Exactly How Often You Should Wash Your Clothes — According to a Stink Scientist

"According to Rachel McQueen, a textile scientist and associate professor in the University of Alberta’s Department of Human Ecology, most people wash their clothes way too often. “I think what’s happening in this hygiene-focused world now is that it’s just become a habit,” she says. “People wear a pair of jeans or a sweater once and think it’s loaded with bacteria.

It isn’t so much that bacteria don’t populate your clothing—they most certainly do. But that doesn’t mean you have to wash your clothes. “It’s a bit overkill because it’s their bacteria,” McQueen says. “It’s supposed to be on your skin. And so if it’s on your clothing, and your clothing puts it back in contact with your skin, that’s just where that bacteria is supposed to be.”

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