Should You Wash Clothes From Online?

Who doesn’t love online shopping for clothes? You spend hours browsing through different websites until that perfect garment catches your eye. With just a click of a button, that outfit will make its way to your front door, without you having to leave your home to go and buy it.

Research has shown that 35% of shoppers browse e-commerce stores for fashion inspiration at least once a week, which is not surprising, given how convenient online shopping for clothes is.

This begs the question, should you wash clothes from online?

After all, those are brand-new garments, so, surely, they don’t need washing, right?

Wrong!

In this article, we will explain exactly why you should wash your new clothing before you wear them, which we hope you find informative.

Should you wash clothes from online?

So, should you wash clothes from online?

As laundry experts, we would highly recommend washing all your new clothing before you wear them for the first time.

You may believe that the new garment you bought from an online shop is completely clean because it arrived fresh and neatly folded inside a crisp plastic bag. However, think again.

That new clothing item is probably not as clean as it appears. Dust and germs will naturally accumulate during the manufacturing process, especially if your garment has been used on a sewing machine or cutting machine.

Following this, the garment will have been transported from the manufacturing location to the stock location, where it will have sat in storage, probably in a dusty warehouse, until it made its way over to you.

The garment may also have been worn by other customers before it was returned to the business and re-sold to you.

Therefore, even new clothes will gather dust, dirt, and bacteria, which can become trapped in the fibres of the fabric. This is especially true if you buy clothes that were manufactured in a different country to you. That means multiple hands have touched and handled your garment, from the moment it was manufactured until it was packed in the box that was delivered to you.

So, why should you wash your new clothes before you wear them?

1.      You will wash away germs, dirt and grime.

The nastiest germs and bugs can infiltrate your new clothing. There could be all sorts of bacteria, fungi, viruses and even lice and scabies on the surfaces- which are not visible to the naked eye.

An American microbiology professor at New York University tested new clothing from popular chain stores and discovered there were skin flora, respiratory secretions, faecal bacteria, yeast and vaginal organisms on these supposedly ‘new’ garments.

Hence, new clothing can expose you to harmful germs, which will only be killed when the garments are washed with hot water and laundry detergent.

2.      There could be chemical irritants which were left behind in the fabric.

Have you ever worn new clothes, and then found yourself scratching your skin, because of that ‘new clothes itch’?

That may be because the clothing manufacturers have coated the garments in preservatives such as formaldehyde. The purpose is to remove wrinkles and to repel mould growth, in case there is moisture in the shipping container when the clothes are being transported from A to B.

Why is formaldehyde a harmful chemical? Well, it is linked to health problems such as asthma, dermatitis, nausea and cancer. In fact, exposure to formaldehyde can cause uncomfortable side effects such as irritation to the skin, throat, eyes and nose, and even long-term damage to the lungs.

Fortunately, any harmful chemicals on new clothing can be easily removed with just one spin cycle in the washing machine.

3.      New clothes could contain dyes which could transfer to your skin.

Fabrics are often dyed in different colours. When you wear your new outfit for the first time, these dyes can transfer to your skin. This happens a lot with very dark jeans or vibrant shades of red and blue.

You will know this has happened when the colours on your new clothes start bleeding and leave stains on your skin. These dyes can cause severe skin reactions, especially if the wearer is allergic to them, which can be dangerous (especially for young children).

For instance, a common dye used to manufacture clothes is AZO disperse dye, which is a carcinogenic synthetic dye that is easily absorbed by the skin and is linked to contact dermatitis.

Consequently, washing your new clothes before wearing them will wash out that extra dye and prevent any risk of skin reactions.