Experts Share How Often You Should Replace Your Underwear

A good sort-out of your belongings is always refreshing - whether it's your wardrobe, the drawer where you keep all the admin/letters/documents, or the contents of your car which have been building up for months.

But, do you ever venture into your underwear drawer? It seems many people tend not to, but it's really important to have a clear-out of your pants - just like you would most other things.

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But just how often should we be getting rid of our underwear?

Well, experts have suggested that you should replace them at least once a year... sometimes more.

Dr Shirin Lakhani of Elite Aesthetics explained that certain garments - those you use to go to the gym, for instance - should be replaced more frequently because of sweat and stuff. Nice.

Speaking to The Independent, Dr Lakhani said: "Your underwear is in close contact with your skin and more specifically your intimate areas for prolonged periods of time.

"As a result, it takes in a lot of dead skin from those areas as well as bacteria - both the healthy, naturally-occurring bacteria that we all have, as well as more harmful bacteria that can be a result of infections such as thrush and STIs.

"Research suggests that even washing your underwear in a washing machine won't always rid it completely of bacteria such as E.coli.

"While most bacteria won't hurt you, there are some that, over time, can result in conditions such as urinary tract infections, irritations and discharge."

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Narendra Pisal, consultant gynaecologist at London Gynaecology added: "Throwing out your underwear depends on how many pairs of you actually have.

"I would say a maximum of 50 washes for a pair of cotton M&S underwear would be fine. But obviously, if your underwear is causing chaffing, skin irritation or is torn, you may need to do it sooner."

It's also good to know how best to dispose of your intimates. For example - try not to just bin them because they can take a while to decompose.

You can instead go to a clothes recycling point where they can be reused for things such as insulation, mattresses, car seats or yarn.

Before you do donate any underwear, you just need to make sure you put them on a hot cycle before popping them in a recycling bin. But you can then drive away feeling pretty chuffed.

Topics: News, Interesting

Rebecca Shepherd

I'm Becky - a journalist at LADbible. I graduated with a First Class BA in Journalism before going on to cover criminal court cases, medical tribunals and breaking news for the national media - which inevitably and eventually became as glum as it sounds. Can often be found rocking a bag for life - which I made a 'thing' way before Rihanna. You can contact me at [email protected]

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