Jeans, pyjamas, bras and towels: How frequently should we wash them?
updated the 6 October 2015 à 23:21
One never really knows how often he or she should clean bras, jeans, and pyjamas. Here are some recommendations from the American Cleaning Institute.
Jeans, pyjamas, bras… How often should we wash them?
We can never tell when it’s time to wash our jeans, bras or sheets. Hence, the American Cleaning Institute has given us some recommendations to avoid minor itching or repeated infections.
According to a survey conducted by Ergoflex, an English bed manufacturer, British gentlemen wear their pyjamas for an average of 13 nights before washing them! For women, the average is 17 days. Beyond the hygiene considerations, this behaviour presents health risks; for example, skin infections or repeated cystitis. According an older study conducted by the same company, single men aged between 18 and 25 years changed their sheets once every three months. On this point women fared better, because the majority change their sheets every week.
JEANS, TOWELS, SUITS… HOW LONG CAN WE WEAR THEM?
We may know that these clothes or textiles will not remain eternally clean, but we always hesitate to wash them. It is difficult to know if they are really dirty (except in extreme cases), and impossible to keep track of how often we have worn them. As a result, we tend to put it off and exceed the recommendations (see the slide above). Thus, we don’t have to become obsessively clean, but try not to exceed the washing frequency recommendations by too much.
Maureen Diament
