Do You Wash New Clothes Before Wearing Them?

Yes, I do! Aside from clothes and underwear, I also wash new bed sheets, towels, and kitchen towels before using. Basically, anything with skin contact gets washed. It is difficult to know how many people would have tried on that top before you. It can also go back to when the clothes were being stitched, packed, shipped and displayed. That’s so many hands already, not counting the number of people who would have touched it to look at it.

My friend suddenly started to develop a red itchy skin on his chest while we were out one day, and we came to a conclusion that it might have been the new t-shirt he was wearing that day. The irritations might have come not from other people wearing it, but the chemicals that are in the textile. The dyes that are used to dye the textile have chemicals, and some use anti-mildew sprays on the textile to prevent molds sprouting up. These can potentially cause irritations and should be washed off.

Donald Belsito, a professor of dermatology at Columbia University Medical Center in New York told WSJ new clothing often contains harmful chemicals that can cause rashes and itchiness. Despite the “made in” label on many store-bought purchases, items are often stitched, dyed, and sent out from various countries, each with different chemical laws. He also adds that the worst places are the dressing rooms. “I have seen cases of lice that were possibly transmitted from trying on in the store, and there are certain infectious diseases that can be passed on through clothing,” so to be on the safe side, its always a good idea to wash your clothes, one or two cycles, before wearing them.