Wash Brand New Clothes?

Ok - I cannot be the only one out here who has NEVER washed anything before I wore it. And although you all make great arguments for why I would want to wash before wearing (CoMoMom), I don't think I ever will. I barely have time to do my laundry after it's worn!

:)

I wash EVERYTHING before I wear it. Just like I wash off the tops of cans before I open them with a can opener. You just don't know what has gotten on them before packaging or while sitting after packaging.
And yes, stuff is put on clothes before it is put in the stores. Don't they look different after you've washed them? They feel different, too.

From what I understand, some of them have stuff like formaldehyde put on them. I know some is to make them hang nicely from hangers while for sale in stores but I wonder if they also use chemicals to keep pests away, like moths and such. I wouldn't want that on ANY clothes I wear. Undies or "outies" ... LOL

I don't think I've ever taken any item out of a package that was sealed and washed it before wearing it. I don't wash new clothes either. I do wash things I buy at garage sales, consignment stores, and have given to me.

I have allergies and if the garment was around a cat or perfume I am going to either break out in hives or get a migraine so anything that is used I am washing and drying first.

As for other stuff, not going to waste my time. I might toss a folded item that is new in the dryer with a wet washrag to get the wrinkles out so I don't have to iron it.

ETA - if you think "nice shops" don't use factories in China or Taiwan you're wrong. This is across the board regulation for anything that is sent over on a boat. No matter what the price point or where it's made, it's a US Regulation that it can't have bugs on it when it hits customs. has NOTHING to do with the price point or the high/low end of the shop spectrum. But to each his own, I guess.

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Original Answer:
I used to work in retail - PLEASE WASH EVERYTHING BEFORE WEARING IT. NO MATTER WHAT IT IS.

First of all - not just jeans - EVERYTHING is sprayed with both formaldehyde AND pesticides before leaving the dock from whatever island they were made on the trip to America. This way the clothing does mold in the damp environment and any bugs that were present in the factory will die within a few weeks.

A few weeks.

That means that any insects that made it into the boxes and onto the ship will have pooped or peed or laid eggs all over your plastic package of undies. And MOST of the plastic bags are NOT air tight - for a reason... the chemicals NEED to get inside and the clothing (ESPECIALLY if it's cotton) needs to breathe.

Besides the conditions in those factories are deplorable. MANY other countries have HUGE rat problems. So, rats have been running ALL OVER those clothes and the fabric before the item was made.

DISGUSTING.

I wash EVERYTHING.

I wash them because you don't know what got on them during manufacturing.

ABSOLUTELY!! Wash everything before you wear it on your body. Clothing can be sprayed with toxic chemicals (formaldehyde on jeans, etc.), cotton may have pesticide residues, other humans have handled/made the clothing in dirty factories in other countries, etc.

I always do, mostly because in my job, I've been inside factories and in the back-of-house of retail stores, and let's just say none of them are as clean as my own home. Just for the heck of it, I wash new clothes so I know they're clean. ;)

Yes. I always wash them.
Remember, first off, that the fabric likely has sizing on it or is treated with another agent to make it workable. Most every fabric at the fabric store has sizing (starching) on it of some sort--makes it a little thicker to the touch and helps it lie flat.

The factories do not prewash fabric before sewing. PLUS someone had their hands on those panties... and if it's today's garment manufacturing industry, likely several people between assembly (piecework) and packaging.

Egad- after reading CoMoMom's and others accounts of where they've been... ugh.

I wash everything that is washable before we wear it. This includes new jackets, hats and gloves as well.
We have too many allergies not to. Have you smelled some of those new clothes out of the package? We just bought new underwear for my son that needs the next size up. As I'm unfolding them from the package to put in the washer you could smell those chemicals. They were stiff to the touch as well, like they had starch in them or something. Washed and dried they weren't stiff and didn't smell like they did out of the package.
The only time I don't wash something is if we bought it because of an accident while we're out or something. This is rare.

Wash them! I don't usually wash new clothes either, but I always wash underwear before I start wearing them.

