How Often Should You Wash Pajamas? Laundry Experts Weigh In

How often to wash pajamas is a surprisingly heated question debated among laundry experts—and the answers aren't unanimous. Before spouting off different numbers, let's think about this for a second. We all know you're supposed to wash undergarments (underwear, socks, etc.) after every wear, but since pajamas are only worn indoors and usually when you're clean (post-shower), it seems wasteful to wash them after every wear.

On the flip side, we also have to consider how dirty pajamas get, even if you're not going out. Natural body oils, perspiration, dead skin cells, bacteria, and body care products (like body lotion) can all build up in pajamas. If you continue to wear them without laundering, it can cause skin issues or irritation–and start to smell funky. To resolve the issue once and for all, we turned to a handful of cleaning experts. The answers varied based on a number of considerations.

When Most People Wash Their Pajamas

How often you wash your pajamas can come down to things as simple as whether or not you sweat a lot or whether or not you've spilled on them. "Unless you spill a midnight snack on them, sweat heavily, or wear them all day long, pajamas can usually be worn a few nights in a row before they need to be washed," says Jennie Varney, brand manager of Molly Maid. Sometimes, though, you'll want to wash them more often.

To make things interesting, we did unofficial crowdsourcing amongst friend groups to learn their average pajama wash cycle. Their answers were all very different, but the consensus fell quite far from the experts' recommendation of every few wears. The average leaned somewhere between one and one-and-a-half weeks. Upon revealing the "appropriate" pajama wash cycle, the comments received were along the lines of "Who has time for that?" and "I don't even have enough PJs for that."

When to Wash After Every Few Wears

"When deciding how often to wash your pajamas, consider how close in contact they have been with your skin and how much you've perspired while wearing them," seconds Gwen Whiting, co-founder of The Laundress. "If you wear your pajamas to bed and change out of them in the morning, you can probably get away with a couple of wears before naturally occurring body oils, perspiration, and bacteria begin to build up in the fabric, all of which can lead to odor."

Also, if you shower every night before you get into your pajamas, you can probably stretch the time between wash cycles. Your body being clean every time you put on your pajamas means they'll stay fresh longer. However, if you put lotion or oils on after you bathe, you might want to wash them more frequently.

When to Wash After Every Wear

Now, if it's the weekend and you're sitting in pajamas all day (or if you're sick or it's just a regular Tuesday working from home), you probably want to up your washing frequency. "It's worth noting that if you're wearing them all day...you'll want to wash them after each wear," says Whiting.

According to Chris Albers, marketing director at Carbona, "Since you're spending an average of seven to eight hours per night sleeping in your pajamas, you should launder them as frequently as you would your traditional daytime garments."

Melissa Maker, author and founder of housekeeping service Clean My Space explains, "Washing pajamas is dependent on whether you wear them as your only sleep layer, or if you wear them as a sleep layer with an undergarment (as a second layer). If they're an only layer, they should be treated as underwear and washed every day. If they're a second layer, they should be washed every two to three days."

Consequences of Not Washing Pajamas Often Enough

We spend a good amount of time in bed—roughly a third of our day on average. During that time, we slough off skin cells, dirt, and even bacteria onto our pajamas and sheets. Plus, dust mites eat those particles, so there's the added risk of those buggers multiplying.

If you don't wash your pajamas often enough, you risk side effects like aggravated allergies, rashes, infections, and even MRSA (in extreme cases). In addition, body odor will increase the more you postpone washing your PJs, and you may just generally feel grimy and grungy.

If you don't want to lug laundry to the laundromat too frequently, there are ways you can increase your pajama life before it needs washing. "Showering at night, before putting on pajamas (rather than in the morning) can help increase the frequency of wear to two to three times before needing to wash them," says Lindsey Boyd, co-founder of The Laundress. "And stay away from using too much body lotion or tanning lotion before wearing them–stains and product buildup means you should be washing them after each wear."