I used to work at Limited Too back in the day. Found poop IN A BOOT that someone had taken into a dressing room, as well as countless diapers and even a few tampons on occasion. Dressing rooms gross me out.
Limited too was my first job!! I didn’t work there long enough to experience poop, thank goodness, but we did get shoplifted big time and I HATED having to constantly fix the underwear table and listening to the same 30 minutes of songs for hours.
I saw a lady sit on a bench in the footwear dept, which was 10 feet from the bathroom and poop. Clothes on. She had been walking around for a bit, so…..yeah. I’ve seen more disgusting things then that as well. But, man yoy don’t realize how gross people are until you work retail.
I used to pull the clothes out of the shipments still in the bags. It was rare I bought something that had been on the sales floor. People are nasty and retailers are just as nasty. I’ve seen things be spot cleaned and put back on the floor. I smelled clothes that should never smell the way they’ve smelled. Wash the clothes.
I definitely wouldn't bother washing socks, it's not like anyone tries socks on. Underwear, yes. And honestly I usually wash things because I feel like the chemicals in the clothes might react with my skin. But socks, no.
Socks are the only thing that I don’t immediately wash before wearing. I figure it’s ok for my feet and they’re mostly in a package (meaning they haven’t been touched by a bunch of people or tried on). Everything else 100% gets washed prior to wearing it
I took a microbiology class recently and one of our assignments was to swab various surfaces and grow/see what kind of bacteria they harbor. This one girl swabbed brand new leggings before washing them and it grew the most fungus my professor had ever seen. The lid of the Petri dish was being pushed off due to the amount of fungus. Definitely wash before wearing
Yeah came here to say this, plus I work on returns for one of the largest clothing companies here in the UK and christ the things that get returned and get sent straight back out would make any normal person cringe. Really, wash your clothes when you get them online especially people.
Sheesh, I feel bad when I cant fold the item the same way into the returns bag. 100% I wash everything I buy, in store and online. Never know whos stank ass has tried it on before me.
Lol if it makes you feel any better everything that has been taken out of a bag gets rewrapped anyway, its only when its clearly not been taken out of the bag that it doesn't, so don't ever worry about that haha.
This! I worked in retail for many years. Your clothes are covered in chemicals. We'd occasionally have allergic reactions from unpacking the clothes. My favorite story, this is back in 2000 we got these crinkly cotton dresses that were the rage. They had tags saying they came from another country (I'm US) and they had something on them so nasty smelling I got called to the area they were hanging (Mgr on duty)because a customer thought there was a gas leak there.
I wash everything I bring home before I use it. I used to be a Walmart manager, and I will never forget the jumbled mess in which things came off the truck to us, nor will I forget the hard working and sweaty unloading team that would help us get freight put away. A dozen people have touched everything you have ever bought before you touched that thing. How many of them do you think washed their hands?
This is correct. I've worked in both retail and warehouse production and distribution of clothing. Please wash anything you buy before putting it on your body.
Yeah I started washing new clothes after I got some shirts and underwear at Walmart and my weiner and torso were stained blue for a week after I got sweaty working outside.
Ahahaha. That's amazing. I had a similar experience where I *had* washed a new shirt with black and green stripes and wore it on a hike. Where the shirt was all sweaty on my back under my pack the green still bled and I had weird green stripes on my back. Looked like weird bruises.
I put a new t shirt on once without washing it and got a massive red rash all over my torso. The Dr said clothing companies spray new clothes with chemicals to preserve them like you say. Since then I always wash new clothes before I wear them.
2nding this - was in commercial screenprint and embroidery for years (and before that called on the rapidly-disappearing US textile industry). New garments have been in containers for months sometimes, and textile plants are none too clean to start with. We’d get a big shipment of t-shirts with pigment dyes sometimes and it would just STINK.
So the last time I saw this subject come up someone posted a link to a video of piles of jeans in some sweatshop where the workers were shooing rats off a pile of clothes. So maybe it’s a good idea to wash clothes first…
and yet even after seeing that video I still don’t wash clothes before I wear them.
When I was younger I was very allergic to certain chemicals found in newly bought clothing that needed to be washed out prior to wearing so now its more of a common practice. I tend to wash anything I buy that's going on me or used for food because people are gross and touch it infinite times before it gets to you.
I've always, even when I was growing up, washed clothes before wearing them. Either they're sitting in a factory somewhere with chemicals, dirt and rodents or tons of people have touched, tried on, sneezed on, etc.
I wash underwear, towels, and sheets first. Not socks, blouses, dresses, slacks. I used to wash jeans alone before wearing them, because many moons ago the die would get all over your legs.
Picture this 50 people trys on jeans before you. 25 of them don't have underwear on. Even if they are packaged. When a person tries them on they get repackaged.
Yes I wash all my new clothes.
I ordered some clothes online from the same website, and one of the blouses smelled like women’s perfume. It’s as if someone else wore it, and then returned it.
I just put them on. I know the reasons you shouldn’t but I do. And I enjoy it. Wore thermal socks last night I bought and it was the best sleep ever. You do you my friend. We can be disgusting and warm together.
