How often do you wash? Poll discussion.

Dreaming_2

Ok, so I might be the dirtiest of the lot.

Face wash / hand wash almost compulsively, before / after eating or going toilet (the amount of people who don't is shocking!). Showers, every day is there really a need?? I shower 3 times a week. If I'm back from uni I have baths instead because they're so relaxing (sorry environment, it's my downtime ). This weekend I was at a LAN party so didn't get time to shower, showered friday night and need a shower now, but at 11pm I'm shattered and just managed to make my dinner.

But normally it will be like sunday night, wednesday night, friday night. Or something like that - it depends on how dirty I 'feel'. As for clothes - everything gets worn twice except for underwear. Except on the occasion I can't find a fresh pair . That means one trip to the laundry once a week. Except last week when I had to wash my towels and stuff (thats normally done very infrequently - every 4 - 5 weeks?). I do take all the kitchentowels for all my housemates too though.

So yea, you can all feel clean in comparison to me now :-) but again - I've never had anyone comment that I smell. And certainly I can't smell myself. I'm fairly small though and don't sweat as much as some, to my credit.

Also: there was a DIY science program on discovery several years ago about making a washing machine. Everyone in the UK now habitually overcleans their clothes. The materials clothes are made out of are naturally good at staying clean (as apposed to wool for example), so normally a quick wash will do fine - but we stick detergents in to emulsify the dirt or whatever it does, along with cranking up the temperature, and then spin it round in a drum for 50 minutes to make sure it's *really* clean.

grumpytoo

oldagetraveller wrote: »

With regards outerwear usually a couple of times depending on activity, then only once.
Underwear - I treat differently, about a week then a dry rub and turn inside out for another week and have a bath/shower at the same time.:p
It's amazing how my water and electricity bills have fallen.

This poll is very unscientific as it makes no distinction between young or old, winter or summer, male or female, town or country, central heating or no central heating and working or retired.
In winter people sweat less than in summer, however in rural areas there is a lot of winter mud. Now I'm retired I don't bother so much but once all the good socks and undies are gone I have to power up the washing machine. Note that if ones home is water metered and connected to a public sewer one pays twice when watering the garden:mad:

Horasio

I do the washing once a week, twice when there were 3 of us. Sometimes when I want to do a white wash I do one for that.

Underwear has to be only worn once and washed. Jackets and trousers washed less often unless they really pong.

ruth39

I wash clothes about an average amount of time. Once a day for underwear, every 2/3 days for bras, 3/4 days for trousers, etc.

But just wanted to say to those who write that they don't change their clothes often and have never had anyone say they smell. I work in an office where we deal with members of the public, and I don't think it is that unusual for peopel to smell. I don't mean the obviously filthy smell them a mile off types either. Just peopel who look clean and well dressed but are certainly slightly smelly. So don't assume you don't smell. Most people will never tell you do unless you are really whiffy.

jackieb

ruth39 wrote: »

But just wanted to say to those who write that they don't change their clothes often and have never had anyone say they smell. I work in an office where we deal with members of the public, and I don't think it is that unusual for peopel to smell. I don't mean the obviously filthy smell them a mile off types either. Just peopel who look clean and well dressed but are certainly slightly smelly. So don't assume you don't smell. Most people will never tell you do unless you are really whiffy.

My sister used to own a hairdressers. She knew one of the girls smelled of BO. The other girls used to give subtle hints about having to wash their uniforms. No-one wanted to be nasty, but eventually my sister had to take her aside and tell her that she did smell. She said it was a horrible thing to have to do, and if she didn't have to be working with customers she probably wouldn't have mentioned it. I mean, if you were getting your hair done, and have a girl was leaning over you with their arms up if they were smelly. It wouldn't be very pleasant.

Dreaming_2

ruth39 wrote: »

I wash clothes about an average amount of time. Once a day for underwear, every 2/3 days for bras, 3/4 days for trousers, etc.

But just wanted to say to those who write that they don't change their clothes often and have never had anyone say they smell. I work in an office where we deal with members of the public, and I don't think it is that unusual for peopel to smell. I don't mean the obviously filthy smell them a mile off types either. Just peopel who look clean and well dressed but are certainly slightly smelly. So don't assume you don't smell. Most people will never tell you do unless you are really whiffy.

On the other hand, why assume that you do smell?

I don't think everyone automatically smells after 12 hours, or that their clothes do. You could worry all the time about it I guess, and shower two or three times a day and a fresh pair of clothes every time - but people managed 50 years ago with the same clothes and their 'sunday best' with 1 bath a week with shared water and no anti-perspirant deodorant. If you consider there is a massive sliding scale from very smelly to not smelly at all, say 1 = unbearable smell and 0 = no smell, then I think 90% of us are between 0.2 and 0 90% of the time. If that makes sense.

I think there are elements of class expectations to it too - I mean if you're in a bank and someone comes in in a suit you expect them to be odourless or have a pleasant cologne or something. Whereas if you're working in a garage then if someone smells like diesel / coffee / sweat it's just one of those things and it doesn't tend to bother anyone (except the banker who comes to pick up his car ).

superstar_2

I just go commando all the time. It saves me money buying them, saves electricity, helps the enviroment and it is good for my twin brother too cos he is always free. :rotfl:

tenuissent

When I was at school in the fifties, our Sunday uniforms were called Sunday Stinks for a reason, being linen and drycleanable. I was a daygirl, but the boarders were only allowed one hairwash a week and, I think, two baths. Apart from the Sunday Stinks, I don't remember noticing smells in the classrooms.

I agree that we probably wash clothes far too often because it's so easy now. I'm in the group who change their clothes the least often and have the fewest showers, and I don't believe I offend anyone.

ruth39

I agree in terms of smelling taht it depends what you are doing. If you have a physically active job, then you probably are going to smell slightly, especially on hot days. I wouldn't worry about this. But I think there is a difference in smells between getting hot and physical, and the type of BO smell.

I actually had a worker who I had to tell him that he smelled. The smell was of real BO and other staff were complaining. When I spoke to him he was shocked and said that he had a shower every day and that no one had ever complained before (they had, just not to him). But it was clearly his clothes as when he took off a jumper or something and left it in the office, you could smell the BO from it really easily.

I agree that many people wash their clothes too often, but I do think some people don't wash them enough.

kezza12

i take a bath every day, sometimes twice because it's something that i enjoy, it's my happy place. However i wear my work clothes only once, sometimes twice because i have a active job and am always on the move. the jeans that i have on at the moment that i wear on my one day off or for the 1-2 hours after my shift has finnished well i can't remember the last time i washed them, probably about 2 weeks ago. i generally do a sniff test(yes i know that that sounds disgusting but tell me who doesnt do it!)to see if they're smelly My husband takes a bath 2 or 3 times a week sometimes just once and he never smells, if he did then believe me he would definately be taking more baths!!he however wears his jeans for work and after and they get worn 4-5 times before getting washed.