Can I wash my yoga pants as infrequently as I wash my jeans? Asking for a friend…
Laundry is my least favorite chore. I can deal with cooking (because I like to eat) and cleaning (because I like being organized), but I cannot tolerate laundry. As soon as I think I’m done, there’s always more waiting for me. It’s like these dirty clothes sneak up behind me and latch onto my back.
If you’re like me, you have piles of laundry hiding in the corners of your closet. I know you love wearing those comfy yoga pants, but how many wears can you go without washing them?
According to Dierdre Hooper, M.D., a dermatologist at Audubon Dermatology in New Orleans, it turns out we should be washing those yoga pants after each wear. “Bacteria and yeast will rub off on your clothes while you wear them, especially if they’re tight-fitting,” she says. “Many of those bacteria will still be on those clothes the next day—possibly in higher number if they’ve multiplied, which they can do even when the clothes are dry.”
If you put those pants on for a second wear without a wash, you run the risk of introducing new bacteria to your skin. It increases the likelihood of developing skin infection and irritation.
But wait, it gets worse…
Hooper also recommends washing your jeans after each wear. Apparently, the same bacteria that rubs onto your yoga pants can also end up on your jeans. She says you should at least toss them in the dryer for twenty minutes after a day of wearing them. So, wearing your jeans for three months straight without a wash is apparently not advised by the medical professionals.
Additionally, another reason we should be frequently washing our pants is do to a little thing called odor fatigue. If you sweat in your clothes and that sweat dries, you may not smell it if you perform the ever popular sniff test. However, once you start sweating in those clothes again, they’ll smell two times worse than normal. In conclusion kiddies, wash those pants more often.
[Featured Image Credit: Cosmopolitan]