University student Josh Le wore the same pair of jeans for 15 months, racking up 330 wears of the $US165 Nudie Jeans while studying at the University of Alberta. Every now and then he would give it a sniff-test, and if he detected a slight pong he’d stick them in the freezer for a few hours.
After the lengthy test-period, Le and his professor swabbed the jeans, then finally washed them. He then wore the jeans for 13 days, after which they swabbed them again – and discovered that bacteria-levels were the same regardless of the length of wear.
Now, I do have a couple of issues with this experiment. After 15 months of continuous wear, the bacteria and stains were probably so steeped in the fibre that just one wash probably wasn’t enough to get it all out. What they should’ve done was swabbed the jeans after a few days’ use, before the lengthy test started.
Also, 13 days? Who wears the same pair of jeans for 13 days and considers that a normal wear period? Perhaps after you’ve donned the same trews for 15 months, but I consider five wears to be the maximum before needing a wash.
Considering Le is now holding a competition with a friend to see who can wear a (new) pair of jeans the longest, three years down the line we may get some new data to chew over. [ABC via Gawker]
Image Credit: This Is Awkward
Tim
Tuesday, January 25, 2011 at 10:01 AMI don’t exactly wear them every day but as a rule I rarely, if ever, wash jeans. I’ll hang ‘em to air out and spot clean when required but not washing them makes them hold their colour for longer and they seem to last a bit longer since I stopped washing them.
Travis New
Tuesday, January 25, 2011 at 11:05 PMWell when I bought a few jeans the instruction suggested you should only wash them every 6-8 months and hang them inside out while showering(steam) or inside out outside in the shade(to prevent fading).
I mean $400 jeans raw dyed will keep their colour for a while but yeah hardly wash mine and they never smell a single bit.
Mr Wongle
Tuesday, January 25, 2011 at 10:03 AMI wear mine for about 1-2 months before washing. My wear is EVERY single day of the week for aminumum of 7 hours.
No problem no smell
luck
Tuesday, January 25, 2011 at 10:09 AMi only wash my jeans every few months. i didn’t find putting them in the freezer works. i put mine out in the sun for a couple of hours every few days, inside out. works a treat!
Sam Cook
Tuesday, January 25, 2011 at 11:36 AM…Wow, apparently (so far) I’m the only person who washes their jeans after only a day or two’s wear… I always thought that was the norm…
Elly Hart
Tuesday, January 25, 2011 at 11:48 AMI was always told that jeans should only be washed once a month at most. To preserve colour and avoid too much shrinkage.
Sam Cook
Tuesday, January 25, 2011 at 12:27 PM“once a month” is a time frame which is greatly affected of frequency of wear though.
For some people, washing a pair of jeans once a month, is paramount to washing after every wear. For me, if I washed my various jeans once a month, it’d be much closer to washing after every 4-5 wears…
Biderjum
Tuesday, January 25, 2011 at 12:51 PMYour not the only one, I occasionally will make a pair of jeans ‘backup’ if required but generally washed after every use, prolly because most of the time they have received some level of alcoholic beverage spillage.
Travis Young
Tuesday, January 25, 2011 at 1:43 PMSeriously… once a month. eww.
I ‘might’ wear a pair for a week between washes, but it’s unlikely. Cold water wash, inside out and a good quality pair of jeans should last ages.
Of course, the denim used seems to be a factor. Levis these days seem to use the thinnest shittiest denim and disintegrate within a year.
Reynauld Adsett
Tuesday, January 25, 2011 at 3:09 PMAlso depends the climate where you live & play.
Wearing jeans everyday in a temperate climate will have different characteristics to wearing them in sub tropics.
John
Tuesday, January 25, 2011 at 8:58 PMI only wash my jeans if they get dirt or mud or whatever unsightly mess on them. Otherwise I don’t wash them, longest record being about 6 months.
Cody
Wednesday, January 26, 2011 at 11:00 PMI wash jeans about every 6 months, 3 months if it’s a hot summer period and I’m sweaty (wearing them a couple times a week).
The manufacturers recommend it. They don’t smell. Get over it.
Tim Davis
Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 12:37 PMThink about the environment! People’s standards of cleanliness are way too high these days. Washing your jeans after a couple of wears is a massive waste of water
Ross
Thursday, April 14, 2011 at 6:21 AMAm I the only person in this thread who farts and sweats?