Do you Wash New Clothes?

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New baby clothes, that’s it.
My Mum used to say washing clothes too often took the
“stuffing” out of them. ?

I've always washed new bedding and towels.
I wouldn't ever do otherwise.

I did once wash a Father Christmas duvet set I bought for the Gdcs, but that was because although 100% cotton it was very cheap and felt a bit rough and scratchy.
Washed it twice to soften it.

I’ve never washed any other new bedding, or towels.

No never even thought about it TBH.

I always smell any garment I buy secondhand before and after washing it.

Shelagh6

No - what would be the point?

You could perhaps read the thread and find out.
Many posters have given reasons for the practice of washing new clothes.
That was why I started the thread - to get people's thoughts and opinions.
That's how it works.

No, I don't. But I think I should but am too lazy!

halfpint1

time.com/5631818/wash-new-clothes/

Many people have said its for the chemicals on new clothes
and not the germs , but this doesn't seem to be of interest
to many replies.
Happy reading if you can be bothered

Opened the link, read the article and shall go around naked from now on ?

Just no! Last year I shortened a very expensive and beautiful mail order prom dress for a friend’s daughter. He picked it up then took it straight home to wash it. It survived - just - but just didn’t have that beautiful and new look any more

No - what would be the point?

Some clothes that have come from China & environs are treated with formalin, or some such thing so they don’t go mouldy on their journey. Ever smelt Primark? Washing gets rid of the smell. I would always wash babies’ & children’s clothes before they are worn to be on the safe side.

No,but my 3 daughters always do

Where’s it going to end, washing shoes , boots , good god, fair enough if you are buying clothes with chemical smells on,

Ydoc

Always, same as towels and bedding. They have been handled by multiple people, dropped on floors etc. I have worked in a clothing factory. Also new materials ofyen has size in it needs washing out. Also someone else may have tried on.

I always wash towels and bedding before using them.

I am always concerned that towels are not usually sold in sealed packets. I saw a police drama on television one time (an episode of "The Bill") where a man had smashed a window with a towel and then washed the towel, yet the forensic people detected bits of glass as it appears that bits can remain on a towel even after at least three washes.

The one time I did see a wrapped towel in a shop, the glue had gone all brown and manqué.

Maggiemaybe

Never. I’m lucky enough not to be immunosuppressed or allergic to anything that I know of. And if I were to start worrying about dirty other people handling my clothes or the fact that something might have been dropped on a floor, I’d surely have to be just as anxious about eating out, travelling on public transport, in fact buying or eating anything at all that’s been produced or packed by someone else.

`Not quite. Some foods, such as canned food and sachets is sterilised after it has been sealed, so although people may have put food in a can manually, the sealed can has been sterilised after that.

Never. I’m lucky enough not to be immunosuppressed or allergic to anything that I know of. And if I were to start worrying about dirty other people handling my clothes or the fact that something might have been dropped on a floor, I’d surely have to be just as anxious about eating out, travelling on public transport, in fact buying or eating anything at all that’s been produced or packed by someone else.

I’m doing loads of sewing in lockdown, even knickers, so I wash the fabric when I get it but not finished garments. There’s only me who has touched them

Always, same as towels and bedding. They have been handled by multiple people, dropped on floors etc. I have worked in a clothing factory. Also new materials ofyen has size in it needs washing out. Also someone else may have tried on.

Not unless they smell strangely or it’s a formal shirt for Mr C with a stiff collar. Never occurs to me otherwise.

@KaEllen

I'm funny about the pop socks, do you know who's worn them already before you get given them? No, that's why I always make a point of wearing some type of foot covering (socks, tights, pop socks) or put some pop socks in my handbag for such occasions.

ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS!

Everything fabric - clothing, towels, bed linen, tea towels, table cloths etc.

It's to remove everything that shouldn't be on the fabric, finishing chemical, dirt, germs etc.

I'm not made of money so I don't buy clothes in high street stores, supermarket clothing is good enough for me.

Before Covid, I've seen people looking at/handling clothing who look pretty grubby, they go and try them on them anything they decide not to buy goes straight back on the rail for someone else to buy.

I've seen people sneeze all over the clothes on the rails, pick noses then touch items. It's amazing what people do before touching things.

There have only been 3 occasions when I've not washed something before wearing it and they were all emergencies.

We were on holiday when my youngest was 23 months (now 25yrs old) and we had a nasty experience where his nappy split and the contents went all over his clothes. We'd taken a spare set out with us but we'd already used them for another similar split earlier in the day, so we were stuck with him sitting in his buggy wearing nothing but a nappy, sandals and a ton of sunscreen (it was actually hot and sunny that day).
We found a supermarket and I grabbed some shorts and a t-shirt for him. As it was an emergency I couldn't wash them before he wore them but I did as soon as we got back to our accommodation.

The other two occasions I was away from home, doing conferences for work. The first was because the weather changed and we were practically snowed in and I had to stay overnight, so that was a mad dash to Asda for some pj's and knickers, the other was someone spilling a drink over my top an hour before we were due to start greeting guests to the conference, so that was another mad dash to Asda.

For those of you who don't wash anything before wearing/using it, are you as blazé about washing your fruit and vegetables? I know most come prepackaged these days but they've still been handled before the cellophane went on. Just think, anything that's loose could have been sneezed on etc.

Point of fact, I take my dog for a walk before I go to the supermarket, most times on said walk he will have a poo and I, as a responsible owner, will pick it up (granted, my hand is in a bag and I pick it up and turn the bag over the contents and tie it up). He rarely does it right by a bin so I have to carry it with me, maybe for as long as half an hour before I find a bin to put it into. When we get back to the car I always give my hands a bit of a scrub with antibacterial wipes and when I get to the supermarket I usually go to the toilet to wash my hands before going round the store touching things (I've always done this, not just since Covid came around). Is everyone else this conscious of what they've been touching? I doubt it very much, hence the need for washing things before they get used.

Deeda.
Trying shoes on bare feet? Urgh!
On the few occasions when I wanted to try shoes but was not wearing socks, I was always handed a pair of thin pop socks by the shop assistant. Which is how it should be.

Amberone

^Can’t believe how germophobic people are!^

Absolutely nothing to do with germs for many.

A lot of people are allergic to or have sensitivities to many of the pesticides and other chemicals that clothes and their packaging are treated with - most of our clothes fly around the world before we buy them, from countries that contain insects and parasites that we don't have in this country so the packaging is treated with pesticides. They also have to be chemically treated against things like mildew because they get stored for long periods. Some of those treatments are banned in this country because they are known carcinogens. Formaldehyde is known to cause eczema and is used to prevent clothes from wrinkling during storage.

I don't find it odd that people wash new clothes - I find it odd that they don't.

Thanks Amberone. Very clearly put. Agree 100%

Yes, yes, yes! It never occurred to me not to!!

New clothes are new, not clean. Clothes bought from charity shop are probably cleaner! I mostly wash stuff from charity shops because I don't like the smell of other people's overly perfumed washing powder.

I once tried on an expensive dress in a shop which clearly smelled of sweat. Yuck.