Some Brits wear underwear six times before washing

Brits aren’t bothered by a bit of stink according to a new survey…

Brits are living out of their laundry pile, with nearly a third (29%) of people letting their clothes stack up for a month or more before putting them away, while a staggering 83% of those polled are resorting to the dreaded ‘sniff test’ to determine if clothes are fresh enough to wear.

A new study by garment care specialists Philips has uncovered that over eight in ten (86%) don’t put clothes in the wardrobe after washing, instead using the stairs (24%), chairs (15%) and floor (13%) to dump their clothes.

“For freshening up clothes that have been abandoned for weeks at a time, garment care experts at Philips recommend using a handheld steamer such as the Philips 3000 Series, available for £32.99 from John Lewis.” – A Philips spokesperson

Steaming can bring creased or stale clothes back to life by relaxing the fibres in the garment and eliminating up to 99.9% of bacteria. After a quick steam, your clothes will be de-wrinkled and refreshed, all without the hassle of setting up an ironing board. As well as clogging up the house with stacks of laundry, Brits are doing anything they can to avoid putting a wash on.

Over one in 10 Brits (12%), say a t-shirt can be worn up to four times before needing a wash, almost a third (28%) say underwear is good for two wears before washing, and a shocking 5% say underwear can be worn six times before needing a wash.

Brits have become so clothes-blind that as much as a third (31%) of the nation regularly leaves the house in unironed clothes. In fact 25% say they would happily attend a job interview in un-ironed clothes.

This blindness is having a knock on effect on families too, with nearly seven in ten parents (67%) admitting they fold and put away their children’s uniforms without ironing them. A further one in 10 (14%) say washing and ironing school uniforms takes a huge seven hours before the start of term. It seems ironing apathy is a major culprit in Brits’ laundry routine with over a quarter (26%) of us choosing to hang clothes in the bathroom to allow the steam to remove creases.

Other quick fixes for clothes blind Brits include using a garment spray (80%) to freshen up clothes or hanging clothes outside (30%).

Philips’ in-house product expert Lamprini Fameli:

“It’s clear that Brits are falling out of love with their laundry routine, leaving clothes unironed and stacked around the house for weeks or months at a time. Our findings show that ironing can be time-consuming, so if you’re looking to speed up the pre-school prep, why not invest in a steam generator iron, which can dramatically cut the time it takes for you to iron large batches of clothes. 

“Philips recommendation for a steam generator iron is the Philips PerfectCare 6000 Series Steam Generator (£219.99), with a powerful 6.5 bar pressure that can get you crisp collars and perfect pleats in no time. If ironing isn’t for you, no problem. A handheld steamer is the best way to freshen up individual items. What’s more, a steamer like the 3000 series is compact and quick to use, heating up in just 30 seconds.

*Data from a survey of 2000 UK adults in August 2024