Mum's dressing gown theory proves how often you should wash your winter items

Now cleaning experts have weighed in confirming it's true. 

Now that winter is officially here, I’m sure we’ve all pulled out our formerly retired fuzzy dressing gowns, blankets and Oodies.

They make all the difference in an otherwise-freezing house - to the point where we never want to part with them. So, that begs the question, when are they being washed?

Now, we know how frequently it’s supposed to be. But, is anyone really doing it?

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Image: iStock.

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“She would have us wear our dressing gowns all the cold months”

An Aussie Reddit user has taken to the platform with a frankly horrifying story about how frequently (or infrequently) they wash their dressing gown during winter.

To spare you the yucky details, the user said they would wear their dressing gown almost 24/7 during winter - without washing it.

“Mum always did washing on a Saturday but in the winter she would have us wear our dressing gowns all the cold months so say… 4/5 months before giving them a good soak in the bathtub,” they wrote.

“We would even have competitions whose water was the worst…”

The user’s mum even said the dressing gowns had to be ‘Sunday dinner smelly’ before a wash - almost like a baked dinner complete with all the miscellaneous food and drinks spilled on it over the course of the season.

Commenters were torn

Needless to say, commenters were pretty disgusted at the story. But, the amount of time each person went between washes varied, with many saying they still leave it a few weeks - or even longer - between washes, as long as they weren’t too filthy.

“I don't wash it often (about once a month), but it does not get any level of funk about it. It's only on when I'm in my PJ's though,” one person said.

“I don't wash mine in winter and it has NEVER gotten smelly or had food spilled on it or dirty…” another agreed.

“I don't remember our childhood ones being washed that regularly and I haven't washed mine in a long time, but I also hardly wear it,” said a third.

Others, however, were more pedantic about their routine.

“I wash all my clothes and towels after I wear them once, I might wear a dressing gown two or three times before I wash it. I wash my sheets once a week at least,” said one commenter.

“If my kids wore a dressing gown that much I would have had 2 - wash and wear. With them rotating at the very least once a week,” another shared.

“I have a lovely dressing gown currently. I generally put it on in the morning as I have breakfast. If it gets anything on it? It goes in the wash. Otherwise it would get washed every few weeks. My daughters have Oodies...They would get washed once a week. Depending on how much they wear them. Might be more or less,” another person said.

So… how often are we actually supposed to wash them?

To clear things up, we asked influencer and cleaning guru Chantel Mila, on social media as @mama_mila_au, how often you really need to wash your dressing gown.

And, to the seasonal washers out there, I’m sorry.

“How often you wash your bathrobe is dependent on how often you’re using the robe - but if you’re wearing it frequently then I like to wash it weekly,” she told Kidspot.

“A lot of sweat and moisture can get caught in the robe, so washing it weekly keeps it fresh and deodorised.”

For the best wash, Chantel even has a few tips.

“Start by checking this label to see what material your bathrobe is made of as care differs depending on the material,” she said.

“To wash fleece or microfibre bathrobes, it’s usually best to wash them in warm water with a gentle detergent.

“Avoid fabric softeners as this can stiffen the robes, but you can swap fabric softener for 1/4 cup white vinegar added to the rinse cycle. This keeps your bathrobes soft and fluffy!”

Originally published as Mum's dressing gown theory proves how often you should wash your winter items