WEBVTT - BrainStuff Classics: Do You Really Need to Wash Your Jeans?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. Hey, brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm more in Volke Bob and today's episode is another

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<v Speaker 1>classic from the vaults. Our earstwhile host Christian Sagar is

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<v Speaker 1>here to present the scientific side of a fashion argument

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<v Speaker 1>that keeps cropping up? Do you really need to wash

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<v Speaker 1>your jeans? Hey, brain stuff, I'm Christian Sagar, and not

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<v Speaker 1>to get too personal, but when did you last wash

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<v Speaker 1>your jeans? You don't have to tell me if you

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<v Speaker 1>don't want to. But here's the thing. Whether you're wearing

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<v Speaker 1>a pair of busted Levies or brand new raw Denham

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<v Speaker 1>from some fancy boutique, your pants are part of a

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<v Speaker 1>debate that designers and customers alike have been having for decades.

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<v Speaker 1>When should you wash your jeans? And do you need

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<v Speaker 1>to wash them at all? Well, let's look at the basics.

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<v Speaker 1>Denham is a kind of cotton with a twill textile weave.

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<v Speaker 1>In a twill weave, the thread called the weft that's

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<v Speaker 1>the cross wise yarn, passes under at least two warp threads,

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<v Speaker 1>and those are the lengthwise yarns. In most genes, only

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<v Speaker 1>these warp threads are dyed, meaning that these other threads

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<v Speaker 1>the weft threads remain white. That's why blue jeans are

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<v Speaker 1>white on the inside. That blue shade on the warp

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<v Speaker 1>thread comes from a dye called indigo, and unlike some

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<v Speaker 1>other dyes, indigo doesn't penetrate the cotton. Instead, it sits

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<v Speaker 1>atop the yarn on the surface of each thread. Over time,

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<v Speaker 1>molecules of indigo chip away, causing the fabric to fade.

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<v Speaker 1>This fade makes each pair unique, so much so that

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<v Speaker 1>the FBI analyzes denom patterns when tracking criminals. Yeah, that's

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<v Speaker 1>a real thing. The more you wear a pair, the

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<v Speaker 1>more broken in they've become. You'll see the appearance of

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<v Speaker 1>fade patterns, whiskers on the front, honeycomb patterns behind the knees,

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<v Speaker 1>and so on. Not all genes, however, were created equally.

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<v Speaker 1>Let's divide them into two rough categories. Is washed and raw.

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<v Speaker 1>Washed Denham is just that washed after dying to make

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<v Speaker 1>the fabric softer and reduced shrinkage. Then, in a process

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<v Speaker 1>called sandforrization, the trousers are moistened, steamed, and stretched to

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<v Speaker 1>reduce the shrinkage rate. Most genes are sanforized these days.

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<v Speaker 1>Raw or dry denham can be saporized or unsanforrized. If

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<v Speaker 1>it isn't, it can shrink up to ten percent when washed. Sometimes,

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<v Speaker 1>washed denham is artificially distressed to give it a broken

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<v Speaker 1>in or worn look. The fading of raw denham, on

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<v Speaker 1>the other hand, happens naturally over time, depending on the

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<v Speaker 1>daily activities of the person wearing the jeans. The longer

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<v Speaker 1>you go without washing these genes, the more pronounced fading

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<v Speaker 1>patterns will become. Personalizing your pants. Once you have a

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<v Speaker 1>pair of jeans, you'll hear numerous pieces of advice about

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<v Speaker 1>caring for them. Most of this doesn't apply across the board.

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<v Speaker 1>For example, companies will ask you to wait at least

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<v Speaker 1>six months before washing your jeans because if you wash

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<v Speaker 1>them early, the indigo will wear off uniformly, robbing you

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<v Speaker 1>of the unique fade patterns. And this is the heart

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<v Speaker 1>of the whole to wash or not to wash question.

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<v Speaker 1>The longer you go without washing a pair of jeans,

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<v Speaker 1>the more pronounced the wearing pattern becomes. You'll also preserve

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<v Speaker 1>the indigo as well as the stiff texture of the fiber.

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<v Speaker 1>But what happens if you don't wash them. Won't bacteria

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<v Speaker 1>pile up, turning your lower hemisphere into a plague written

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<v Speaker 1>cesspool of filth. Well, not necessarily in. A microbiology student

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<v Speaker 1>at the University of Alberta went get this fifteen months

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<v Speaker 1>without washing his jeans. He tested their bacterial content along

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<v Speaker 1>with the bacterial content of another pair that had been

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<v Speaker 1>washed about two weeks beforehand, and he found almost no difference.

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<v Speaker 1>So maybe it's more that everything we wear is already dirty.

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<v Speaker 1>So if you can't wash them, what do you do

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<v Speaker 1>to keep your blue jeans clean? Well, you're gonna hear

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<v Speaker 1>some crazy stuff. Levi's famously recommended freezing your genes to

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<v Speaker 1>kill bacteria and stave off any funky odors, but microbe

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<v Speaker 1>expert Stephen Craig Carry says that is a total myth.

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<v Speaker 1>Most bacteria in our pants comes from our skin, and

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of these organisms are preadapted to low temperatures.

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<v Speaker 1>Carry recommends actually using high temperatures think a hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>twenty one degrees celsius for ten minutes to get rid

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<v Speaker 1>of the denom or bacteria or you know. He adds,

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<v Speaker 1>you could just wash them. So depending on how often

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<v Speaker 1>you wear your jeans, their age, the denom type, and

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<v Speaker 1>what you do while you're wearing them. You really don't

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<v Speaker 1>have to wash them as often as say you're underwear.

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<v Speaker 1>If you want to get that uber cool, unique fading pattern, though,

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<v Speaker 1>your best bet really is to avoid washing them for

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<v Speaker 1>a while, even if you have to soak them first

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<v Speaker 1>to shrink them. And regardless of how carefully you care

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<v Speaker 1>for your favorite pair of raw Denom jeans, messes like

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<v Speaker 1>life find a way one day, some sort of disaster

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<v Speaker 1>will strike and you'll have to clean your jeans somehow, yes,

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<v Speaker 1>even if that means washing them. Today's episode was written

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<v Speaker 1>by Ben Bollin and produced by Tyler Clang. For more

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<v Speaker 1>on this and lots of other topics, visit our home planet,

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<v Speaker 1>how stuff Works dot com