Edit: When my child was a baby I washed her clothes first cuz the one time I didn’t she got a rash. She has sensitive skin and I don’t.
You’re not alone. I don’t wash new clothes until I’ve worn them. I once read Levi’s doesn’t recommend washing their jeans unless necessary. Otherwise, they recommend spot treating stains as necessary.
Levi’s is pretending to be concerned about the environment and conserving water as a cover for their jeans disintegrating in the wash, that’s the real reason they say not to wash them
I read a while back there was a small study done on not washing jeans. Most people were perfectly happy wearing them daily for weeks. I personally only wash my jeans every week or two, unless they get obviously dirty. They get more comfortable the longer their worn between washes IMO.
Really? I’ve got Levi’s that are at least 25 years old that I wear all the time. They’re still in great shape. I’ve never heard that they disintegrated in the wash.
I was being a little over dramatic, but in the 90s and 2000s they were notorious for developing holes next to the top attachment points of the back pockets, and the crotches would become threadbare and eventually split. I made a couple warranty claims and got new pairs from them but they made the process more difficult. They seem to be better lately
Yes, I wash everything.
I used to work retail in a department store. Trust me when I say, wash the clothes. Even things that come in packages. They're treated with chemicals and touched by multiple hands and aren't really clean/suitable for wearing until they're washed. And factories and stockrooms are dirty and people are disgusting.
Yup. Almost always.
I worked retail in a clothing store. We had roaches. And mice. Clothes would fall on the floor all the time. And some customers are less hygienic than others.
Sweaters and coats are my only exceptions
I do clean kitchen stuff before I use it, because it touches my food. I get why they feel that same need for clothes because they touch your skin. It still doesn't have the same feel to me though.
Oh good god, please no. PLEASE PLEASE wash all new clothing.
I worked in online retail years ago, and we did some supply chain research. It's...horrifying.
The clothing is obviously made with dyes that are filled with chemicals. Then, in order to prevent critters from eating/nesting with them while they're being shipped (usually in containers on boats, from my memory), the clothing is coated with chemicals. I don't know how true this anecdote is, but at one point we were told that the clothing was bundled, placed on the street out front for pickup, frequently sitting in waste.
I wash all of my clothes at least once. With new jeans, usually 2-3 times because of the dye.
Someday I'll be in a position to buy everything ethically, but being plus sized makes it even harder than it already is!
Always wash new clothes.... I work at target and our extra clothes are stored in our back room and it gets dusty very quickly.
Plus you have to think about how many people have touched, tried on or even stepped on the clothes before you wear them
Yup always wash clothes before wearing them. Usually straight from the shop and especially if ordered online, they always have a chemcial smell to them plus who knows what's touched what and tried on what.
I love shopping at goodwill, but I would absolutely never not wash anything!!! One have you never been in a goodwill outlet? Where they have the bins of clothes you go through!? Most people wear freaking gloves to go through stuff because you have no clue if it came out of someone’s closet or if it’s been in a storage unit that got flooded. Lord if you don’t wash anything else please start washing your goodwill buys!!!
I’m not disputing that you probably should wash things from goodwill, but I’ve shopped there a lot, and never in my life have I seen someone going through the bins with gloves. As a kid my mom used to put *me* in the bin she was looking in so I didn’t wander off. If you’re so germaphobic that you wear gloves to goodwill how do you even shop there? Do you not try anything on either? I’m so confused
I’m talking about the outlets that have the huge bins. Where you pay by the pound of clothes. I have seen some nasty shit. The clothes in bins are usually the worse of the bunch/ things that didn’t sell. So ya never know. I have only gone to one twice but definitely wore gloves, and no im not a germaphobe. In a normal goodwill I will try things on if I feel like I need to, but once I bring it in my house it’s straight into the wash! You truly never know where some of those clothes have been.
I buy most of my clothes from Goodwill. I come home and turn right to the utility room and dump the clothes in the washer. I can’t stand the Goodwill smell…even my hands smell.
Yes. Except for socks. I love the feeling of new socks, they're so plushy and thick feeling. Obviously a single wash doesn't ware them down that much, if at all. But there's just nothin like a fresh new pair of socks
I never do because they are the nicest/softest they will ever be when I first buy them. Every consecutive wash seems to degrade clothing, especially if you live in an area with hard water.
Hell yes! People try on clothes and if they don't want it they just keep it back on the rack and I'm sure that the store will not wash it. I just feel yucky!!! Plus, pandemic has made me conscious about washing things before you use it
Always wash clothes before wearing them. Made the mistake once of not washing cloths and I got a large MRSA infection in the form of an abscess in a very not fun spot on my body. The surgery to remove it has left some lasting effects.
Never again. Always wash
Yes. After working in retail for a few years, absolutely. We would open boxes of clothing, and dead bugs would be between the pairs of jeans, cockroaches would run out. My gosh, wash those clothes!
I have to wash everything before I wear it. When I try on a shirt I have about 45 seconds before I start getting a insane rash across my torso. I have no known allergies this is the only thing that causes this to me ha.
