How often to wash everything
Honest intervals for the things nobody agrees on: sheets, towels, jeans, gym clothes and the rest. Knowing the number is the easy part.
| Item | How often |
|---|---|
| Bedsheets | Weekly |
| Pillows | Twice a year, if it can be washed |
| Jeans | When they smell or sag |
| Gym clothes | Every wear |
| Towels | Every 3 or 4 uses |
| Bras | Every 2 to 3 wears |
Intervals are a sensible default, not a rule. Sooner is right after illness, in high summer, or whenever it simply feels time. Half of these turn out to be decided by what happens between washes, which is worth ten minutes if the numbers are not doing it for you.
In full
How Often
5 minHow often should you actually wash your bedsheets?
Weekly is one of the better-supported numbers in laundry. Two that people repeat are not, including one of ours.
How Often
5 minHow often should you actually wash your pillows?
Half of them should never be submerged, and the frightening statistics behind the advice turn out to have no study under them.
How Often
10 minHow often should you actually wash your jeans?
There is no honest number, and the three camps who offer you one are each answering a different question from the one you asked.
How Often
6 minHow often should you actually wash your gym clothes?
Every time, and not because of germs. The smell is an oil, the fabric holds on to it, and the wash never quite gets it all out.
How Often
6 minHow often should you actually wash your towels?
Less often than the scary numbers suggest, and it depends far more on how the towel dries than on how often you have used it.
How Often
5 minHow often should you actually wash your bras?
The interval is the easy half. What decides whether a bra still fits in a year is whether it gets a day off between wears.