Which 'new' things do you wash before using?

Yesterday my husband bought new bed linen, that will be washed before we use it.

I just don't understand... the less washing I do the better and washing clean new things isn't something I would ever do. OTOH I did once buy a duvet cover which turned out to be very starchy and stiff - so I did take that off and washed it.
 
I just don't understand... the less washing I do the better and washing clean new things isn't something I would ever do. OTOH I did once buy a duvet cover which turned out to be very starchy and stiff - so I did take that off and washed it.
Here's a thought:

Living in a world of scented detergents, it could be that many folks, without realizing it, associate the smell of freshly-laundered items with the concept of "clean." Something isn't clean until it smells like "Mountain Rain" or "Spring Meadow," therefore, into the laundry it goes.

My wife did just buy some new clothes for her week in Floorda (as we say it where I live), and I did remind her to get them in the laundry for their first go-round before packing them. 🧼
 
Here is another question for folk who wash new clothes and other fabrics: what do you do if you buy something which is dry clean only? Surely if you take it to a dry cleaner for cleaning it will become 'soiled' by others touching it? I'm being devil's advocate...

Also - and maybe we have covered this, it must be very difficult sleeping in hotel beds knowing other people have touched the sheets.
 
Here is another question for folk who wash new clothes and other fabrics: what do you do if you buy something which is dry clean only? Surely if you take it to a dry cleaner for cleaning it will become 'soiled' by others touching it? I'm being devil's advocate...

Also - and maybe we have covered this, it must be very difficult sleeping in hotel beds knowing other people have touched the sheets.

And possibly pissed the bed?
 
Here is another question for folk who wash new clothes and other fabrics: what do you do if you buy something which is dry clean only? Surely if you take it to a dry cleaner for cleaning it will become 'soiled' by others touching it? I'm being devil's advocate...

Also - and maybe we have covered this, it must be very difficult sleeping in hotel beds knowing other people have touched the sheets.
You seem fixated on the "somebody else touched it" aspect of this. There are other reasons as well, like just to freshen something up, or to get the deeply-set wrinkles out that a shirt that's been folded and packed in a wrapper for months has. Sure, it could be ironed, but to get those wrinkles out takes a lot of ironing, or a 15-minute spin on my quick-wash cycle. I know which one I'm choosing! :)

I'm assuming that during the manufacturing process clothes/linens/towels are washed a few times, to set the dyes, to pre-shrink, etc. once an item goes to shipping and then makes it to the shop floor, it's probably spent considerable time in dusty warehouses, and dirty shipping containers, so washing it once is just a way to knock all that bit of dust and dirt off, and get it smelling more like something clean, and less like a warehouse, cardboard box, greasy truck, or whatever it is a department store smells like.

I have some clothing items that are seasonal. From about November to March, I take out several cold-weather items from a couple of plastic bags that have been packed away, I put in several warm-weather items. What's the first thing I do with the items I unpack? Into the wash, just to liven them up a bit.

As for dry clean only items - before I wear them for the first time, they go to the dry cleaners. That way, they're as reasonably clean as can be before I pop them on.
 
You seem fixated on the "somebody else touched it" aspect of this.

I was responding to the fact several folk had mentioned the touching aspect as a reason (see below):

Yesterday I bought 2 new nightshirts, they were washed this morning, who knows how many hands have been on them?
@Lullabelle you are right on . There is no way to know how many hands have touched your fabrics or your food. Kind of creepy when you stop and think about it.

There are other reasons as well, like just to freshen something up, or to get the deeply-set wrinkles out that a shirt that's been folded and packed in a wrapper for months has. Sure, it could be ironed, but to get those wrinkles out takes a lot of ironing, or a 15-minute spin on my quick-wash cycle. I know which one I'm choosing!

I can perfectly well understand the latter as a reason. :okay:
 
When it comes to clothes it is more about how many people have tried them on!

I try to avoid Dry Clean Only clothing. Two or three years ago I purchased a suit (that I can not get into :mad:) and had it cleaned before wearing.

IDK about men but I know that a lot of women do not wear undergarments Clothing gets washed first.

Hotels used to use colored/patterned bedspreads. After a lot of bad publicity the chains now use white sheets and duvet covers and mattress pads. The chains wash the duvet covers and strip the bed to the mattress after each guest. I have noticed that the house cleaners use gloves.
I do not walk bare foot in a hotel room. I always have slippers or flip flops. I used to travel a lot more than I do now. Every time I stayed in a hotel and walked around bare foot I would come home with athlete's foot. Has not happened since I started wearing something on my feet.

I do not think I am a germaphobe. Just cautious and aware.

One thing that makes me want to scream is seeing young children in a shopping cart gnawing on the handle. :eek: I want to smack the parent.
 
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Yesterday I bought 10 pairs of socks, washed them today.

:ohmy: We really differ on this topic. No way am I going to start washing new socks or any other new clothes. Stroking a pet (even if hands are washed afterwards) is going to produce much more of a hygiene issue than wearing new clothes. And I've probably said this before, but its surprising how many people will happily let their cat walk across a kitchen surface. Given that if I came into their kitchen, climbed onto their kitchen surface and walked over it in boots that I had been wearing outside or been treading in a cat litter tray, they would be horrified, I find this extraordinary. My sister falls into this category.

Mind you, with all this hand washing obsession due to corona virus in the UK we could all end up as 'germophobes'.
 
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