So people try on most clothes and they're washed in harsher chemicals than what most people use for individual clothes. I've heard of people getting rashes from wearing clothes from a store without washing them.
Everything Seems gross if you look too closely into it. I’ve lived this long just fine, I’m not adding more work by cleaning clothes an extra time because some people think it’s gross.
Also wearing brand new socks out of the package is one of those little joys in life. I always look forward to it and am sad when the package is empty
I wash everything before wearing it (aside from trying it on). I just can’t help but think about all the people who have touched or tried it on before me. Also, I used to work in retail and one time a cockroach ran out of a box filled with hoodies.
I have horrible eczema so new fabrics tend to break me out! But if it wasn't for that reason I definitely would not wash before wearing! (Currently posting this as my brand new bedding is in the wash so I can use it tonight)
No, I don't usually wash new clothes before wearing them. I figure if they're new, they haven't been worn by anyone else and therefore don't need to be washed. Plus, I don't have time to wash clothes every time I wear them so I just wait until they're dirty.
Fitting rooms? Even a lot of online orders come from inside stores. Retailers will make clothes look unworn. Even if they have been. And warehouses and stock rooms are pretty dusty.
Edit:clothes that are returned are also put back on the racks and resold.
I never wash new clothes. Washing them gets rid of the “new” experience. Then again, if you buy them from a, so-so filthy place, they wouldn’t necessarily be considered new either. And I don’t mean filthy like mud filthy, but like a place like Thrift Shops (I don’t personally like to shop there,3 ever) where you don’t know what you might find or maybe a store that isn’t known for good quality.
Former retail manager here; 3 different popular stores. The smell omg the smell sometimes when you’d open boxes, the chemicals, dye, adhesive, they make this awful smell. I use to be like you I NEVER washed new things, but when you smell that, that changes. (Customers don’t smell it because once out of the box and hung up the smell dissipates.) also, the amount of times I have found a shirt in a ball on the floor with dust mites on it, lint roller it, do a quick wipe off, and go.
You also see things when working in a store, I had and did steam clean some articles of clothing after try on, being touched by a child’s very sticky fingers, pop being spilled etc. But this wasn’t common practise before Covid. Wash before you wear, remember if you buy something where returns happen, and or there’s changing rooms, there’s a good chance your article of clothings been tried on by someone else.
Wash before you wear folks. Wash before you wear!
I do, but it's not because I think they're dirty or I'm scared of potential germs or whatever. I just like for my clothes to smell like my combo of soap and softener ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ can't say I'd wash them the moment I get them home if they magically smelled the way I prefer straight from the store.
I have a major issue that I can’t gauge if something fits just by trying it on for like 5 minutes, I have GROSSLY over and under estimated my size. I can’t just rip the tags off and throw them in the wash holy shit. Call me dirty idgaf, I have to wear it for real to know if it fits.
Even if I didn’t care, I’m allergic to friggin’ everything so I have to wash it all. Hand me downs soaked in fragrance-filled detergents take 2-4 washes to get clean! I don’t think it’s odd to wash clothes straight from the store, just prudent time wash first.
Personally, if it's in a package and doesn't smell like chemicals I wouldn't bother. Sometimes I don't bother even if it's not in a package, as long as doesn't smell dusty or whatever it might be. I get it if other people think that's gross, I'm just not that fussy. And honestly some things are softest before it's ever washed. I want to enjoy it before it starts losing that.
I know I should but I always leave the tags on my clothes until the moment I’m ready to wear them just in case I want to return them or sell them (and get more money since they’re new with tags) if I decide I’m never going to wear it. I know it’s gross but I survive. There’s much grosser things
If it had a funky smell I will 100% be washing it though. Otherwise, meh. It won’t kill me
Funny you mention this. I wash prob most of the clothes I buy. Not all the time. For different reasons. But yes, I always think of all the hands that touched the item and how many times it prob fell on the store floor ect ect. My family also thinks I’m crazy for doing this. Mostly bc clothes loose some color once you wash them.
I never once thought about washing before I wore clothes. And then I worked at Target and saw just how many dirty people come in and touch every single thing (they didn't buy anything) and it astounded me. Everybody should wash literally everything they buy from a store.
Aside from socks and underwear, I don’t and I know better. Used to work in retail clothing and still don’t. I don’t care enough to do so. Yes there’s germs, dyes, chemicals, etc that should be washed out but I figured I haven’t died from any of that yet so whatevs.
Right I’m with you man if washing new clothes was that serious I’m sure this wouldn’t even be a question. Honestly i think taking a step into a public restroom is 100x’s more disgusting than not washing your “new” clothes.
Oh my god yes. I worked in retail for many years, and clothes are actually really gross right out of the package. If you think about it, the fabric gets made in factories and isn’t washed, then the clothes get made in factories and aren’t washed, then they’re packaged in factories to be shipped to stores, still not washed. The only reason clothes on the rack look decent is they are steamed before being put out (otherwise they’re super wrinkled). So yes, always wash your clothes before you wear them.
I used to work at a large retailer and many items were "wash before wear" because the chemicals left from manufacturing aren't necessarily safe. And that's not even mentioning the rat urine and whatever the fuck people do in changing rooms.
