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Cleanliness - is Stella Mccartney right or just barking?

(89 Posts)
Margs Tue 09-Jul-19 11:40:22

Ms Mccartney - a fashion guru supreme - urges us not to wash our clothes on a regular basis. Come again?

Right or wrong or merely un-hinged?

We only need to look back in history (and not too far) to find that when people didn't have access to a decent water supply, competent laundry methods and the kind of technology that became more affordable in the 20th century then all classes of society from the peasants to the aristocrats suffered not only from bad smells but the likes of scabies, impetigo, body lice (which generated the fatal typhus), and regular visitations from various plagues.

No thanks Stella - I think I'll take my chances with regularly indulging myself with the washing machine......

ayse Thu 11-Jul-19 17:32:51

I’m with those who do clean knickers and socks daily. The rest I check before making a decision. I make sure the washing machine is full as well.

Trying to do my bit for the environment.

Lazigirl Thu 11-Jul-19 17:24:53

??? MOnica

M0nica Thu 11-Jul-19 15:24:14

Well, I am changing my habits, last night I gave the top I was wearing, and my bra a good looking over. They still smelt completely fresh, even under the arms, so they went back into the drawer and on a hangar respectively. The trousers had got stains from some gardening I had been doing so those, together with my pants, (I was bare leg and footed yesterday), went in the washing basket. I think I will give the cotton top an iron before I wear it again

I will continue to do this. As Bo-peep points out i would feel unclean wearing the same clothes twice. the need for frequent washing is a question of perception and feeling not of fact and evidence.

Sara65 Thu 11-Jul-19 13:38:03

Bopeep

Thank goodness

I thought I was the only one, everything has to be clean everyday, I feel a bit guilty now, but don’t plan on changing my habits

Septimia Thu 11-Jul-19 13:27:59

Clean knickers and socks daily, scruffy clothes for indoors (usually last a week); other clothes get washed after several wears or if they get dirty.
I've gone over to cooler and shorter washes and a gadget that's supposed to catch fibres to stop them getting into the environment (not sure yet if that's working). I'm also trying to replace clothes, when necessary, with natural fibres and I no longer buy anything (if I can help it) made of viscose because of the unpleasant manufacturing process.
But I don't think I could not wash things at all.

Bopeep14 Thu 11-Jul-19 12:42:27

Only wear everything once then it goes in the washing basket.
Sorry but i would feel unclean wearing the same clothes twice.
Hubby wears jeans a couple of times before he puts them in the wash but the rest of his clothes including his work uniform he changes every day.
We also use clean towels every day for baths/showers.
I wash and iron twice a week.

Namsnanny Thu 11-Jul-19 12:06:11

I change from outer wear to comfy home clothing as soon as I get in! Then trousers cardi etc go straight on the line outside for a blow through!!
Underwear once. Clothes worn around the house or garden wash when dirty - which as I drop everything these days is very often!!

henetha Thu 11-Jul-19 11:23:39

It's a matter of common sense really. Of course undies need changing every day, but I do think S.M. has a point.
It is a waste of the world's resources to be overly clean.

Callistemon Thu 11-Jul-19 09:30:02

grin
I do 'feel the heat' although I am way past 'a certain age'

M0nica Thu 11-Jul-19 09:26:34

Callistemon You grew up with the same saying I remember

Men and horses sweat, gentlemen perspire and ladies feel the heat

Callistemon Wed 10-Jul-19 23:27:13

I don't sweat. I don't even perspire.
I glow

Lazigirl Wed 10-Jul-19 17:41:21

I have questioned many things recently that I used to take for granted. Frequent washing of clothing, and buying too many clothes for instance, which I realise belatedly is harming the environment. We may not be as healthy as we think either breathing our freshly washed chemically perfumed clothing. Washing detergents contain so many chemicals it's enough to make your toes curl, without even considering water wastage. So I do believe Ms McCartney has a point.

SueDonim Wed 10-Jul-19 00:07:39

Montgomery’s tubercules, Gonegirl.

Your bra-shaking tonight accounts for the flurry of snow I thought I saw earlier! grin

grannyqueenie Tue 09-Jul-19 23:20:50

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

merlotgran Tue 09-Jul-19 22:51:42

grin

Gonegirl Tue 09-Jul-19 22:42:38

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

Gonegirl Tue 09-Jul-19 22:41:27

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

Gonegirl Tue 09-Jul-19 22:40:18

(That to Suedonim)

Gonegirl Tue 09-Jul-19 22:39:53

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

grannyqueenie Tue 09-Jul-19 21:35:55

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

SueDonim Tue 09-Jul-19 20:39:15

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.

Callistemon Tue 09-Jul-19 20:35:13

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

SueDonim Tue 09-Jul-19 20:32:05

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! grin

Lilyflower Tue 09-Jul-19 20:12:16

'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.

PamelaJ1 Tue 09-Jul-19 19:43:48

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