Do you Wash New Clothes?

I never have, but now I'm beginning to think I should.

Heavens, surely life is too short to wash brand new clothes! I don't even bother to wash ones I've bought on eBay (apart from once where there was a weird scent) and have been known to put a second hand item on immediately from the package and wear it all day. And why wash new knickers? Where are they likely to have been?

No!

No

I wash everything new, underwear, bed linen, tea towels and towels.

Never occurred to me to wash anything new!

No but I always wash any I’ve bought from a charity shop even if they still have original label on.

I've never washed new clothes. I never washed my babies' new clothes either.

No I dont

Paperbackwriter

Heavens, surely life is too short to wash brand new clothes! I don't even bother to wash ones I've bought on eBay (apart from once where there was a weird scent) and have been known to put a second hand item on immediately from the package and wear it all day. And why wash new knickers? Where are they likely to have been?

Exactly - where have they been?
They don't just appear plastic wrapped in M&S do they?

Always wash any undies or nightwear but not anything else.

No never have and have never caught anything, so dont see the need.

I wash some, though I haven’t needed many new clothes this last year. I always wash new bed linen. With loads of fabric conditioner.

Not because of germs but I always wash new bedding as if I don’t it feels scratchy and stiff. New towels always get a wash as my Nan said she did it to remove the starch. I don’t know what she meant by that but they are more absorbent after a wash.

Always wash trousers. A lady I know bought a pair of trousers for her daughter from a neighbours daughter, both adult girls. The neighbours daughter had only tried them on and they didn't fit her. Tags still on. Her married daughter caught pubic lice from the trousers. She only wore them once and saw they were infested when she looked closely. Put me off trying on trousers in changing room permanently

I usually wash new underwear socks and nightwear, but not usually dresses or top clothes. (Reason- sensitive skin rather than concerns about clothes being dirty)

M0nica

Bacteria and viruses have such a short life on textiles that they would all be long dead, even before the container of clothes is loaded on the container ship leaves, China or Bangladesh.

While at the start of the pandemic, it was thought it might be possible to pick up corona virus from items touched by someone with the virus, since then the flow of information coming out has made it a abundantly clear that that is not a viable form of transmission and wiping and waiting days before handling things is, now just a waste of time, as it contributes nothing to limiting the spread of COVID,.

We are stuck with just not going near people, and wearing masks and distancing if you must go out, to avoid the disease.

Thank God. The voice of reason ( once again)

Yes I have always washed new clothes.I have sensitive skin and Excema so have to be careful.Also from the material being produced,then cut,then sewn,then checked,then distributed.Probably been dropped on the floor a few times.Then shipped from overseas into the stores?they would have been touched endlessly by numerous people and be months old by the time of purchase.So yes,I always wash new clothes and I'm amazed that not everyone else does!

This reminds me of the pony books I used to read as a child. There was usual a pony mad girl with no money who was delighted to find a pair of jodhpurs in a jumble sale. Mother used to jump on the and insist they were dry cleaned before she could wear them. I always wondered what germs they were supposed to be full of.

How do people feel about people trying shoes on their bare feet? This was something I was never allowed to do and I've continued to avoid it. I was shocked a few years ago when we saw a lady being handed shoes by a personal shopper in one of the big department stores. The lady was ridiculed for wearing pop socks under her boots (Not done dear) and had to try the shoes on bare feet.

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.

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%

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.

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.

@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.

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