Dirty little secret! Did You Know One In Five People Wear Their Underwear MORE Than Once?

One in five people will wear their underwear at least twice before washing it, new research has found.

The study conducted by online clothing retailer Banana Moon Clothing looked at how often people wash their clothing and how long they think they can get away with wearing dirty clothes.

Men are worse than women for repeatedly wearing dirty underwear, with nearly a third (31 per cent) of men confessing to wearing them twice or more before washing, compared to only 10 per cent of women.

A further four per cent of men even admitted to wearing their underwear inside out to get more usage, compared to two per cent of women.

It wasn't just underwear that people are wearing longer than they should - more than a quarter (26 per cent) of women said they would wear a bra five or more times before washing it, with 6 per cent wearing their bra at least 10 times before putting it in the wash.

For general clothing items the results were mixed, with people admitting to wearing coats eight times, jeans five times and shirts, blouses and dresses twice before washing them.

Almost a fifth (17 per cent) of men also admitted to having never washed their ties.

One in ten said that they wear their work uniform five or more times before it is destined for the washing machine and five per cent would get two wears out of their gym kit before washing.

When it comes to how often you should be washing certain items of clothing, the advice from experts is to regularly wash garments at high temperatures.

Paul Matewele, senior lecturer in Microbiology Immunology at London Metropolitan University commented: 'Every day our bodies come into contact with many different forms of bacteria, from food to nasal secretions and even toilet doors or taps.

'If you wipe these bacteria on to your clothes, your clothes can then become the carrier of the harmful residue.

'Some bacteria such as Enterococcus faecium survive better on our on clothes than they do in our gut so it's best to be on the safe side and remove this harmful bacteria by regularly washing clothes at high temperatures.'

Lesley Taylor, microbiologist at Addmaster, added: 'The decision on how often to wash clothing comes down to culture, trends and individual choice.

'There are no right or wrong answers for how often outer clothing or garments should be washed, but the general rule of thumb is that underwear should be washed every day as it covers areas that can breed bacteria.'

Commenting on the results, Alex Grace, Managing Director at Banana Moon Clothing, said: 'It certainly came as a surprise to discover how often, or not, people are washing certain items of clothes, especially considering the types of clothes that aren't getting washed as often as we would expect. Our research has certainly shed some light on the nation's dirty clothes habits!

'We hope that people take the advice of experts and remember to wash their clothes regularly, utilising higher temperatures and special cycles for delicates on your washing machine to ensure your clothes get the attention they deserve.'

-Dailymail