Emily Chan
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.
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