Almost Half of Americans are Wearing Dirty Underwear? This Survey Says Yes.

An underwear company conducted a survey which found that nearly 45 percent of Americans have worn their underwear for two days in a row, or longer.

Since underwear hygiene is typically something you keep to yourself, the company, Tommy John surveyed 2,000 men and women to see how long they wear their underwear for, and how long they keep them.

While it should be common sense and wisdom to indicate that your underwear should be changed every day, this basic standard that we assume is not a countrywide practice. Almost half of Americans are wearing dirty underwear, and 45 percent of the people surveyed admitted to wearing the same pair on multiple days, while 13 percent said they’ve worn the same pair for a week or more.

Men were 2.5 times more likely to push repeat on their underwear than women. 

Another component of this study was to see how long people keep their underwear for. 46 percent said that they’ve owned the same pair for a year or more, while 38 percent claimed they had no idea how long they’ve had their garments.

These results were fairly even between women and men.

While buying new underwear may not be on top of the monthly budget and to-do list, a survey from Good Housekeeping found that even clean underwear may contain up to 10,000 living bacteria, even after the wash and dry cycle.

Over time your underwear has the potential to accumulate various types of microorganisms, fungi and germs – which can increase susceptibility to certain illnesses such as yeast and urinary tract infections. 

Most people keep enough underwear for two weeks worth, however just like brushing your teeth – changing your underwear should be a daily must. If your undies have holes and you would be embarrassed for someone to see them, it might be time to invest in a new lineup.

You can also minimize your environmental impact, and decrease your exposure to synthetic materials by choosing brands such as Knickey for women’s organic cotton underwear, or Pact, which has options and bundles for women, men and kids!

We should also remember this is just a survey, and they’re not perfect, and nor was this a peer-reviewed study (and thankfully so). Does this truly represent American practices? Possibly, but possibly not. Bottom line? You know your own practices, so try changing your undies, please.