How Often Should I Wash That? The Honest Laundry Guide

I’ll put my hand up here. For years I’ve washed my bedding once a week and my pillowcases twice a week, and genuinely thought I was ahead of the game. Turns out I wasn’t far off, but writing this piece sent me down a proper rabbit hole of what laundry experts actually recommend, and a few of the answers surprised me.

Sheets and pillowcases are the ones people ask about most, and for good reason. Laundry experts generally agree that once a week is the gold standard for sheets, since they collect sweat, dead skin cells and body oils every single night. Pillowcases genuinely do warrant more frequent washing than the rest of your bedding, since they sit directly against your face, absorbing skincare products, hair oils and sweat. Twice a week is a very sensible habit for pillowcases specifically, particularly if you sleep on your side, sweat a lot (hello menopausal ladies) or wear a lot of night time skincare.

Bath towels can go three to five uses before they need a wash, so long as you’re hanging them properly to dry fully between uses rather than leaving them bunched up on a rail or hook (thank you to to whoever invented heated towel racks!). A towel that stays damp between uses is one of the main causes of that musty smell, which is actually bacteria building up, not just “towel smell.” Hand towels in a shared bathroom are a different story, these are touched constantly and should be washed every one to two days, especially through winter cold and flu season.

Bras genuinely don’t need washing after every single wear. Three to four wears is the general guide, and giving them a proper rest to air out between wears actually helps the elastic recover, which extends their life as well as keeping them fresher. If you’ve been particularly active or worn one through a hot day, that’s an obvious exception. Personally, I’m an every couple of days girl.

This is the one people feel most strongly about, and the truth is jeans can go far longer between washes than most other clothing, somewhere between three and five wears depending on who you ask, since frequent washing actually breaks down denim fibres and fades colour faster. Unless there’s a visible stain or an obvious smell, jeans are one item where under-washing is genuinely the better habit, not just a shortcut. I’ll be honest, I usually wash mine after each wear.

Pyjamas are worn for around eight hours at a stretch and pick up sweat and skin cells the whole time, so two wears is the general recommendation, stretching to three or four if you shower right before bed each night. Loungewear you wear all day around the house should be treated the same way, since a full day in the same fabric means more body oil absorbed than you might expect. Same with jeans, I tend to only wear my pjs once and get a clean pair out the next night.

When in doubt, trust your senses over the calendar. Visible stains, a genuine odour, or noticeable sweat marks mean it’s time for a wash regardless of how many times you’ve technically worn something. Everything else can comfortably follow the guides above without you needing to feel guilty about the load sitting one more day before it goes in.

I don’t know about you, but knowing I don’t need to wash my jeans after every wear alone has made me feel considerably better about the size of my laundry pile.