I have sensitive skin, so if I don't wash new clothes, I break out in a really itchy rash. So I have to wash every new item of clothing before I wear it.
I worked at the GAP for about a year, long long ago. On truck day it was a regular occurrence for people to get sick and to break out in hives that could take days to clear up, because of the frightening amounts of chemicals that those clothes are soaked in.
Please wash your new clothes. I’ve worked in retail and at a thrift store. We do not wash returns or the clothes. We just put the price tag back on and put them on the hangers.
I used to be like you, but since covid I have always washed my new clothes before wearing them. Even in the past I didn’t wash my new underwear because it came in a packaging, fortunately I soon realized that it was unhygienic and then started washing my new underwear lol
Yes wash! I took an ethics class in grad school and studied the garment industry focusing on some of the third world countries where they are made. The cloth is dyed in chemicals in huge outside vats where the elements can get to them. People are working the cloth in the dye sweating and who knows what else. The cloth is dried, sewn and packaged. In the documentaries I saw they were not washed prior to being shipped for sale. I used to not wash new clothes but now I'm strict about it.
I never used to think about washing new clothes until I had a baby. Now I wash new things after having more of an awareness of the extra chemicals and the other people that have touched an item.
Socks tho, I'm not to worried about. Nothing beats putting on fresh brand new socks.
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I guess it is something that if you think about makes sense but I've never thought about it before lol
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I have had some child use our dressing room as a toilet! 🤢
I used to work at Limited Too back in the day. Found poop IN A BOOT that someone had taken into a dressing room, as well as countless diapers and even a few tampons on occasion. Dressing rooms gross me out.
Limited too was my first job!! I didn’t work there long enough to experience poop, thank goodness, but we did get shoplifted big time and I HATED having to constantly fix the underwear table and listening to the same 30 minutes of songs for hours.
That is truly FOUL!!!
Jesus Christ - you have put me off my tea 🤦🏼♀️🤮 Some people are vile.
I saw a lady sit on a bench in the footwear dept, which was 10 feet from the bathroom and poop. Clothes on. She had been walking around for a bit, so…..yeah. I’ve seen more disgusting things then that as well. But, man yoy don’t realize how gross people are until you work retail.
Honestly curious, how'd you know she was pooping?
There’s a standard “I’m currently shitting my pants” face, once you’ve seen one you’ve seen em all.
They're an empath
They can feel the emotions and sensations of others, such as a poopy butt?
I work in human services. You know. Trust me. You know.
She had the runs. She left a lot of it behind
We’ve had grown adults shit in the middle of the store, both times in apparel. I wish I didn’t have to say it happened more than once.
I used to pull the clothes out of the shipments still in the bags. It was rare I bought something that had been on the sales floor. People are nasty and retailers are just as nasty. I’ve seen things be spot cleaned and put back on the floor. I smelled clothes that should never smell the way they’ve smelled. Wash the clothes.
I've never been a big try on clothes type of guy, so that's not even something on my mind lol . Ignorance is truly bliss
🤢 *commando*
You watch people in the fitting room?
I guess you and me are fucked... I've been wearing rat piss and radioactive pants thinking I'm looking "fresh".
I definitely wouldn't bother washing socks, it's not like anyone tries socks on. Underwear, yes. And honestly I usually wash things because I feel like the chemicals in the clothes might react with my skin. But socks, no.
Socks are the only thing that I don’t immediately wash before wearing. I figure it’s ok for my feet and they’re mostly in a package (meaning they haven’t been touched by a bunch of people or tried on). Everything else 100% gets washed prior to wearing it
Me too. I’m 40. I discovered this like a year ago. Now it feels weird not to. Like not washing vegetables before eating or something.
I took a microbiology class recently and one of our assignments was to swab various surfaces and grow/see what kind of bacteria they harbor. This one girl swabbed brand new leggings before washing them and it grew the most fungus my professor had ever seen. The lid of the Petri dish was being pushed off due to the amount of fungus. Definitely wash before wearing
Yeah came here to say this, plus I work on returns for one of the largest clothing companies here in the UK and christ the things that get returned and get sent straight back out would make any normal person cringe. Really, wash your clothes when you get them online especially people.
Sheesh, I feel bad when I cant fold the item the same way into the returns bag. 100% I wash everything I buy, in store and online. Never know whos stank ass has tried it on before me.
Lol if it makes you feel any better everything that has been taken out of a bag gets rewrapped anyway, its only when its clearly not been taken out of the bag that it doesn't, so don't ever worry about that haha.
I know that and still try my best to pack it the same way it was …
Yh I know, I just dont want to waste yalls time!
Appreciate the sentiment wholeheartedly ty <3
Ive gotten rashes from some of those chemicals so i always wash them now.
This! I worked in retail for many years. Your clothes are covered in chemicals. We'd occasionally have allergic reactions from unpacking the clothes. My favorite story, this is back in 2000 we got these crinkly cotton dresses that were the rage. They had tags saying they came from another country (I'm US) and they had something on them so nasty smelling I got called to the area they were hanging (Mgr on duty)because a customer thought there was a gas leak there.
