Care: Washing Less Experiment

Laundry || Personal Photo

I've often heard that two of the best ways to make your clothing last longer are to air dry and wash less. Fair enough, as most substances will break down with either heat, water or friction ( the latter being part of what makes the washing machine so useful). And, easy enough to avoid the dryer - all you need is a drying rack, a little space, and some time.

But to not wash your clothes after every wear? I had done it in the past, but I was in a very lax environment, not to mention being a cheapo living in an apartment with no washer or dryer. Now I'm in a job where my appearance is quite visible, and have access to a washing machine whenever I need it. So after each wear, I just ran everything through the washer to make it presentable again. It was the simplest way to address my laundry, so of course I liked it. :)

Then I read this post about ways to reduce the impact of our clothing on This Kind Choice, and wondered if some of the reasons I had for washing more often didn't come from preemptively trying to fit in to my new environment by doing what I assumed others thought of as hygienic. We definitely have a huge focus on sanitation here in the U.S., and while that is awesome for a lot of things, it's overly cautious in others.

So, I figured I may as well experiment if I could get away with washing my work clothes a little less often without any repercussions (ie, someone telling me I smelled.) I didn't expect to be very successful, but I was surprised.

My clothes looked and smelled fine. There were some exceptions and I had to learn a few things along the way, but it was a very easy process, and everything turned out well. I never got told I stank, in other words.




What I did: 

- After getting home from work, hung everything on a drying rack to air it out either overnight or for a couple days, depending on how lazy I felt.

- Before wearing anything a second time inspected it for any stains, then remove those with a damp cloth if possible. If not, I tossed the item into the hamper to go in the washing machine.

- Ironed between washings to remove wrinkles.

- Washed underwear after each wear, because, really.


What I discovered:

- Polyester retains odors. I have to wash items made from it after each wear because of this.

- Natural fibers don't retain odor as much. Not that they never get smelly, but if I air out a cotton t-shirt or wool sweater, by the next day any unpleasant odor is usually gone.

- Not to assume my clothes were clean until they were in full light. Leaving the house in your awesome clean pants only to realize  they're actually covered in dog fur you're going to have to run back inside and lint-brush away doesn't exactly help you get to work on time.

- Most items do lose their shape if they're worn a couple times before washing. This didn't affect their appearance too significantly, but if something was already a little loose on me, I wouldn't like how baggy it became after one or two wears.

- I save a lot of water. Good, because water scarcity is a concern of mine, and I'd like for this vital source of life to remain abundant for as long as possible!

My conclusions:

- I'll probably avoid buying polyester garments in the future. I'd rather have something that released odors better.

- If I know it's something I'll be wearing between washings, I'll probably go with a tighter fit. I don't care for the oversized look on myself.

- I won't buy as much white, either. It stains easily, so I ended up having to wash with every wear to look nice.

So, as I guess is obvious, I'll be sticking with my laundry routine now. Probably the most unexpected result of this experiment was that it has made me more appreciative of my clothing, because I'm considering them as important enough to put effort into extending their lifespan. That, and having a limited wardrobe of items I wear often has totally changed how I view the clothes I own - now I appreciate the use I get out of them rather than wishing I could replace them with something new and better all the time. I can recognize I have a lot of nice things which work very well, and I'm much more content with them.