Do you wash new clothes before wearing them? - Page 3

Ella 211 · #41 30.03.2011, 13:25

	Quote:	Carlos R
	Do any of the "washers" here (never mind the soak-then-washers, I think you're beyond redemption ) actually have any evidence for how dirty clothes bought off the peg in reputable shops actually are, or is this all just hearsay, anecdotes and speculation? PS: Richdog - what happened to your dog?

I know, I know

I was told that it "sets" the fabric (cotton) making it less liable to shrink or twist at the seams if you soak them overnight in cold water. I used to do this for t shirts and towels. The other reason was because my children both had skin problems.

The "sizing" makes sense, my OH used to work with textiles and has confimed that the chemicals they used were not unproblematic.

stephanienie · #42 30.03.2011, 13:27

[QUOTE=
Very rarely (if ever) wash anything that lives below the waist.[/QUOTE]

like crabs?

Carlos R · #43 30.03.2011, 13:29

	Quote:	Ella 211
	I know, I know I was told that it "sets" the fabric (cotton) making it less liable to shrink or twist at the seams if you soak them overnight in cold water. I used to do this for t shirts and towels. The other reason was because my children both had skin problems. The "sizing" makes sense, my OH used to work with textiles and has confimed that the chemicals they used were not unproblematic.

OK, at least you have a logic and theory. I can accept that.

@ the hygiene crowd: what's your excuse other than "ew, you don't know where it's been"?

CH_Me · #44 30.03.2011, 13:33

I give them the sniff test and look for any dust/marks then take the washing decision. Sometimes clothes smell like someone else's sweaty armpits

Clothes may have been on the shop floor with all that dust for a while, in storage or in container shipments/customs for many many months. I used to work at a clothing importer in Australia and you would wash them too if you saw how some were delivered. Many also got dusty and dirty in the manufacturing process.

Chuff · #45 30.03.2011, 13:36

	Quote:	Carlos R
	Do any of the "washers" here (never mind the soak-then-washers, I think you're beyond redemption ) actually have any evidence for how dirty clothes bought off the peg in reputable shops actually are, or is this all just hearsay, anecdotes and speculation?

I believe I already provided a link above that tested some from different shops. Google the issue and you'll find more info, including stuff like this, which had multiple clothes from multiple stores given to a university lab for study. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/gma-found-...ory?id=9482373

	Quote:
	Tierno found disturbing results. There was flora, or bacteria, on several items. "On this black and tan blouse we found representation of respiratory secretions, skin flora, and some fecal flora," Tierno said. On a jacket, Tierno discovered evidence of feces, skin flora and respiratory secretions, especially in the armpit and "close to the buttocks," Tierno said. The biggest surprise came when Tierno tested a silk blouse. There, he said, he found vaginal organisms, yeast and more fecal germs. Tierno said a couple of the items had extremely high counts of germs, far above normal. "Some garments were grossly contaminated with many organisms … indicating that either many people tried it or ... someone tried it on with heavy contamination," he said. "In a sense, you are touching somebody's arm pit or groin. So you want to be protected that's all. "You may not come down with anything and, most cases you don't, but it's potentially possible," he added.

I'd say that sciency-type-study-thing constitutes more than "hearsay, anecdotes and speculation", in stark contrast to those members here saying "No, there's no need to wash clothes at all".

Nil · #46 30.03.2011, 13:41

	Quote:	Carlos R
	Do any of the "washers" here (never mind the soak-then-washers, I think you're beyond redemption ) actually have any evidence for how dirty clothes bought off the peg in reputable shops actually are, or is this all just hearsay, anecdotes and speculation?

Of course I do. But I don't know how much you are willing to trust my word...

I never thought to take pictures of all the process clothes are going into when I was working in the industry. Please pardon me because obviously, it never came into my mind that one day I will have to prove it to some people on an expat forum...

But I saw is enough for me to wash all new clothes.

	Quote:	MarieZug
	I give them the sniff test and look for any dust/marks then take the washing decision. Sometimes clothes smell like someone else's sweaty armpits Clothes may have been on the shop floor with all that dust for a while, in storage or in container shipments/customs for many many months. I used to work at a clothing importer in Australia and you would wash them too if you saw how some were delivered. Many also got dusty and dirty in the manufacturing process.

I am not alone who saw the truth! We both saw the light!

chrisinzurich · #47 30.03.2011, 14:18

Since having kids I've become much less grossed out by things like wiping bums, sucking snot out of stuffed-up noses, cleaning up puke, pulling giant brown slugs out of toddlers mouths

, etc., but some of what was mentionned is pretty darn disgusting!! I think I'll start washing those new clothes.

PaddyG · #48 30.03.2011, 14:22

I know a girl who got pregnant from a new pair of panties. Honest.

chrisinzurich · #49 30.03.2011, 14:29

	Quote:	PaddyG
	I know a girl who got pregnant from a new pair of panties. Honest.

Wow. A great new and time-saving way of getting pregnant!

dodgyken · #50 30.03.2011, 14:33

	Quote:	PaddyG
	I know a girl who got pregnant from a new pair of panties. Honest.

I've already apologised for that

Mark75 · #51 31.03.2011, 23:14

	Quote:	stephanienie
	"people who tries without underwear" Thanks for the mental picture. lol i think im now gonna wash "new" clothes coz i forgot about those people (aforementioned)as they dont exist where i came from.

How do you know for sure?!?

Faheem · #52 01.04.2011, 00:35

	Quote:	stephanienie
	Just keep in mind the people who tried those pants with no underwear* (they are usually more sexually active (?) but i dunno, maybe that needs another thread).*

I don't wash anything new....but seriously why wouldn't anyone wear an underwear while trying on a pair of jeans? Even if they are so sexually active, how hard is it to take off an underwear? You'd have to be super lazy to do that!

#53 01.04.2011, 00:49

Quote:

Chuff

Personally yes, I do http://www.neatorama.com/2010/01/21/...you-wear-them/

Quote:

A lot of people buy clothes and immediately wear them without washing them, but a recent study has come out showing that this can be an unintentionally filthy habit. Good Morning America went to a number of both high-end and low-end retailers and purchased 14 items of clothing, which they then sent to Dr. Philip Tierno, director of microbiology and immunology at New York University, to test. The results were surprisingly disgusting; many of the items had fecal germs on them and one blouse also had vaginal organisms and yeast on it. Some of the samples had many people’s secretions, while others only had one heavily contaminated person’s germs.

While this isn’t usually enough to make you sick, it could be and either way, it is certainly disgusting.

Clothes get touched and tried on regularly, and some people, well... just aren't what you'd call clean and savoury.

Unfortunately, the GMA "study" (of sample size n=14) is yet another example of TV pseudo-science -- it's useless without a control. We don't know who handled the clothing between purchase and testing, and what "disgusting secretions" may have been applied durng that period. We don't know what concentrations of "germs" and "organisms" were present, and whether they were harmful or not.

In any case, I guess my decision not to buy my clothes in America is vindicated by the GMA "findings".

You have far more chance of picking up something nasty by eating in a restaurant, munching on the peanuts in a bar, or indeed just going out into society on any given day. I'll take my chances with unwashed new clothes, although sometimes they do feel a little stiff and scratchy.

Nil · #54 01.04.2011, 07:48

	Quote:
	Unfortunately, the GMA "study" (of sample size n=14) is yet another example of TV pseudo-science -- it's useless without a control. We don't know who handled the clothing between purchase and testing, and what "disgusting secretions" may have been applied durng that period. We don't know what concentrations of "germs" and "organisms" were present, and whether they were harmful or not.

You don't know but I know.