Laundry – it’s not something we ever particularly like to do, but it is something we have to do quite often. In general, after we wear something, we put it in the hamper to be washed, but there are some exceptions. If we only wear something for a very short amount of time, it may not need to be washed right away, and we may be able to wear it one more time. Then there are jeans.
You may be in the habit of throwing your jeans in the wash after you wear them just once. On the other hand, you may have heard that jeans don’t need to be washed as often as other clothing fabrics, and you may wear your jeans multiple times before washing them.
The big question is how often do you really need to wash your jeans? The experts don’t all agree, but they all agree on one thing – it’s okay, in fact, it’s a good idea to wear your jeans more than once before you wash them. Levi Strauss CEO Chip Bergh even recommends never washing your jeans.
Okay, we’re not team never wash your jeans, but we are team wear them more than once. How many times is too many times to wear them before washing them? That depends on how you ask.
Denim atelier Benjamin Talley Smith told Shop TODAY jeans should be washed “as little as possible.” That’s pretty vague.
According to laundry expert Patric Richardson, “The perfect number is after nine or 10 wearings, like to me, that is the ideal.” Richardson believes that after about 9 or 10 wearings, the jeans will probably need to be washed because of stains, or they might be “a little sweaty.”
Ten sounds like a lot of times to wear something without washing it, and Dr. Stephen Thomas, the Director of Global Health at SUNY Upstate Medical University, agrees. According to Thomas, “I think 3 wears is a good threshold to trigger a wash.” Thomas also thinks there are times when jeans may need to be washed more often than that such as if they have a “foul odor” or if they look dirty. Otherwise, he believes it is fine to wear them several times before washing them.
The main reason you shouldn’t wash jeans every time you wear them is so they don’t fade and wear out. The darker the denim, the more likely they are to fade.
When you do wash your jeans, wash them in cold water and either hang them up to air dry or dry them at a low temperature setting.
How often do you wash your jeans?
