It makes sense to me, especially in a subtropical climate. Things can get funky quickly.
Does your washing machine have an agitator in the middle? Have you set it to the “heavy” cycle?
Top loading washing machines can wear clothes out pretty quickly, rubbing them against each other as they wash. You can try washing your undies on a lighter setting with some colorsafe bleach or something if you’re worried about them still being dirty. Fabric softener will not do much, as it’s usually added near the end of the cycle.
Also, the clothing bags do help. I wash everything I even vaguely care about in these bags, also reduces the tangled mess at the end of the washing cycle. For things that pill easy, I would get little bags with a tight weave so that less surface area is exposed to other clothing. Putting several to a bag may work, or you might find that you have to bag them individually.
The ideal solution would probably be to buy a front-loading washing machine, but it depends on whether the longevity of your clothes matter that much to you.
Regarding towels, I find that if I hang them up in a dryish place (living room, bedroom, anywhere but the bathroom), and they are able to dry out quickly between uses, it’s never a huge problem. Don’t think you need to doubt the cleanliness of towels so much, since you are supposedly at your cleanest after showers, right? Bedding seems like a greater concern… Do you wash your sheets and pillowcases every 2 days? That stuff contacts your skin for much longer periods, and some people don’t shower before bed…
dont wear any (that keeps em fresh)
I wash my current towel every time I do laundry and I do laundry at least twice a week. And I think it needs it everytime.
Instead of getting more expensive laundry detergent you could add a little vinegar to your wash to kill some of the bacteria. I haven’t had a problem with my clothes developing an odor but the thicker bath towels and the dish cloths have. And they need it from time to time.
I also wash my bedding at least once a week. More if I’m not using the AC.
I’d get a front-loading washing machine if I were you. It is a lot better for the clothes, and gets them very clean at the same time. It’s well worth the money if you’re going to use it for a few years.
I forgot to mention: the report said the degree of nastiness was something like 100 times more nasty!
My machine is top loading with no agitator. I have set the heavy cycle, but my whites load is usually not to heavy a load. I do mix them sometimes with other clothes, so maybe that’s a huge problem right there - need to wash the whites alone. You’re a real Inspector Clouseau, merci!
I didn’t see these at Wellcome, and a similar response to the poster with the “Fabric Softener” comment - I don’t know what that is in Chinese, sure if it’s in English, but at the 7-11 or the Taoyuan Wellcome??? But I troop into Taipei a couple times a month, does RT Mart or Carrefour have em? Costco? Bueller?
About the towels: your body may be the cleanest right after the shower, but the towel is part of the reason: just your soapy rubbing doesn’t remove all the grunge, and just the shower water doesn’t rinse off all the soapy-grungy gray water from your body. The towel takes off unwashed-away grunge and germs, and it takes off a good deal of the scum and soapy residue that the shower water didn’t wash away. Except for direct hot sunlight I believe, the same warm to hot temperatures used to air dry your towels are Garden of Eden temperatures for germs and bacteria, so I’d think air drying without a good washing actually increases the funkiness. Might be wrong, but just remember, your shower towel after just a couple of uses is a sea of lurking microscopic death!!!
And as for the bedsheets: I put on a clean set every week (and I only use em for 4 days tops anyway each week), but maybe more importantly, due to my adult lifetime relationships with Thai women, I don’t even get in bed without having had a good shower first (with a clean towel!), no exceptions (drunken inability to make the shower results in a sofa stay). So that helps I’d think.
…and I’d strongly recommend the shower-before-bed thing for anyone who dislikes the rotten tuna taco flavorings of a good bearded clam…
Dude, you are the emperor of gross.
I have the same issue with Hanes or FTL boxer briefs. They’re clean but they start showing holes in them and balling up in the front after a quarter or two. I’d switch to boxers, but my boys prefer a tighter housing. I feel like I’m walking around with things bouncing to and fro down there in boxers.
We have a fancy all in one LG washer-dryer, buy our fabric softener from Costco, wash all the time.
I think the average Amerikan undies we buy at Target have dropped in quality. The TW undies I buy tend to last longer. You can also try Calvin Klien–I get them when my wife lets me, and they stay nice for years.
