So tonight I'm looking at a clothes catalog/website and I do read and take into considerationn the customer reviews, and I'm surprised by the number of people who wash new clothes before they wear them for the first time.
I never do -- not clothes, not towels, not sheets, not underwear, not nothing. I have never washed something before I wore it the first time. I could buy a t-shirt from a rotten-toothed meth addict at a carnival and I'd just go ahead and wear it.
Who washes new clothes? That's not a rhetorical question -- it's a real question -- and maybe some of you think I'm gross to NOT wash something before I wear it -- but to me, that's half the fun -- something new: you don't have to wash or iron -- it's good to go!
As long as I'm confessing, I will add that if I buy new dishes, a pot, etc, I barely wash it -- I'd be more likely to rinse. I may put glasses in the dishwasher, but I must have a good immune system.
The one exception to this is sometimes if I am unpacking a suitcase I will rewash something I haven't worn. I feel those items have been in very close company with dirty clothes, under very hot conditions, so I'm likely to toss the clean (never worn) with the dirty when unpacking. Especially one year, post-Oshkosh, where I had a converted smoking room and my clothes reeked of cigarette smoke. It was horrible.
I do always wash new sheets & towels before using them - someone once told me they were packed with formaldehyde to keep them looking crisp in the store, and you don't want that toxic substance in contact with your skin. I don't wash new clothes, though, unless I am buying them at a thrift store - there's something primal about getting the previous owner's smells out. I'd never wash something unused in my own suitcase though - I'd just hang it back up!
ReplyDeleteI do wash new towels as I think in my head that they become fluffy after. I will wash sheets if they smell funny from the packing. I don't wash new clothing if it doesn't smell funny. I am always doing the smell test. I do not wash my new undies as I always use a light pad(so there I said it.). If I didn't wear a pad, I would wash it. It has been said that one should was anything that touches your skin or personal parts. I do not wash new bras but I should. I do not wash unused clothing from a suitcase, I also hang it back up.
ReplyDeleteStephanie
I guess I'm middle of the road.. It totally spends on the smell, look and feel of it. I would say more often than not, I wash before I wear. I'm with Stephanie on the fluffier clean towels. I just recently bought a couple of new light weight summer blazers (gee, that word sounds old fashioned now)...but had them cleaned before wearing mostly because they were so wrinkled (I'm too lazy to iron them).
ReplyDeleteI usually pack my dirties in plastic so I generally do not wash what wasn't worn!
Not today... But I found out today that the computer I spilled soda on last week on my flight to DC might not have been totally fried after all... Maybe the guy just wanted to sell another computer. But I'll take a couple of those New York bagels off your hands.... Certainly can't get them in Texas!
ReplyDelete