A Guide to Washing Men’s Clothes

Any garment that is worn directly next to your skin—underwear, undershirts, socks—should be washed after every wearing! No sniffing, no turning inside out—wash them! This same rule applies to bath towels.

Use hot water to completely kill any bacteria and dry at high heat or in the sun. If you have athlete’s foot, take extra precautions to prevent it from spreading to other fabrics that might be worn next to sensitive spots.

This same rule applies to bath towels!

Most shirts should be washed after one or two wearings because collar and cuff areas come in direct contact with body oils and soil. It is particularly important to frequently wash white shirts because yellow underarm stains can appear due to a reaction of your antiperspirant and body soil.

If you wear an undershirt, don’t perspire heavily and don’t spill anything, you can often get two wearings from a dress shirt. Remember to hang the shirt after wearing to prevent more wrinkles.

Follow the care label directions for water temperature when washing and always pretreat stains. If you want your shirts to look like they were done by a professional laundry, follow these ironing tips.

For casual or knit pullover shirts, wash after every wearing.

Everyone knows when you need to clean your neckties. The ketchup or grease stains shouts it out. The key is knowing how to clean the tie and remove the stains.

One tip for better-looking ties, always remove all the knots after each wearing and hang or roll the tie to allow the fabric to relax. Those expensive ties will last much, much longer.