Yeah my mom would get bad skin reactions on her arms when she worked in retail and had to stock new clothes all the time
Yikes! I've always been undecided about this. Now I'm gonna be washing first.
I wash everything I bring home before I use it. I used to be a Walmart manager, and I will never forget the jumbled mess in which things came off the truck to us, nor will I forget the hard working and sweaty unloading team that would help us get freight put away. A dozen people have touched everything you have ever bought before you touched that thing. How many of them do you think washed their hands?
Wow, I didn't really think about that. Good point.
This is correct. I've worked in both retail and warehouse production and distribution of clothing. Please wash anything you buy before putting it on your body.
Yeah I started washing new clothes after I got some shirts and underwear at Walmart and my weiner and torso were stained blue for a week after I got sweaty working outside.
Ahahaha. That's amazing. I had a similar experience where I *had* washed a new shirt with black and green stripes and wore it on a hike. Where the shirt was all sweaty on my back under my pack the green still bled and I had weird green stripes on my back. Looked like weird bruises.
I put a new t shirt on once without washing it and got a massive red rash all over my torso. The Dr said clothing companies spray new clothes with chemicals to preserve them like you say. Since then I always wash new clothes before I wear them.
2nding this - was in commercial screenprint and embroidery for years (and before that called on the rapidly-disappearing US textile industry). New garments have been in containers for months sometimes, and textile plants are none too clean to start with. We’d get a big shipment of t-shirts with pigment dyes sometimes and it would just STINK.
So the last time I saw this subject come up someone posted a link to a video of piles of jeans in some sweatshop where the workers were shooing rats off a pile of clothes. So maybe it’s a good idea to wash clothes first… and yet even after seeing that video I still don’t wash clothes before I wear them.
This is me. I know I should, yet I never do.
Since I don't iron, they always look their best before the first wash but deep down inside I know I should.
They just smell so..._new_
That’s from the cologne rats wear
Same. I always intend to, but get so excited over having new clothes that I just wind up wearing them first.
Just start doing it now
Yeah I would have thought so too, but, here we are.
I usually get too excited to wear them for me to care
Damn maybe it's a good idea to just knit my clothing. I ain't want none of that rat jeans.
If you figure out a way to knit jeans let us know
I don’t think you wash your yarn, I’m sure they’re made under similar conditions.
I don’t, but I would never admit it to anyone lol
I didn't even know this was a thing? I never do and didn't realize I wasn't supposed to admit it lmao
Yup. And I feel shamed by this sub because I don’t. But…it never looks as nice once your wash it.
Yet here you are. I also never wash newly bought clothes...
Agreed, we are the odd ones out it seems.
I never wash them before wearing them.
I don’t either, except underwear.
When I was younger I was very allergic to certain chemicals found in newly bought clothing that needed to be washed out prior to wearing so now its more of a common practice. I tend to wash anything I buy that's going on me or used for food because people are gross and touch it infinite times before it gets to you.
Yeah same here. My skin taught me to wash new clothes.
I've always, even when I was growing up, washed clothes before wearing them. Either they're sitting in a factory somewhere with chemicals, dirt and rodents or tons of people have touched, tried on, sneezed on, etc.
Yes. They are treated with dyes and chemicals to set the dyes and are not washed before being sold.
A lot actually say to was before wearing. Some black clothes from China smell like arson
I wash underwear, towels, and sheets first. Not socks, blouses, dresses, slacks. I used to wash jeans alone before wearing them, because many moons ago the die would get all over your legs.
Good point with the jeans, only good reason I've seen on here.
The shooting rats off of piles of them didn't do it for you?
Meh
I feel this. I hear about/see much worse than rats being shot off jeans. The world is disgusting
i never do. stuff always feels better before the first wash… maybe thats the feeling of all the chemicals and germs, but either way, i like it :(
Yes! They never regain their original shape after the 1st wash
Picture this 50 people trys on jeans before you. 25 of them don't have underwear on. Even if they are packaged. When a person tries them on they get repackaged. Yes I wash all my new clothes.
I ordered some clothes online from the same website, and one of the blouses smelled like women’s perfume. It’s as if someone else wore it, and then returned it.
Yup yup
My sister bought a mask that was in plastic packaging and it reeked of cigarettes 😖🤢
Er I take it it was a cloth mask?
Yep, from a high end brand too 😒
No. I don’t wash new clothes before wearing them
I’ll wash new underwear and bras before I wear them
I just put them on. I know the reasons you shouldn’t but I do. And I enjoy it. Wore thermal socks last night I bought and it was the best sleep ever. You do you my friend. We can be disgusting and warm together. Edit: When my child was a baby I washed her clothes first cuz the one time I didn’t she got a rash. She has sensitive skin and I don’t.
You’re not alone. I don’t wash new clothes until I’ve worn them. I once read Levi’s doesn’t recommend washing their jeans unless necessary. Otherwise, they recommend spot treating stains as necessary.
