Honestly, I actually can’t remember when the last time I washed my bra was.
And if you’re being honest with yourself, you don’t either.
We, collectively, are scum.
It turns out that we should actually be washing the undergarments much more frequently than we ever imagined.
Joshua Zeichner, M.D., a New York–based dermatologist, told BuzzFeed that we should be washing our bras AT LEAST once a week.
“Because if you don’t wash it more than that, you really can have accumulation of dirt, oil, sweat, and bacteria,” he says (judgey).
In actual fact, it turns out the small scrapes of fabric should be washed far more frequently than anything else.
“Our general rule is that the closer that something is to your body the more frequently you have to wash it,” says Mary Begovic Johnson, senior scientific communications manager at Procter & Gamble. “Since bras are in intimate contact with your body we recommend washing bras after three wears at the most. And after each wear if you’re perspiring heavily.”
Zeichner says it all comes down to sweat and any bra in contact with sweat should be washed loads.
“If you’re wearing a sports bra and you’re exercising and generating a lot of sweat, then that bra should be washed before you wear it the next time,” he says.
“If you’re wearing an underwire bra that’s really pushed up right against you in the fold underneath the breast, then that bra may have a higher chance of being colonized by dirt and bacteria, versus if you’re wearing a soft cup bra.”
So yeah, there you go. Weekend plans sorted.