How often should you wash your bra is a question that many women have asked, and it is a good one. After all, the rest of your clothes gets washed regularly even if they were worn only once or twice. So why do we wear our bras so much more often? And just how dirty can this clothing get anyway?
I speak from experience when I say that my bras are usually pretty filthy after wearing them for a few hours, especially if I wore a low-cut shirt or top. The underwire seems to hold in moisture and odor like no other material ever could. This is true whether I’m sweating profusely at the gym or not doing anything but going to class every day!
So how often should you wash your bra then? I asked Victoria’s Secret, the popular American lingerie chain store, for their opinion on this matter. Here is what they said:
“We recommend washing your bra after wearing it 2-3 times (even if you haven’t worn it that often).
This is because most materials used in bras are made with cotton and nylon which hold onto dirt and bacteria, even when brand new. As a general rule of thumb here at VS, we say wash them every time you wear them and air dry.” -Victoria’s Secret Employee
So there you have it! You should wash your bras after two or three uses because all fabrics contain traces of skin cells as well as other impurities that can cause unwanted odor or even infection to occur if allowed to fester inside your garment.
However, do not toss out your bras if they are or seem old because you can always revive them a little bit by washing them! I often wash the bands and sometimes even the whole bra just to freshen it up again. This is especially true for sports bras since they are usually more elastic than other types of bras such as longline or push-up styles which may stretch less easily in the future.
And although VS advises air-drying your garments after washing them, there are also dryer balls that you can use instead to save time and electricity. If you do this, however, make sure to check on the garment from time to time so that it does not get overheated during drying!
And as a very last note, do not store your bras in close proximity to heat. A hot dryer or heater can cause the underwire inside your garments to expand and possibly even break off! Just make sure that you wash them often enough that this doesn’t happen!
Remember, Dirty Bras & Body Odor = yucky bras.
You don’t want that, so wash them after every time you wear them.
