How many times can you rewear pajamas, jeans and other clothes?

How many times can you rewear pajamas, jeans and other clothes?   The number of times it’s appropriate to wear clothing items without washing them often seems based more on folklore or a person’s upbringing than professional advice.   Our beliefs about clothing hygiene are largely “societal and cultural,” said Dr. Anthony Rossi, an assistant attending dermatologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City and a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology. “People tend to over wash and ‘over hygiene’ themselves, because especially in America, we have a luxury of being able to do all that stuff all the time.”   Not knowing when to wash your clothes can have consequences on both ends of the spectrum. Washing them too infrequently could lead to skin problems or infections, and washing them too often could harm your clothing. The latter can also result in unnecessary laundry and use of resources.   Here are some guiding principles to help you determine when a garment can be worn again without washing and when it’s time to toss it in the hamper.   Experts say there are a few types that should be washed after every use: underwear, socks, tights, leggings and activewear. This advice also applies to any other clothes with stains, sweat, odor or visible dirt, said Manal Mohammed, a senior lecturer of medical microbiology at the University of Westminster in London.   When it comes to workout clothes, some people might let them dry via air or dryer and wear them again the next day, but that will only cause bacteria to grow, Rossi said.   For pajamas, outerwear, jeans and other clothes, how many times you can wear them without washing is based on the same principles for undergarments or activewear.   If you usually shower before bed, wear underwear and sweat little to not at all when wearing pajamas, you could wear them for a week without washing, experts said. But if you don’t do these things, you’d need to wash them every time.   Outerwear – such as coats or jackets – typically doesn’t need to be washed more than once a month since it doesn’t touch your skin, Rossi said. “If you’re wearing it every day, probably (wash it) every two weeks,” he suggested.   Many people prefer to wash their jeans less to maintain the integrity of the fabric, which is usually stiffer and more durable than others. If jeans aren’t sweaty, dirty or stained, they don’t have to be washed often, Rossi said. “I personally don’t wash my jeans,” he added.   Mohammed recommended washing jeans monthly but acknowledged it depends on your lifestyle and environment.   “If somebody were to tell me that they were wearing their jeans for months on end and not washing them and they hadn’t had any problems with their skin or problems with odor, I wouldn’t see any problem at all,” dermatologist Dr. Jeremy Fenton said.