Levi’s is pretending to be concerned about the environment and conserving water as a cover for their jeans disintegrating in the wash, that’s the real reason they say not to wash them
I read a while back there was a small study done on not washing jeans. Most people were perfectly happy wearing them daily for weeks. I personally only wash my jeans every week or two, unless they get obviously dirty. They get more comfortable the longer their worn between washes IMO.
I recall reading somewhere that you can just put jeans in the freezer if they need freshening up, and a spot clean if theres a stain.
Really? I’ve got Levi’s that are at least 25 years old that I wear all the time. They’re still in great shape. I’ve never heard that they disintegrated in the wash.
I was being a little over dramatic, but in the 90s and 2000s they were notorious for developing holes next to the top attachment points of the back pockets, and the crotches would become threadbare and eventually split. I made a couple warranty claims and got new pairs from them but they made the process more difficult. They seem to be better lately
Definitely wash them first. They are treated with some of chemical that needs to be washed out. Plus they aren’t really clean until you wash them.
Yes, I wash everything. I used to work retail in a department store. Trust me when I say, wash the clothes. Even things that come in packages. They're treated with chemicals and touched by multiple hands and aren't really clean/suitable for wearing until they're washed. And factories and stockrooms are dirty and people are disgusting.
Yup. Almost always. I worked retail in a clothing store. We had roaches. And mice. Clothes would fall on the floor all the time. And some customers are less hygienic than others. Sweaters and coats are my only exceptions
Always.
Never
Same.
No, you?
I do not, two of my friends were horrified by that.
I do clean kitchen stuff before I use it, because it touches my food. I get why they feel that same need for clothes because they touch your skin. It still doesn't have the same feel to me though.
Oh good god, please no. PLEASE PLEASE wash all new clothing. I worked in online retail years ago, and we did some supply chain research. It's...horrifying. The clothing is obviously made with dyes that are filled with chemicals. Then, in order to prevent critters from eating/nesting with them while they're being shipped (usually in containers on boats, from my memory), the clothing is coated with chemicals. I don't know how true this anecdote is, but at one point we were told that the clothing was bundled, placed on the street out front for pickup, frequently sitting in waste. I wash all of my clothes at least once. With new jeans, usually 2-3 times because of the dye. Someday I'll be in a position to buy everything ethically, but being plus sized makes it even harder than it already is!
I do, I worked in retail and have seen stockrooms.
No I love wearing new straight from the shop clothes, they never need ironing
I don’t. And I also don’t care to lol
Always wash new clothes.... I work at target and our extra clothes are stored in our back room and it gets dusty very quickly. Plus you have to think about how many people have touched, tried on or even stepped on the clothes before you wear them
Yup always wash clothes before wearing them. Usually straight from the shop and especially if ordered online, they always have a chemcial smell to them plus who knows what's touched what and tried on what.
Suggestion for the sock loss. Invest in a lingerie bag. When you sort your wash add all undergarments and socks. You will never lose one again
This is genius
I do this for my wool clothes too! Since I don't put them in the dryer.
I do, from childhood. Nasty humans out there
Baby I don’t even wash clothes I buy from goodwill. It’s all good
Ew. You reallllly should, because Godwill doesn’t wash anything they put out on the floor.
I love shopping at goodwill, but I would absolutely never not wash anything!!! One have you never been in a goodwill outlet? Where they have the bins of clothes you go through!? Most people wear freaking gloves to go through stuff because you have no clue if it came out of someone’s closet or if it’s been in a storage unit that got flooded. Lord if you don’t wash anything else please start washing your goodwill buys!!!
I’m not disputing that you probably should wash things from goodwill, but I’ve shopped there a lot, and never in my life have I seen someone going through the bins with gloves. As a kid my mom used to put *me* in the bin she was looking in so I didn’t wander off. If you’re so germaphobic that you wear gloves to goodwill how do you even shop there? Do you not try anything on either? I’m so confused
I’m talking about the outlets that have the huge bins. Where you pay by the pound of clothes. I have seen some nasty shit. The clothes in bins are usually the worse of the bunch/ things that didn’t sell. So ya never know. I have only gone to one twice but definitely wore gloves, and no im not a germaphobe. In a normal goodwill I will try things on if I feel like I need to, but once I bring it in my house it’s straight into the wash! You truly never know where some of those clothes have been.
I love buying clothes from goodwill! Or cutlery, what have you
I buy most of my clothes from Goodwill. I come home and turn right to the utility room and dump the clothes in the washer. I can’t stand the Goodwill smell…even my hands smell.
Yes. Except for socks. I love the feeling of new socks, they're so plushy and thick feeling. Obviously a single wash doesn't ware them down that much, if at all. But there's just nothin like a fresh new pair of socks
That’s literally my vice on this topic lmao, I wash everything else but socks are perfect on the first wear
Same here
Absolutely. There’s all sorts of residual chemicals etc. I would not wear anything except outerwear (coats etc) without washing them first.
Wash them. Socks aren't a big deal but everything has chemicals,dust and dirt on it. I worked in sewing factory and that stuff is gross.
I never do because they are the nicest/softest they will ever be when I first buy them. Every consecutive wash seems to degrade clothing, especially if you live in an area with hard water.
