Let’s face it; no one wants to wash their pants after every wear. Washing jeans and pants take up a ton of laundry space and can be time-consuming. We all would love to re-wear our favorite pairs of pants day after day if we weren’t afraid that those pants wouldn’t smell after a few days and nights on the town. Regardless, everyone has different opinions on how often they should be washing their pants or jeans—but does anyone really know the answer?
Deciding how often you should be throwing your pants in the washing machine can be a real struggle. While washing your pants more often than not leaves them smelling fresh and fights stains, spacing out your washes can help your pants look newer for longer and cut down on a ton of laundry time. Both sides of the argument make sense. At the end of the day, it largely comes down to preference.
Some Fabrics Last Better Than Others
At Western Rise, we create pants that mitigate the need for daily washes because of their resistance to stains and odors. That way, you don’t need to debate whether wearing your pants for a second day will come across as unclean or smelly. Every day you wear our pants looks like the first because they maintain their original state so well.
Depending on your lifestyle, the consensus is to wash your pants as often as you feel they need to be washed. By researching what materials your pants are made out of, you can get a good idea about how they retain the moisture and bacteria that would normally make your clothes smell after a day’s wear.
For example, cotton retains the majority of its weight in moisture, so it takes longer to dry and hangs onto bacteria for longer. This means you will want to wash cotton products more often. However, by purchasing moisture-resistant materials such as polyester, nylon, and spandex, you ensure that your pants can resist these naturally occurring smells.
Our Evolution Pants are a great example of pants that can be worn multiple days in a row without needing to be washed. Pants that keep their integrity for long periods do not have to be washed as often, meaning they look good as new for longer.
There’s Such a Thing as Too Much Washing
Hygiene can be a delicate balance. Of course, you can wash your pant too infrequently—smells and stains make that apparent, even if they’re rare. Still, you can wash your pants too often, which leads to its own set of problems.
From a purely aesthetic standpoint, overwashing your pants can lead to visible wear in the fabric over time and fading in color. Many people purposefully run their pants through the washing machine a few times to achieve this more faded, worn-in look. However, if you’re not going for a grunge makeover, washing your pants too often might ruin your favorite pairs.
While how often you should wash your pants is a matter of debate, it seems as though you can go up to a month without washing them if you aren’t exerting too much energy while wearing them. If you cannot visibly see the dirt on your pants, you probably don’t have to wash them. Spacing out washes this way helps ensure that they will stay as close to their original, new form as possible.
The more you wash your pants, the more susceptible they are to breaking down and wearing out over time. When you consider washing your pants, think about how much you care about them potentially wearing out faster.
Energy Saver
By choosing materials resistant to moisture and odors, you invest in pants that do not need to be washed for long periods. By reducing the number of times you wash your pants, you also are saving a lot of energy and water.
Pants are a larger item that takes up a lot of space in a standard washing machine. When you minimize washes, you maximize space in your laundry loads. This leads to fewer loads overall. By not doing laundry as often, you save gallons upon gallons of water and an excessive amount of energy.
Making small changes in the way you shop for clothes can have a larger impact on your wallet, too. Your energy bill will thank you if your pants can endure fewer washes, and your clothes budget will thank you when you have to purchase new pants less often.
When shopping with a brand like Western Rise—who prides itself on sustainable clothing production —you can feel confident that you are doing your part for the environment.
When You Do Have to Wash
When it comes to washing darker wash pants, washing them on a gentle cycle or delicate will help minimize wear. We also recommend air drying your jeans and pants so that shrinkage does not occur from the heat cycle.
Regardless, just do a quick scan of your pants if you are going to re-wear them the next day and check if there is any visible damage or noticeable scent to ensure they do not need to be washed.
By doing a quick scan and knowing your fabrics, you’ll know when it's time to wash your pants. There isn’t one right answer when it comes to wash frequency; it comes down to how much daily wear and tear occur when you’re out and about. If you are more active, you may want to wash your pants more often than someone who rarely breaks a sweat.
Jeans and Pants That Last
All in all, you can decide how often to wash your pants based on your comfort level. The consensus is that you can wait a very long time before washing your pants and jeans and still be okay. Based on your level of activity and the number of substances you come into contact with, you should be okay to not wash your pants as long as there is no overwhelming scent or physical dirt.
Remember to do your research and find out which materials work best to fight normal smells and wear. If you can avoid fabrics that pick up moisture and hold onto odor-causing bacteria, then you can comfortably re-wear your pants without anyone noticing. Western Rise makes clothes that do the hard work for you so you can save your time, money, and energy for other, smellier laundry loads.
By using quality fabrics and materials that fight off odors and stains, we make sure that you don’t have to do a load of laundry every other day. We also ensure that your clothes are durable so they’ll last at any event on any day. With Western Rise, you can relax knowing your outfits are safe to wear day in and day out—wash or no wash.
Sources:
How Often You Wash Your Jeans, In Case You Were Wondering | Mind Body Green
How often should you wash your jeans? Use the smell test, experts say | USA Today
16 Ways to Save Money in the Laundry Room | Department of Energy
