How often should you wash your clothes?
While it (hopefully) goes without saying that pants and socks should be added to your dirty laundry hamper after each wear, there are some clothes that don’t require as much maintenance. In fact, washing them too often can exacerbate their lifespan, fast-tracking their journey to the recycling bin or the charity shop.
How often should you wash denim?
Hard-wearing fabrics like denim can be worn four or five times before they take a spin in your washing machine, although Levi’s CEO once famously stated that he never washes his, recommending spot cleaning with a toothbrush instead. For those who don’t fancy committing to such a time-intensive cleaning ritual, it’s best to wash denim inside out to help retain the colour.
How often should you wash cashmere?
Then there’s fabrics like cashmere, which should be washed on a delicate or wool cycle after seven to 10 wears, although if you’ve the time to hand wash, so much the better for your expensive knits. Leave them to air for a day after wearing to keep them smelling fresh.
Caring for your clothes according to the label (it’s time to start paying attention, folks) means you can enjoy them for longer, but there’s another reason to do it too.
Against the backdrop of an energy crisis, knowing what to wash and when means using your washing machine less, which can only be a good thing for your bills and bank balance.
But perhaps not such a great thing for your mood - after all, who wants to wander about in dirty clothes all day? Thankfully there are options for keeping clothes looking and smelling fresh between washes. Neutralising sprays can refresh clothes without the faff of a proper wash, allowing you to keep them in your wardrobe rotation for longer. It is to clothing what dry shampoo is to hair: a tiny little miracle in a bottle.
There are specialist sprays for wool, denim and delicates, as well as universal refreshing sprays that you can use on upholstery, rugs and carpets too.
Navigating this world can be bewildering, but don’t worry - we’re here with a guiding hand (and an actual guide) to help you through it.
Cut down your washes, save on your bills and find the best fabric refreshing sprays below
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The Lab Co. Signature Fabric Mist 150ml
A brand designed as ‘skincare for fashion’, The Lab Co. is needed in a fast fashion world where millions of shoes and garments are routinely thrown into landfill or burned each year. The company aims to lengthen the lifespan of your wardrobe with various formulas targeted for a specific fabric type; this Signature version is an excellent all-rounder with notes of refreshing eucalyptus, lavender and orange in the mix. It deodorises and freshens with just a few spritzes, adding pep to pieces so that they’re (almost) as good as new. Le Labo eat your heart out.
Shop the full collection here.
Buy now £9.00, Selfridges
Febreze Unstoppables Fabric Refresher Cotton Spray Fresh Scent, 500ml
Laundry fresh scent without going anywhere near the washing machine, this spray will extend the wear of your clothes for a few more outings. It’s great to use on upholstery as well as curtain and safe to use around pets. As for the scent - completely addictive. Trust us, you won’t be able to stop sniffing.
Buy now £7.35, Amazon
Steamery Fabric Spray for Delicates 100ml
At only a 100ml, this bottle is perfect for stashing in your cabin bag and taking on holiday to freshen clothes without the expense of a hotel laundry wash. The biodegradable formula softens and cleans textile fibres while also cutting static electricity and leaves behind nothing but freshness and the lightest notes of rose and musk.
Buy now £10.00, The Dressing Room
& Others Stories Fabric Spray
You’d think the scent of line-dried clothes on a hot summer’s day would be tricky to replicate in a bottle, yet & Other Stories has risen to the challenge admirably. Its oat-based fabric spray can be used across your wardrobe (including footwear) to keep pieces fresh before the Big Wash, removing odours and leaving behind a gentle wind-dried scent. It can also be used pre-ironing to help remove wrinkles and creases.
Buy now £11.00, & Others Stories
Rituals The Ritual of Sakura Refreshing Spray
Rituals may be better known as a luxury bath and body brand, but the label does offer a small line in laundry solutions too. Revive clothes with the gentle, calming scent of Rituals’ Sakura fabric freshener. The large 250ml will last for ages and can be used to freshen up furniture and your car’s interiors too.
Buy now £11.50, Rituals
Day2 Denim Dry Wash Clothes Spray, 200ml
If you’re the kind of denim purist who recoils at the idea of slinging your jeans into the wash only slightly more than the thought of wearing grubby threads, the happy in-between has been found. Day2 brings denim back from the brink by giving it a just-washed smell and feel. It’s not just layering scent over the odours but eliminating them completely while slowing down the fading process, allowing you to enjoy that sweet deep indigo colour for longer.
Buy now £6.99, Amazon
Clothes Doctor Knitwear Mist
Knitwear is notoriously hard to keep clean and, if put on the wrong sort of wash, can reduce your expensive cardis and jumpers into doll-sized versions. Keep them away from shrinking danger for longer with the Clothes Doctor’s Knitwear Mist, which also works poured into a steamer or iron (just a capful) as it does just by spraying.
Buy now £9.50, WEarth London
Fabulosa Spray and Wear 250ml
A bona fide bargain at high street retailer Wilko, Fabulosa’s spray doesn’t mask odours but stops them dead in their tracks, wiping out 99.9 per cent of bacteria in every spritz. The 250ml will last ages and leave clothes smelling unbelievably fresh. Great to use on bedding as well as your favourite coats, frocks and inside shoes.
Buy now £1.00, Wilko
