Never wash your jeans ?


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The CEO of Levis Strauss, Chip Bergh, has some advice for you: Don't wash your jeans.

As in don't wash them ... ever. Speaking at Fortune's Brainstorm Green conference, Chip said he was sporting a pair that had "yet to see a washing machine" in over a year.

Worried about germs, you germaphobes? No problem, he says. Just stick your jeans in the freezer once a month next to the frozen waffles to kill off the bacteria. Apparently getting them icy will neutralize the sweat, coffee spills and other bodily fluids that might collect in the zipper or "seating" area. He also suggests spot cleaning with a sponge or a toothbrush.

While that could work for the stuff on the outside of your jeans, what about all the stuff your body cooked up that's on the flip side? Once you get 'em back up to body temperature, won't you be warming up those germs again? Yuck. :x

Jean freezing has become quite the craze in the past few years. It even comes with its own video tutorials and folding techniques posted online by bloggers around the country. Interesting, but somehow I doubt an overnight stay in the freezer is going to silence the filth festival that accumulates on a pair of jeans over the course of wearing them for 30 days straight.

Bergh claims that not washing your jeans keeps them in mint condition and helps conserve water.

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Filthy.   I don't see this working well for many people.

 

I try to wash then so they don't look that stretched in the knees, but with thicker material it is not a problem.   I still would wash them after about 4-6 days of wearing, since I want all my clothes clean, and not like a hippy. 

 

Some people do stupid stuff and think its the holy grail of invention.  So be it.  Just don't fall for the idiocy yourself.

Some jean fans never wash them. Others want it as aged and washed out as possible.  Does not mean either way is normal or even adequate. 

 

I wash when I feel it is right, and I let them age naturally.  Buying them with huge holes pre-made is a bit silly in my opinion.  Though I have brought jeans with reinforced "distress marks"  because they looked solid, holes and all, but reinforced and stitched.

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The jeans freezing is like the solution to the filthy sneakers!  Freeze them to kill the smell....   instead of just not wearing a smelly jeans in the first place!

 

How about you change your damn socks before they smell filthy? 

Then the sneaker will never smell, if you always got fresh socks on.  

It they still smell, ask a damn doctor, and change the socks even more frequently.

Freezing your trainers, is a silly hack job at making it better, without fixing the real issue at all.

 

 

Just like this Jean issue ;)

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This week I caught myself wearing the same jeans for more than 2 weeks. They truly never get dirty. Usually its upto a week or so depending on spots, dirtyness and smell.

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I wash all of my clothing, jeans included, after wearing them a single time. I don't see any reason not to... Clothing is meant to be worn and once it is no longer capable of being worn it is replaced. I'm not going to wear dirty clothes so they last longer...

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This week I caught myself wearing the same jeans for more than 2 weeks. They truly never get dirty. Usually its upto a week or so depending on spots, dirtyness and smell.

 

Sometimes bums dont think they smell bad either, because the smell is with them 24/7.      

 

I kid, I kid, you might be able to pull it off, many people do.    Still, not something I would practice.

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use the same method as produce, soak your jeans on warm or hot water, then immediately freeze it.

let see for how long your jeans could take that abuses.

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I wash all of my clothing, jeans included, after wearing them a single time. I don't see any reason not to... Clothing is meant to be worn and once it is no longer capable of being worn it is replaced. I'm not going to wear dirty clothes so they last longer...

Now that attitude I like.  If you can afford it, why the hell not. 

 

The only thing that I wear more then then 1 day is that one solid and heavy duty pair of jeans. This one is made rock solid with many parts and stitching, so it looks the same after 1 day or after 1 week.     Really no difference.   And the pair is unique. So I plan to wear it for many years, as no one ever will have anything similar.

 

Other then that, I wash EVERYTHING after the single you.    Why not.  If the article fail to stand up to regular washing... then I will just replace it with something else. Clothes are disposable, unless they are custom made.

 

 

Bergh claims that not washing your jeans keeps them in mint condition and helps conserve water.

 

 

Don't believe in the crap of saving water... this people who freeze their jeans don't do it because they want to save some water... there is a deeper issue here.

Laziness, wanting to justify their obsession with the jean they just spend a HUGE sum of money on...

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Sometimes bums dont think they smell bad either, because the smell is with them 24/7.      

 

I kid, I kid, you might be able to pull it off, many people do.    Still, not something I would practice.

Yeah my body odor is not so strong below the hips besides my feet on warm/humid days :p

I also hang my pants on a clothing line for some ventilation when I sleep, and usually when I get home in the evenings I put on some training/jogging pants.

Worn pants just feel much comfortable to me, I don't like it when it comes out of the machine. Only with jeans though, everything else I do like to wear clean.

 

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Sometimes bums dont think they smell bad either, because the smell is with them 24/7.      

 

I kid, I kid, you might be able to pull it off, many people do.    Still, not something I would practice.

 

I've said the same about potheads. Seattle stinks these days. :S I guess they mellow their manners away.

 

But hey, I rewear jeans, too. Truth is, it all depends on what you do day to day, your body, and so on. If you're an office drone like me who doesn't even sit in a chair most of the time (standing desk, yo), the only thing that's gonna make my pants dirty is me, and I don't exactly sweat much. A pair of my jeans can get a few days of wear before I wash them--not because they stink, but just because I start to feel bad about it.

 

Then you just wash jeans the way jeans should be washed: inside out, cold water, low spin. Dry them flat somewhere all the way, or give them a head start with a really short visit to the dryer.

 

It sounds like a lot of work to your average "I'm a dude stereotype", but like any ritual, do it a few times and it's all rote anyway.

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Then you just wash jeans the way jeans should be washed: inside out, cold water, low spin. Dry them flat somewhere all the way, or give them a head start with a really short visit to the dryer.

 

It sounds like a lot of work to your average "I'm a dude stereotype", but like any ritual, do it a few times and it's all rote anyway.

 

 

Exactly.   Any clothes I care about do NOT go in the drier! 

And I do not ever wash anything at any settings other then cold, and I use a good mild detergent (anything made for babies is usually a guarantee of quality).  

Gentle wash with line dry is the way....   

 

Maybe this is the reason this trend started. Because people don't know how to wash right.

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I have only ever owned one pair of jeans, and that was decades ago - can't stand them.

...

Since when are we allowed to use double-byte characters in our usernames?

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ew, never?   i wash them after wearing them maybe 4 or 5 times, depending on the weather.  it gets so hot and humid here, you just get sweaty walking from the front door to the car....

 

and sweat doesn't go away if you freeze them

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I think this was disproved some time ago on discovery or history. Bacteria accumulation in the groin area will start to create a fowl smell after a while and this was without taking into consideration people who sweat a lot (like me), most I can wear a pair of blues is twice or thrice, then it hits the washers and drier. I will admit, this method of constantly washing and machine drying has ruined/worn out several favorite pairs :/

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Well, if someone knows, is him.

 

the problem with washing jeans is that it spoils them, leaving a new pair like it's worn out (some like this look and wash new pairs alot until they get this look; others like the colors and washing them spoils those vivid colors). Also i dunno how freezing clothes removes stains from them and smell, but hey he's the CEO, so he must know something right? right? :laugh:

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