The sniff test may tell you if you wore enough deodorant, but does not always work when deciding if you need to wash your clothes. What you do, the fabric type, the wear and the weather can play a deciding factor. The American Cleaning Institute offers these tips to help determine if it’s time to wash those bed sheets, jeans, shirts, socks and underwear.
- Bed sheets should be washed at least every two weeks, more often if you sweat a lot at night
- Pajamas should be washed after 3 or 4 wears (if you shower before bed, you may get a few more wears before washing).
- Bath towels should be hung to dry between uses and washed after 3 to 5 normal uses. Towels need to be allowed to dry before they are used again. So, remember to hang up your towel after each use.
- Underwear and socks should be washed after each wearing.
- Bras can be worn 2-3 times before washing. Be sure to give your bra a rest day in between wearing to give the elastic a chance to regain its shape.
- T-shirts, tank tops and camisoles should be washed after each wearing.
- Outer clothes like dress shirts and khakis can be worn a few times before washing unless it is hot out and you are sweating or they are visibly dirty or stained.
- Jeans can typically be worn 3 times before washing.
- Leggings and tights should be washed after every wear to get rid of the baggy knees.
- Suits typically can be worn several times during normal use before dry cleaning (3-4 times for wool and 4-5 times for synthetics). Depending on your lifestyle or environment you may need to dry clean more often. Smoky bars, smog or smelly environments or if your suit gets stained may mean that you need to clean them more often.
- Bathing suits should be washed after every wear.
Exceptions
- Whites and silks are prone to discoloration and should be cleaned after every wear.
- Clothes with stains should be washed, spot cleaned or dry cleaned as soon as possible – this will extend the garment’s life which will be greener in the long run since you won’t need to replace the item.
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