More than a fifth of men do not change their underwear, a survey has found. Some take clean underpants even just once a week
Shorts, briefs, boxers, or for the more daring, jocks or thongs. There are many kinds of underwear for men, but all the sophistication goes out the window when the used underwear doesn't go in the washing machine. Which, unfortunately, happens more often than we'd like to hear. In fact , a survey by shopping portal OnBuy found that 22% of men don't change their underwear daily.
In a poll of 2,790 people, one in five men even admitted to only taking clean underwear after wearing the previous pair more than five times! But not to blame the guys, women aren't entirely innocent of not keeping up with modern hygiene either. 18% of them wear panties more than once a day.
Cleanliness inside out
As it turns out, some people don't judge the "usability" of their underwear by how many times they've worn it, but by how clean it looks or smells. If the underwear "doesn't smell dirty", 25% of men and 20% of women will wear it. If it "doesn't look dirty", 29% of men and 30% of women will wear it repeatedly.
Of those who do not change their underwear after each day, 76% of men and 69% of women said they turn their underwear inside out to get a 'cleaner feel'.
Czechs are even worse
How do people in the Czech Republic feel about wearing underwear, you ask? Unfortunately, they're even worse. According to a survey conducted by the Czech National Panel, almost a quarter of men wear this item of clothing more than one day. Specifically, 24% of respondents admitted to doing so, which is 2 percentage points more than in the aforementioned foreign study.
"Women proved to be significantly more meticulous when it comes to the cleanliness of their clothes. Almost all respondents put away underwear and socks to be washed after one day of wear, and they also often do not wear T-shirts for more than one day," the study authors said. But guys, that's different again.
Of the men surveyed, 19% wore their underwear for 2-3 days, 4% wore it for 4-7 days, and 1% even changed their underwear after 8-10 days! But the remaining 76% of men reach for a clean piece every day, thankfully. As for women, only 2% change their underwear on the second or third day and only 1% wear it for longer.
What can I say in conclusion? Probably just that it's a shame we don't have data on the "pairing" of these people as well. In fact, we would be quite interested to know if they are in a partnered relationship with someone, or if they would be in one if their counterpart knew how they approach their use of textiles. But maybe if two such "masters of textile frugality" get together, they'll at least save on laundry water.
