Wash My Jeans By Wearing Them In The Shower? I’m Rolling My Eyes

The story about not needing to wash your jeans is back, and once again I'm rolling my eyes.

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I can't believe it was back in 2014, according to a new article on FOX 2 Now when Levi's CEO Charles Bergh made headlines by saying jeans shouldn't be washed. He's now clarified that statement in an interview with CNBC.

He'll spot-clean his jeans, for example, if he drops some curry on them. If he's out and gets them all sweated up he'll wash them in the shower. The CNBC article went on to explain he'll just soap 'em up like the rest of his body.

Look, I get that jeans don't need to be washed after every wearing. Does anybody wash their pants after wearing them one day? Especially if you didn't get any schmutz on them? Especially if you were in a climate-controlled environment every day? Generally, depending on the week and what I'm doing, I'll wear pants anywhere from three days to a whole workweek before throwing them in the wash.

Yet, the suggestions on how to care for your jeans, in my mind, border on the ridiculous.

Fox 2 Now did a little research and came up with some different care instructions from different places when it comes to jeans. Tide says to wash in cold water with detergent. Whirlpool suggests washing inside out using the delicate or gentle cycle and air drying. Classic Maytag advises pre-soaking in cold water with scented vinegar.

Hazel Morley, VP of design at menswear provider Bonobos told The New York Times she washes her jeans as little as possible to ensure they look as good as they can for as long as they can. She doesn't wash hers until they smell or visibly look like they need to be washed.

Then she'll hand wash them inside out in cold water in the bathtub and let them air dry right side out. Mroley's OK with machine-washing jeans, as long as their inside out, although she's not a fan of the dryer. Her tip, if you think your jeans are too stiff after air drying? 10 minutes in a cool dryer will soften them up.

Now, don't get me wrong, when it comes to washing my clothes I'm pretty particular about some things. Kathy, my late wife, used to roll her eyes at some of my clothes-washing rituals.

Particularly, how I wash my T-shirts and radio station staff wear: inside out, air-dried right side out, unless they were a size too big, or the fabric too coarse to be comfortable. Then tumble dry inside-out.

Yet when it comes to jeans I just don't care that much. Do I want them to look nice, sure I do. Yet I also want them to smell nice. And look clean too. I invested in three pairs of jeans, each I'll wear for a week, or maybe less if I get sweaty in them or it just seems like it's time for a wash. Or they pick up the odor of a pungent restaurant. Or, have picked up that stale cigarette smell after being around a group of smokers. Whatever.

No, I'm not wearing them in the shower and soaping them up like I would with my legs. Nor am I air drying them. Or soaking them in scented vinegar. Or wearing them for an extended time without washing them so they'll pick up some character.

No, I'm throwing them in the washer with my other clothes. Drying the hell out of them. And then getting on with my life. My only concession to the don't-wash jeans crowd is washing and drying them inside out. I may now start zipping them up too. One of these articles suggested doing that, so why not?