Sorry, I didn’t realize you were shopping at places with no English. I think the technical term for fabric softener is 衣物柔軟精, but I’m not sure if you will be able to actually find that on the labels-if you see 軟精, I think you will be safe. The last time I was at Welcome, they had the fabric softener with the Snuggle bear on the bottle. Short of that, anything with a cuddly looking animal is much more likely to be fabric softener and not detergent. You can also be pretty sure that anything with the characters 洗衣 is not fabric softener. Problem is, with the kind of washing machine you are using, you will probably have to add it yourself at just the right time, unless your machine has a special place to put it.
I get all of my detergent/fabric softener/dryer sheets at costco. Carrefour should have a fairly big selection in English and they had dryer sheets the last time I was there-but I haven’t been to one since I joined costco.
Excellent, Chinese is just what I needed. Actually I should have an opportunity tomorrow for a Costco run and will provide results.
Oh like we all haven’t been there done that - well the straight ones of us anyway - and anyway that was censored for the forum. Shit I know people much grosser than me, some of them here on F.com… they just don’t make it as crass and obvious as me - but then I’m American, crassness is an art form and I’m just Rembrandt’s apprentice (El Douche).
since we are comparing gross to gross. may as well mention that i ran into a gal on the net who thinks clam diving is disgusting. Imagine marryin a chick that thinks like that, but is still happy to smoke sausage? wow, that means freedom from bondage of a sort , less being tongue tied 
I think gross to gross will put us in The Phantom Zone forum if you know what I mean, I call Zod if we get put there, you can be the big hairy ape guy… no wait that kinda fits me actually.
[edit] IMDB says his name was Non. OK I’ll take Non.
Ehem, a woman’s point of view:
Change twice daily.
Hand wash.
Daily.
Use organic soap. Handmade. Honey added works fine.
If necessary, soak in water with baking soda.
Air dry. In special net thing even better.
Avoid pulling, pressing, rubbing, etc. any kind of stress.
I would advice against fabric softener or any other kind of chemical remaing so long in close contact with delicate areas. Allergies, anyone?
How does the soap being organic reduce germs? Also, the underwear is wrapped around my waist, there’s gonna be a fair amount of pulling pressing and rubbing as the day goes by. I don’t believe I have any allergies to the chemicals in the detergents I’ve used in the past, but certainly others might. As for handwashing daily, I’m nearly OCD with having clean hands, once a day doesn’t cut it. I wouldn’t think it would cut it for anyone actually, since you need to wash before eating and presumably you do that more than once a day.
I have a problem with the whole air dry thing. I realize it will minimize some damage to the fabric compared to a machine, but wet and warm clothes in a fairly humid environment seems to me to be begging for bugs and polluted-air-stink.
I will take your advice on the fabric softener initially and go with the fabric net. Thanks!
Underwear is most comfortable when allowed to recline in all its skidmarked glory on the couch, in front of the TV. If you really want to be nice to your underwear, bring it a beer.
I always air dry until nearly dry (usually less than a couple of hours in summer) and then follow with at least 30 minutes in the dryer. Never noticed bugs, but they would die in the machine anyway, and the dryer sheets would kill any pollution smell (but never noticed that either). That funky ass smell you smell on people here is because they don’t use a dryer at all and hang clothes even when the humidity is high. Then they fold them while still wet. That’s funky for sure…
I just prefer to stay away from harsh chemicals. There are natural germ killers, such as honey, among others.
Funny hand wash, hah ahah. Lavado a mano, no machines involved. I also read about not washing neikus where you wask other stuff, as jeans, sweatshirts, etc.
ps.
I mean stresses above and beyond normal tear and wear.
Here is a pic I once snapped of urodacus’ underwear:
It was only a matter of time before someone did it…
No no I meant germy bugs not actual Evil Alien Species insects. And I meant the smell of clothes that have had some exposure to car exhaust, the food vents from nearby restaurants, and overall Taiwan Air Quality, not the smell of people wearing said clothes necessarily - I can smell it on the few clothes I do air dry and it pisses me off.
Not possible, he doesn’t wear underwear, helps reduce the weight on the bike and adds maneuverability and balance by allowing him to shift his weight every so slightly to each side and forward and back using highly specialized Kegel exercises that he learned in the outback in his youth from a horny dingo.
[edit] or so it’s rumored