You Don’t Need to Wash Your Jeans as Often as You Think

How often you should wash your jeans has been a laundry day dilemma since blue jeans were invented more than 150 years ago. In a recent poll, 57% of respondents said they wash their jeans after every couple of wears, 29% said they only wash their jeans when soiled, 13% wash them after every wear, and 2% don’t wash their jeans at all. According to experts, a happy medium exists, and several factors should be considered to help keep denim looking and feeling fresh without overwashing.

How Often Should You Wash Your Jeans?

Many denim experts have weighed in on this hotly debated topic, including expert and “The Laundry Guy” host Patric Richardson. Richardson believes 10 wears is the ideal number to reach before throwing your jeans in the wash. This is a general rule of thumb for everyday wear in relatively clean environments. Of course, if your jeans are stained, noticeably dirty, or smelly before 10 wears, wash them. In warm weather, dusty or dirty conditions, or heavy-duty jobs, denim must be cleaned much more often, sometimes after every wear, because built-up dirt can break down the fabric and damage it.

Why You Shouldn’t Over-Wash Denim

According to a recent poll, 13% of respondents wash their jeans after every wear. This damages most types of denim because it breaks down the fibers faster and causes fading, especially in dark wash denim, which suffers the most during frequent washes. Aside from preserving the integrity of your jeans, waiting for a few extra wears to wash them conserves water.

How to Properly Wash Jeans

There are a few things to keep in mind when washing your jeans:

• To prevent fading and damage to denim, use a cold wash cycle and a gentle detergent.

• If your jeans are very dirty or smelly, washing them in warm water might be necessary to remove stuck-in grime, but avoid using a hot water cycle, which is more damaging and can cause shrinkage. 

• Turn the jeans inside out before washing them to preserve the color and texture of the fabric.

• Close all buttons and zippers to prevent snags and stretching. 

If you are concerned about damaging your jeans in the washing machine, take this bit of advice from Chip Bergh, the CEO of Levi Strauss, who says he never puts his denim in the washing machine. Instead, he spot-cleans stains with stain remover and, when needed, washes the entire garment by hand in the shower using soap and warm water. 

How to Properly Dry Jeans

Air-drying jeans by laying them out on a flat surface is the safest course of action. Hang-drying jeans, especially outside on a breezy day, can speed up the drying process, but it can create unwanted stretching and damage to the waistband due to the weight of the wet denim, so it shouldn’t be your first choice. If you’re crunched for time, putting jeans in the dryer on a low-temperature setting is a good last resort. 

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