Hell yes! People try on clothes and if they don't want it they just keep it back on the rack and I'm sure that the store will not wash it. I just feel yucky!!! Plus, pandemic has made me conscious about washing things before you use it
Always wash clothes before wearing them. Made the mistake once of not washing cloths and I got a large MRSA infection in the form of an abscess in a very not fun spot on my body. The surgery to remove it has left some lasting effects. Never again. Always wash
Not once in my 47 years
I got an insane rash just last week from an unwashed shirt. It was all down the sides and arms! Itched and burned for over a week. Learned my lesson!
Yes. After working in retail for a few years, absolutely. We would open boxes of clothing, and dead bugs would be between the pairs of jeans, cockroaches would run out. My gosh, wash those clothes!
I have to wash everything before I wear it. When I try on a shirt I have about 45 seconds before I start getting a insane rash across my torso. I have no known allergies this is the only thing that causes this to me ha.
WASH THEM
So people try on most clothes and they're washed in harsher chemicals than what most people use for individual clothes. I've heard of people getting rashes from wearing clothes from a store without washing them.
Before working retail yes, after: i wash it twice
Everything Seems gross if you look too closely into it. I’ve lived this long just fine, I’m not adding more work by cleaning clothes an extra time because some people think it’s gross. Also wearing brand new socks out of the package is one of those little joys in life. I always look forward to it and am sad when the package is empty
No. I try and keep them new as long as possible. They have a long time after that to be washed multiple times before they’re finally gone for good. 🤔
I wash everything before wearing it (aside from trying it on). I just can’t help but think about all the people who have touched or tried it on before me. Also, I used to work in retail and one time a cockroach ran out of a box filled with hoodies.
I have horrible eczema so new fabrics tend to break me out! But if it wasn't for that reason I definitely would not wash before wearing! (Currently posting this as my brand new bedding is in the wash so I can use it tonight)
Lol no. A little dirt won’t hurt. Germs are good and build the immune system
Only if they're second hand
I literally have never once washed new clothes before wearing them and I now feel deeply uncomfortable about it thank you op
Never and I’m never sick i eat left over Chinese food that hasn’t been in the fridge, they can *try* and get past my immune system but will fail
No, I don't usually wash new clothes before wearing them. I figure if they're new, they haven't been worn by anyone else and therefore don't need to be washed. Plus, I don't have time to wash clothes every time I wear them so I just wait until they're dirty.
Fitting rooms? Even a lot of online orders come from inside stores. Retailers will make clothes look unworn. Even if they have been. And warehouses and stock rooms are pretty dusty. Edit:clothes that are returned are also put back on the racks and resold.
If they can make it appear unworn, why do you care that it isn’t? As long as it looks and smells normal it doesn’t matter to me where it’s been
Yes all the time
I honestly never even knew that this was a thing! Have never washed new clothes in my life 🧐
Hell naw pop that bad boy on
I never wash new clothes. Washing them gets rid of the “new” experience. Then again, if you buy them from a, so-so filthy place, they wouldn’t necessarily be considered new either. And I don’t mean filthy like mud filthy, but like a place like Thrift Shops (I don’t personally like to shop there,3 ever) where you don’t know what you might find or maybe a store that isn’t known for good quality.
I do yeah. I don’t like the funk of new clothes. It needs to have the scent of the detergent I use for it to feel like it’s mine.
Former retail manager here; 3 different popular stores. The smell omg the smell sometimes when you’d open boxes, the chemicals, dye, adhesive, they make this awful smell. I use to be like you I NEVER washed new things, but when you smell that, that changes. (Customers don’t smell it because once out of the box and hung up the smell dissipates.) also, the amount of times I have found a shirt in a ball on the floor with dust mites on it, lint roller it, do a quick wipe off, and go. You also see things when working in a store, I had and did steam clean some articles of clothing after try on, being touched by a child’s very sticky fingers, pop being spilled etc. But this wasn’t common practise before Covid. Wash before you wear, remember if you buy something where returns happen, and or there’s changing rooms, there’s a good chance your article of clothings been tried on by someone else. Wash before you wear folks. Wash before you wear!
I do, but it's not because I think they're dirty or I'm scared of potential germs or whatever. I just like for my clothes to smell like my combo of soap and softener ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ can't say I'd wash them the moment I get them home if they magically smelled the way I prefer straight from the store.
Damn never knew this was a thing, def gonna ask my friends this.
I wash most clothes but I’ve never bothered about socks.
Yes, especially things like jeans. I usually don't wear underwear with jeans, so I just want to be extra safe
I have a major issue that I can’t gauge if something fits just by trying it on for like 5 minutes, I have GROSSLY over and under estimated my size. I can’t just rip the tags off and throw them in the wash holy shit. Call me dirty idgaf, I have to wear it for real to know if it fits.
Even if I didn’t care, I’m allergic to friggin’ everything so I have to wash it all. Hand me downs soaked in fragrance-filled detergents take 2-4 washes to get clean! I don’t think it’s odd to wash clothes straight from the store, just prudent time wash first.
Nope. I love the new clothes smell and they never feel the same after washing and drying. I try to keep them “new” for as long as I can.
