Here’s why you should wash new clothes before you wear them

Do you wash your new clothes before you wear them? It turns out that you really should.

I’m going to be honest here. I’d wash underwear, bedclothes and towels before I use them. Not so much normal clothes. I just think that, because they’re brand new and people try things on for all of 30 seconds, they should be ready for wearing. Also, I don’t want to risk shrinking something I’ve just bought and besides, once you start washing, the time starts ticking down to when you have to throw it out. Anyway, that’s enough about my reasoning, it turns out that you should always wash a new item of clothing before wearing it. Clothing manufacturer Lana Hogue told Elle.com that there are two reasons why new clothes need to go in the washer before you put them on. Firstly, the trying-on process will leave them with a lot of germs and secondly, garments are covered with chemicals that can cause serious side effects when in contact with the skin. Lana explained that even natural fibres are treated with chemicals that can potentially lead to issues such as dermatitis. She explained: “You should absolutely wash clothes before you wear them. Especially anything that is right next to the skin or that you will sweat on.” So, that's our plans sorted for tonight... wash everything new that we've bought in the last month!