Do you take the tags off as soon as you buy clothing?

Now the question is: Does washing them reeeeeeeelly get all the cooties, chemicals and pesticides out? What about some creepy parasite that could be living in the fibers? Ewwwwww!

Your dirty laundry may actually be even dirtier after you wash it. That's because experts say washing machines are teeming with bacteria that find their way onto your clothes -- and then onto you.

Our smallest items -- our undergarments -- are the biggest culprits because of the presence of fecal matter and the different types of bacteria it can carry.

Charles Gerba, a professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona, has done extensive research on the germs that fester in our washing machines.

"If you wash a load of just underwear, there will be about 100 million E. coli in the wash water, and they can be transmitted to the next load of laundry," Gerba said.

"There's about a tenth of a gram of poop in the average pair of underwear," he added.

Fecal matter can carry a number of different germs, including the hepatitis A virus, norovirus, rotavirus, salmonella and E. coli.

Philip Tierno, a professor of microbiology and pathology at the New York University School of Medicine and author of the book, "The Secret Life of Germs," said bacteria from the skin, such as staphylococcus, can be found on clothing and towels.

And that is one of MANY reasons I put vinegar in my rinse cycle instead of fabric softener
(I've been using my Downey ball for distilled white vinegar for about 2 years now!)

Not only does it soften clothing, it also strips away hard water and left over soap deposits, it also kills about 90% of bacteria! All for PENNIES! If you want an aroma like fabric softener would leave, just add some essential oil to your jug of laundry room vinegar!

NEVER going back to fabric softener.......NEVER! :lol-sign:

and nothing smells of vinegar afterwards? I may have to try it

I don't mind the smell of vinegar, so I probably wouldn't notice a faint smell....BUT....my husband detests vinegar smell, has a fit if I clean the coffee pot with it and he's never once complained about any of his clothing. So if there is any to speak of, I'd say it very very minimal

I don't wash clothes before wearing them (except those bought at Goodwill) and leave the tags on until I do.

But then I do normally grab the size furthest in the back, figured it's least tried on and that's where my size is anyways! LOL