I worked retail and I have never washed my new clothing. But maybe because I shop at nice shops.

Each time you wash them they will start to not look new. f I purchase clothing from a resell shop or something, I would.

Especially dry cleaned clothing.

Never had a reaction or a problem.

Imagine how many people have tried on the shoes you all are trying on and not purchasing, do you wipe them out before you wear them?

I do wash and dry the linens since they are full of lint.

Clothing is often treated with formeldahyde and can be exposed to other toxic chemicals while it is in the shipping container. Oftentimes shipping containers are fumigated before being imported. I always wash every piece of clothing that I buy before I wear it or put it on my kids.

I was EVERYTHING before we wear it, ewww

I always wash everything (unless there is an emergency and someone needs clothes asap). Most dyes can come off on your skin and regardless of the chemicals they use in the threads someone could have put something on it (rare I know but there are nutty people out there).

While I don't always wash a new shirt prior to wearing it, I always wash panties/underwear. They're usually cotton/cotton blend and need to be washed so they have the right shape and shrink to the correct size.

I always wash new clothes unless they are dry clean only.

I always wash everything before I wear it.

I have never washed anything new before wearing it. I'm 52 and so far I have not seen negative effects.To me, once washed, the clothes don't feel new any more. And the stories below have done nothing to change my opinion. Formaldehyde is everywhere...it is used in the production of cars, carpet, facial tissue, table napkins, paper towels, toothpaste, cream, personal hygiene products, paint...the list goes on.

I have heard that you should, but personally I love the feeling of wearing something when it is brand new before it has been washed. Since I buy most of our clothes used I don't often get to have the crisp brand new clothes feeling!

Even if no one tried them on, you have no idea what they might have been contaminated with at the factory. I wash ALL new items of clothing before wearing them.
I worked in softlines, and saw (and smelled) how nasty some people are when they come into the fitting room to try on clothes.

I would bet men Never wash anything before they ware it! They haven't died out as a species.

Wash. Most commercially-produced clothing does have setting chemicals on the fabric to make it easier to sew, and to keep the products smooth and new-looking. Formeldehyde, a known carcinogen, is a common preservative in these additives, and the other ingredients are not necessarily stuff you'd willingly apply to your skin. Which is a big sponge, capable of absorbing all sorts of chemicals and drugs (medicated patches, anyone?), especially when moisture is present.

My grandmother worked for several years in a fabric store, and she became very sensitized to the sizing on the new cloth. She had severe eczema on her arms continually while working there.

I wash everything just because of the dust that collects on things triggers everyone's allergies in my house.

Wash. I was all of my new clothes and bedding. No question at all.

With the severity of bed bugs and other parasites - wash.

I always wash anything new before wearing it--except shoes! ;)

I never wash anything new. Never have and probably never will.

I've always washed new underwear. We don't get "new" clothes often, we get most of our stuff at thrift stores so we wash them. I did get my girls some new clothes for starting school and I wasn't totally sure if I needed to wash them or not, it seems they're so crisp and new like but after reading coco's response I guess I'll have to wash them now, LOL. It's funny because my daughter asked me the other day "mama, since we bought these new do we have to wash them first?"

In college my roomie used to buy new underwear if she hadn't done her laundry in time. She survived. I wash everything first. Yicky chemicals.

My wife will wear new things before washing them, I won't.
Including the undies.

I always wash everything first before I wear them. I've heard about the chemicals too and with other clothing (besides underwear) who knows who has already tried them on!

If it helps, I always put new undies in the wash. Like with my husband's and son's new underwear, they aren't soft until they've been washed. I'm sure there's more of a reason to wash them, but this is the reason I do it...

I never wash any new clothes before I wear it. If I wash it, to me, its not new anymore. I do wash hand me downs though, unless they came from my sister or mom, I don't.

Mommy of 1, your not the only one, and I'm pretty sure there's alot more of us out there too :)

I never wash new underwear and so far my, my husband's, my 2 son's, and my daughter's, nether regions are just fine.

I always wash new clothes......definitely underwear;)