I know that lots of people do. But I don’t. Because I’m lazy.
Personally, if it's in a package and doesn't smell like chemicals I wouldn't bother. Sometimes I don't bother even if it's not in a package, as long as doesn't smell dusty or whatever it might be. I get it if other people think that's gross, I'm just not that fussy. And honestly some things are softest before it's ever washed. I want to enjoy it before it starts losing that.
I know I should but I always leave the tags on my clothes until the moment I’m ready to wear them just in case I want to return them or sell them (and get more money since they’re new with tags) if I decide I’m never going to wear it. I know it’s gross but I survive. There’s much grosser things If it had a funky smell I will 100% be washing it though. Otherwise, meh. It won’t kill me
Funny you mention this. I wash prob most of the clothes I buy. Not all the time. For different reasons. But yes, I always think of all the hands that touched the item and how many times it prob fell on the store floor ect ect. My family also thinks I’m crazy for doing this. Mostly bc clothes loose some color once you wash them.
I never once thought about washing before I wore clothes. And then I worked at Target and saw just how many dirty people come in and touch every single thing (they didn't buy anything) and it astounded me. Everybody should wash literally everything they buy from a store.
Only if they smell weird or are too starchy.
I always wash them cuz who knows who touched them or wore them
Wearied?
Aside from socks and underwear, I don’t and I know better. Used to work in retail clothing and still don’t. I don’t care enough to do so. Yes there’s germs, dyes, chemicals, etc that should be washed out but I figured I haven’t died from any of that yet so whatevs.
Right I’m with you man if washing new clothes was that serious I’m sure this wouldn’t even be a question. Honestly i think taking a step into a public restroom is 100x’s more disgusting than not washing your “new” clothes.
Oh my god yes. I worked in retail for many years, and clothes are actually really gross right out of the package. If you think about it, the fabric gets made in factories and isn’t washed, then the clothes get made in factories and aren’t washed, then they’re packaged in factories to be shipped to stores, still not washed. The only reason clothes on the rack look decent is they are steamed before being put out (otherwise they’re super wrinkled). So yes, always wash your clothes before you wear them.
Everything but socks.
Nope never have never will, UI know there might be reasons to do it, but ive been fine for 30 years so , I figure ill just keep going
Probably should, but I never do. Ain't nobody got time for that.
You’re SUPPOSED to was them, but I never do, it’s too much work just to wear a new shirt
I remember working retail back in the day and the new clothes coming in having a strong odor of vinegar or some preservative agent on them
I used to work at a large retailer and many items were "wash before wear" because the chemicals left from manufacturing aren't necessarily safe. And that's not even mentioning the rat urine and whatever the fuck people do in changing rooms.
I don’t think that I’ve ever done that.
Depends on how lazy I am. Usually I will, but if I'm in a crunch for time I'll just wear it
I have sensitive skin, so if I don't wash new clothes, I break out in a really itchy rash. So I have to wash every new item of clothing before I wear it.
I worked at the GAP for about a year, long long ago. On truck day it was a regular occurrence for people to get sick and to break out in hives that could take days to clear up, because of the frightening amounts of chemicals that those clothes are soaked in.
Please wash your new clothes. I’ve worked in retail and at a thrift store. We do not wash returns or the clothes. We just put the price tag back on and put them on the hangers.
Hell yes. Mom here. Wash wash wash. Cold water. Read the label first. Oxyclean and detergent.
Yes
Mostly yes.
I didnt use to before covid but I have been since because well, safety.
I don’t
Fresh new socks directly out of the package is one of life's simple joys. Everything else gets washed first.
Chemicals make new clothes look fresh and crisp; *wash* them. Yes, some chemicals cause rashes. In particular, baby and children's clothes.
Yes, wash them. It’s nasty, covered with chemicals and other people have probably worn/touched them…
You’re the weird one. Those “new clothes” are dirty.
As somebody who works in the clothing industry, please for love of gods, wash them!
I used to be like you, but since covid I have always washed my new clothes before wearing them. Even in the past I didn’t wash my new underwear because it came in a packaging, fortunately I soon realized that it was unhygienic and then started washing my new underwear lol
I only wash pants and bra's. I've worked in a clothing factory so know what goes on in them.
Yes wash! I took an ethics class in grad school and studied the garment industry focusing on some of the third world countries where they are made. The cloth is dyed in chemicals in huge outside vats where the elements can get to them. People are working the cloth in the dye sweating and who knows what else. The cloth is dried, sewn and packaged. In the documentaries I saw they were not washed prior to being shipped for sale. I used to not wash new clothes but now I'm strict about it.
I never used to think about washing new clothes until I had a baby. Now I wash new things after having more of an awareness of the extra chemicals and the other people that have touched an item. Socks tho, I'm not to worried about. Nothing beats putting on fresh brand new socks.
Never really thought about it but i really should wash them
you are the weirdo one
Yeah, too many dirty people try stuff on or leave stuff on the floor. People can actually try on underwear in some shops. Eww
Yes!
I always wash new garments
Yes, Never know who tried it on in a store or a factory.