Nowadays, shopping for fashion items such as clothes has become one of the essential needs of human beings. However, there is a common question, a concern that users often have when buying new clothes, which is: “Do new clothes need to be washed before wearing?”.
Experts conducted a survey on this question. The survey results showed that 22.8% of respondents answered that they would wash new clothes before wearing them; 61% said they would wash sensitive items such as underwear; and the remaining 8.24% shared that they usually don’t wash any type of clothes, regardless of what it is.
Illustrative image
So what is the most appropriate way to handle new clothes when they are just purchased? Do users need to wash them before wearing?
Experts provide the answer
Many users further explain that tight-fitting clothes, those that come into direct contact with the skin or sensitive areas of the body, are often washed before being worn more often. However, with other items, they feel that washing new clothes before wearing them is unnecessary. They even believe that the more clothes are washed, the quicker they become old and no longer look new.
Experts and clothing store owners have stated that from a health perspective, it is best for users to wash new clothes before wearing them, regardless of the type of clothing, especially tight-fitting ones and children’s clothes.
It is best to wash new clothes before wearing them (Illustrative image)
The first reason experts point out is that on new sets of clothes when users buy them, there may be residual formaldehyde – a substance commonly used for cleaning, disinfecting, and killing bacteria on clothes and utensils. In some cases, this substance will be added to clothes during the production process for purposes such as printing, dyeing, or preventing clothes from wrinkling.
When in contact with human skin, the formaldehyde remaining on clothes can cause irritation, mucous membrane problems, and allergies. In severe cases, it can even have a greater impact on human health. Products containing a high amount of formaldehyde also have a very unpleasant odor.
The second reason is that new sets of clothes can still contain a lot of dirt from the air and the environment, especially those clothes that are directly taken from clothes hangers outside the store. Dust can also come from the large-scale production process of clothes by machines. At this point, clothes will be stacked on top of each other, and dust will naturally spread and stay on different areas of the apparel.
This situation will continue when clothes are brought to the warehouse, a cramped area filled with merchandise. Even though the clothes are wrapped in outer packaging, it is still unable to ensure that they are perfectly clean.
Clothes can come into contact with a lot of dust during the production process and while hanging outside the store (Illustrative image)
In addition, new sets of clothes have been taken out by store staff for many other customers to try on. At this time, not only dust but also the sweat of these customers can stay on the clothes.
The third reason is the issue of new clothes possibly fading. Experts explain that some types of clothing, due to the dyeing process, can fade and stick to the human body when users wear them, especially with the impact of sweat. The chemicals from these dyed fabrics that come into contact with the human body for a long period of time can cause skin allergies and other skin diseases.
For these reasons, it is best for users to wash new clothes after purchasing them before wearing them. Washing new clothes is not complicated. Users only need to wash them with detergent, laundry, or with some natural ingredients such as diluted saltwater or diluted vinegar.
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The Cleanpedia page of Unilever gives advice that if the clothes are colored, soaking them in a diluted vinegar solution overnight is very useful. It not only helps clean the clothes but also helps protect the durability of the garments. The salt method is useful for woolen and cotton fabrics. Soak the clothes in a diluted saltwater solution for about 10 minutes, then hand wash them with clean water.
Other important notes for washing newly purchased clothes:
– Use a small amount of detergent and laundry water. This method will make the clothes softer.
– Sort the clothes by color and material before washing.
– When drying the clothes, hang them inside out to prevent them from fading.
According to Đời sống và Pháp luật (Life and Law)
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