry routine.
So, how often should you be washing your clothes? There are no hard and fast rules, but certain garments call for less laundering than others. Stains, soil, sweat, and body oils need to be considered when it comes to determining when an article of clothing is due for a wash.
In addition, the sniff test is always a foolproof way of checking how dirty an item is. Here are some general guidelines for the washing frequency of specific clothing categories.
Garments that are worn close to your skin need to be washed after a single wear. These include socks, underwear, some shapewear, and swimsuits. On the other hand, sweaters and jackets can be worn several times before they see the inside of a washing machine. Furthermore, there are two key garments listed below that require less washing.
Jeans
Pretty much everyone you know owns at least one pair of jeans. And most of those people are probably making the mistake of over-washing them. Denim is a tough, durable material that isn’t meant to be laundered often.
JenkoAtaman – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
Washing your jeans too often can alter the color and fit. Each cycle breaks down the fibers of the fabric, causing it to deteriorate more quickly, so you should only wash jeans when it’s necessary.
The frequency at which you wash your jeans depends on your activity levels. In general, you should toss them in the wash after every 10 wears. If you’re someone who does a lot of manual labor, you might want to wash them every three wears.
Bras
To maintain the cleanliness and elasticity of bras, it is recommended to wash them every three to four wears.
However, it does depend on the type of bra. For instance, sports bras are typically worn when exercising, so they soak up a lot of sweat. In that case, they should be washed after just one use. Regular bras can go a little longer.
High-quality bras are expensive, so you don’t want to compromise your garments with excessive washing.
As for any piece of clothing, make sure to follow the care instructions on the label. Some bras can only be hand-washed, while others will be fine in the machine. Before throwing them in the wash, put them in a mesh laundry bag to protect them.
Overall, these simple changes will help reduce the amount of clothes we go through and better our planet.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
More About:Home