Ladies, how often do you wash your bras?

After wearing once? Twice a year? Until it smells? Never?

Recently, a social media user said that she washes her bras once every 6 months. As you can imagine, many were shocked; twice a year?! How on earth can you confidently walk around with a bra with 6 months old sweat?!  Poor tatas (breasts)!

Sounds nasty, right?

Well, this is not as gross as it sounds as many women wear a bra a few times before washing it.

This revelation got me curious, how often does everyone else wash their bras? I’d like to know the most common duration as we’re not all the same.

Every now and then, it’s totally fine to give the other genders the ‘tea.’ We are always bashing men for recycling underwear (yikes!) but do they know that women recycle bras?

So, how often do women wash their bras?

We talked to 30 women.

While most women said that they wash them weekly and once a month, others said that the weather determines the frequency: If it’s been too hot, it means that one sweat more so they wash more frequently than usual.

There’s also a category that said that the color of the bra determines how often it will be washed. White and brighter colors are washed more often as one can see how dirty they are. Black bras are thus washed less often for obvious reasons.

Others said that they wash them when they start smelling. I do not wish to discuss this further! Do you?

Others said the frequency is determined by how many hours they wear the bra in a day and their activity level (which determines how much they sweat). This category did not have a definite answer.

And then, there’s the special category of women who said that they wash it after wearing it only once. Yes, they exist! This group argued that a dirty bra has skin cells, oils, and sweat trapped and this is a very conducive environment for bacteria and yeast. That part is true.

Is there a recommended frequency?

Well, not exactly. In the same way, that recycling clothes is a personal decision, so is how often bras should be washed. However, in the spirit of bringing up a generation of clean people, how about washing them after wearing them one to three times? Sounds realistic?

Sports bras should be washed after every use though. I think we can all agree on this.

Let’s be honest though, every lady has an all-time favorite bra or bras. This is likely the bra that provides the best support, comfort and enhances the appearance of breasts. These bras are often used and abused thus they need more loving care.

Also, the process of washing the bras by hand is not exciting or easy. You have to wash the cups and straps gently and separately to conserve the fabric and structure. So, sometimes this is the reason some don’t wash frequently.  

Ladies, how often do you wash your bras?

Note: This article focuses on women’s bra washing patterns but we also acknowledge that some men with gynomastica wear a bra for support while others simply wear it to express their feminine side.

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LoveMatters Africa

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