Cleanliness - is Stella Mccartney right or just barking?

I worked with a lady who stated that before she got dressed she would throw her discarded knickers against the wall. If they didn’t stick, they were worn again. I think she was joking!

I remember buying some fabric and asking abiut washing. The shop specialised in mill ends so they didn't know and the lady went on tonsay that people washed stuff far too often and that she hadn't washed her skirt in over 10 years. (not envy).
Clearly she didn't spill things like I do!!

Eloethan If you bath daily or twice daily surely that will just use up the water you save by using the washing machine less.

I bath every other day unless there is a good reason to bath more frequently, and also wash clothes less frequently (see above). I have a dishwasher so tea towels as well asbathroom towels last a week. No one in my family has ever felt a need to take me aside and say I smell less than fresh.

When I think back to boarding school days where baths and fresh clothes were less frequent than my current pattern, I do not remember there ever being a personal odour problem, other than one or two, whose personal habits were really peculiar.

I think Stella McCartney's clothes are only designed to be worn a few times any way. Who really wants to go around looking that daft?

"I dont know about anyone else but I dont get sweaty much any more. I'm a dried up old lady!"
Me too Kitty.

I m a lucky lady who never has sweated I ve never got wet patches under arms like some people do Knick’s have one wear, socks two times, everything else gets washed after a few wears or when I manage to spill something on it
I shower every morning and feel I m clean and wholesome to others nostrils

She didn’t say don’t wash your clothes- she said couture wool suits and dresses should be brushed clean, and that most clothes with a “dry clean only” label can be safely hand washed in cold water. She was addressing the environmental concerns about dry cleaning, and about too frequent washing. Nowhere in the article I read did she suggest wearing knickers for a week- perhaps a more careful reading of her article might reassure some of you.

I have cut back drastically on washing clothes - underwear and socks of course fresh every day, but jumpers, skirts, trousers - if they are spot free they get aired on the outside of the wardrobe and worn again. I was absolutely knocking the stuffing out of my clothes with constant washing, so now I use the short wash on my machine and my things look newer for longer. A super steam iron is good too - I can hang items and give them a thorough steaming which freshens clothing as well as washing does.

I don't think that even if I left a t-shirt that had spaghetti bolognaise stains on it for a month of Sundays it would ever become clean.

I am surprised at how many people here don't put on a clean bra each day. A bra is close to your armpits and the sweat glands on your nipples so I'd feel mucky if I didn't have a clean one each day. To me, a bra is not as comfortable when worn a second time as the stretchiness has gone and it's not supportive enough.

My maximum protection invisible deodorant means there is no sweat. Bra doesn't stretch. I guess it's down to how you feel. I wash my hair every day. Couldn't miss a day and feel good. Others wash once a week.

I agree with Eloethan and Aggie re teatowels and germs. I aim to change every day.

Clean pants, bra, socks, stockings or tights (if worn) everyday.

T shirts, summer clothes clean every day.

Jeans, trousers, skirts get 2-3 wears before washing.

Sweaters particularly cashmere I do try to wear multiple times as I abhor hand washing.

Bedding depends on temperature but minimum weekly, towels every couple of days, even though I have a dishwasher tea towels every day.

Then there is the gym kit/stable wear washed after one wear.......no wonder I am constantly ironing!!!!

Washing clothes releases microfibres which end up polluting the sea.
The recent messages to stop buying cheap clothes to wear once and to wash clothes less are aimed at young people. According to Mumsnet, many families wash every item after every wearing.

Watermelon, I think some young people throw away their clothes after one outing! The average wear per garment is, apparently, 7.

'Cleanliness is next to Godliness' was the watchword of the Victorians. Prince Albert's untimely death from typhoid fever at the age of 42 was a reminder to all of the necessity of a clean water supply. Research into and the discovery of bacteria and their role in disease was another reminder of the importance of washing. The cholera outbreak in 1854 caused by the infected Broad Street water pump killed 616 people before germs were identified as the source.

Much of this common knowledge has been eroded in the public mind.

You need to wash your clothes frequently.

Other people need you to wash your clothes frequently.

Bras also pick up the flakes of skin that you shed constantly. The thought of a build-up of a week's-worth of skin debris gives me the willies!

'Cleanliness is next to Godliness'
One of my mother's sayings!

Yes, my mother dinned that saying into me, too! She is 91 and still does all her own laundry although she doesn't iron much nowadays.

kittylester, I think we have similar views on the laundry world, is it ‘cos we both had big families....and life was too short!

Have we got sweat glands on our nipples? I don't think I have.

(That to Suedonim)

I will give mine a good shake tonight Suedonim. Out the window.

In fact I might hang my bra outside the window. Give it a good airing.

I might feel a bit squeamish if it was someone else’s skin debris, but I think I can cope with my own! ?