Jeans: How long is too long?

When it comes to washing their jeans, some students will admit to wearing them a few times before washing them. But how long can a person go before their jeans really start to smell? The answer might surprise you.

University of Melbourne researchers conducted a study where 30 volunteers wore the same pair of jeans for five days a week over a three month period without washing them. Surprisingly, rather than smelling repulsive, the study found that the jeans did not smell “socially challenging.”

“The nice thing is that jeans tend to not soak things up,” Jadin Jackson, clinical biology professor said. “Maybe you spilled some chili on your jeans, but as that dries and flakes off, the stain kind of disappears a little bit. Along with that…all those odorant molecules that are associated with the chili are also flaking off and being removed.”

Senior Tierney Singer admits she wears her jeans a few times before washing them.

“I’m a poor college student, and I only do laundry every so often,” Singer said. “Sometimes it’s between jeans and sheets, and sheets usually win.”

Researchers said that about half of the experiment participants found it difficult to wear the same jeans for three months and wanted to quit.

“I’m a little bit of a clean freak so I think that after a few weeks it would be time to wash the jeans,” Singer said. “After three months I feel like there would be more than just smell going on.”

Kristopher Jobe can be reached at jobe1276@stthomas.edu.