You’re washing clothes too often – and it’s making people ‘feel sick’

According to a cleaning expert, it seems you can indeed be too clean. Personal hygiene is undeniably crucial, from brushing your teeth to showering and cleaning your clothes.

However, the frequency of these practices is up for debate. While it’s common knowledge that teeth should be brushed twice daily, the necessity of daily showers and the regularity of washing clothes are less clear-cut.

The fear of body odour can drive people to extremes, but TikTok cleaning sensation Ann Russell suggests we’re going overboard. “We are undoubtedly washing our clothes far too much,” she declared in a revealing TikTok clip, referencing an article where activist model Lily Cole encourages Brits to curb their laundry habits and embrace rewearing garments.

Ann, who shares her cleaning tips on her @annrussell03 handle, noted there’s a misconception about needing to wash clothes constantly to appear clean to others. She also highlighted the issue of overusing perfumes, not just on ourselves but also on our clothing and in our homes.

“Clean things don’t have a smell, that’s the whole point of washing your clothes and yourself – so that you don’t smell,” Ann said. Yet, many individuals resort to fragrances to cover up odours, and she admitted that “highly fragranced laundry detergent” makes her “get a headache and feel sick”.

“You don’t need to smell of laundry detergent to be clean, you just need to be clean and not have a smell,” she cautioned. “Your skin will thank you, your wallet will thank you and you’ll feel a lot happier.”

Ann revealed that she washes her jeans weekly, despite the fact she “wipes her hands” on them, and her fleece every week-to-10 days.

Her T-shirt is changed “every couple of days” unless she’s working in hot conditions, when she will “change it every day”. A study by Ecove, in collaboration with Galmouth University, discovered that 18% of the 2,000 Brits surveyed for their report in August mistakenly believed that washing less frequently would not impact the environment.

It also found that 75% thought they would face judgement from others if they wore the same clothes multiple days consecutively. Dr Cui Su, from the school of communication at Falmouth University, who contributed to the report, stated: “For decades, our relationship with laundry has been shaped by powerful cultural forces and advertising that have conditioned us to believe that ‘perfectly clean’ is the only acceptable standard. From the smell of freshly washed clothes to the crispness of fabrics, cleanliness has been presented not just as a necessity, but as a reflection of success.”

According to Dr Mary Stevenson, assistant professor of dermatology at NYU Langone Health in New York, how often you shower depends on numerous personal factors – including skin type, age and activity level.

Generally speaking, she advised: “You should be showering, bathing, or cleansing yourself every two to three day.”

On a similar note, cleaning guru Caroline Solomon concurred that the frequency of washing clothes hinges on one’s sweat levels. Yet, typically she suggests giving jeans a wash after five to ten uses, whereas T-shirts should be cleaned after “one to two wears”.