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I've always worn my dress shirts once, then throw it in the hamper when I get home from work. It rarely smells at all, but it's just a habit to put any piece of clothing into the hamper after taking it off. Except for pants - I wear those maybe 3 or 4 times between washes. Recently I found out a coworker wears his dress shirts 3 days before washing it. I was grossed out, but it got me wondering what's the norm?
When I'm wearing an undershirt, which is usually the case, I'll give my outer shirt about four wearings. That's assuming I'm not doing anything to get a bunch of dirt on it, or spilling food on it, or something.
If I'm not wearing an undershirt, just once... or maaaybe twice if I only wore it briefly and didn't break a sweat.
If I wore dry clean only dress shirts, I probably would try to get 2 or 3 wearings before cleaning. But since everything I wear is machine washable, I can wash each time.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I would never wear a shirt more than once, so I have to keep about 20 of them so I don't wear them out as fast since washing is hard on the collar edges. Now pants, I can wear 2-3 times. Don't ask me why the difference.
I don't understand why someone would not, as a matter of habit, wear an undershirt, nor do I understand (assuming you are wearing an undershirt) how wearing a shirt once or twice in a regular office environment would render it fit only for the hamper.
Plus all that washing is a lot of wear, and nice shirts aren't that cheap.
I don't understand why someone would not, as a matter of habit, wear an undershirt, nor do I understand (assuming you are wearing an undershirt) how wearing a shirt once or twice in a regular office environment would render it fit only for the hamper.
Plus all that washing is a lot of wear, and nice shirts aren't that cheap.
My coworker's response is what spawned my question. I work in an typical white collar office pushing paper and I always wear an undershirt. I never sweat unless I decide to go for a walk during lunch. I never questioned "the rule" of washing your shirt after wearing it once until now. I have a few white and blue Brooks Brothers shirts that I wash every week. These are generally replaced once a year because they either get a small hole or look worn out after 50 cycles in the washing machine. It also tends to lose its wrinkle-free capability after 1 year of weekly washings. I'm OCD so I can't wear shirts that don't look new and crisp. I was thinking if I can wear them twice before washing it would save a couple hundred bucks each year on a few new shirts. But then again, wearing a shirt twice goes against my OCD-ness, LOL.
My coworker's response is what spawned my question. I work in an typical white collar office pushing paper and I always wear an undershirt. I never sweat unless I decide to go for a walk during lunch. I never questioned "the rule" of washing your shirt after wearing it once until now. I have a few white and blue Brooks Brothers shirts that I wash every week. These are generally replaced once a year because they either get a small hole or look worn out after 50 cycles in the washing machine. It also tends to lose its wrinkle-free capability after 1 year of weekly washings. I'm OCD so I can't wear shirts that don't look new and crisp. I was thinking if I can wear them twice before washing it would save a couple hundred bucks each year on a few new shirts. But then again, wearing a shirt twice goes against my OCD-ness, LOL.
I get a lot more lifespan out of my shirts by wearing a handful of times, always with undershirt (except for maybe the last time before I wash it) and I also machine wash cold/gentle (using something like Woolite Dark for darker colors) and then hang dry. (you can always de-wrinkle with a brief dryer spin with a damp hand towel when needed)
If it's a shirt I'm wearing for work, I generally take it off and hang it up when I get home.
I'd rather buy fewer, nicer shirts and get more out of them. I mean, if you wore a sweater or sweatshirt over a t-shirt, would you launder that sweater every single time you wore it?
3 days for a shirt grosses you out...but 3 days of pants is ok??
depends how much you sweat,,,,
10 yrs ago, I use to get my shirts and pants professionally dry cleaned and pressed,,,and wear only one day..
then I got caught,,,couldn't drop them off and noticed,,,the set still looked new/clean
so, id rotate not 3 days in a row
I wear vests over my dress shirts too (thin wind vest) and I change them up too
but if I sweat,, or spill something on the clothes ,,then they get washed
but I see nothing wrong in rotating a couple days , in an office
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