Does most wear on clothes come from washing them?

[Stephen Tashiro]

Ordinary street clothes, underwear, socks, t-shirts, not the things you wear while participating in the rodeo, get holes and rips in them after a few years. I wonder if most of the wear and tear comes from the washing machine - or perhaps from the chemicals in detergents. I usually wash clothes on the 'permanent press' setting and I don't often use bleach. Still, it seems that my t-shirts and socks turn into rags too quickly.

I wonder if this was better or worse in the old days. Washing clothes on a washboard by hand must have been tough on the clothes. I don't know how the washing machines of earlier years compared to those of today. Perhaps I should blame the fragility of my garments on "those foreign textiles", but would that make sense?

[Jamie Buxton]

I think so. Look at the amount of stuff that gets caught in the lint trap of your dryer. That used to be clothes.

[ray hampton]

the problem with wash boards were not the wear on your clothes but on your aching muscles ,you can buy clothes that is for heavy wear or for one wear then throw out

[ray hampton]

compare the amount of LINT from towels versus other clothes when them get dry in a dryer

[Greg Peterson]

I would offer that both wearing and washing contribute to the slow and gradual destruction of fabric.

Dirt, sweat, oils, skin cells, to name a few, work their way into the fabric. Our clothes get stretched, squashed, compressed, exposed to a variety of environments (hot, humid, cold, damp), sunlight....

I'd say cleaning is equally destructive to the fibers.

[John Shuk]

Yes. The washing machine is not exactly your clothing's friend.

[Brian Elfert]

Front load washing machines are supposed to be easier on clothes than top load washing machines. I wouldn't replace a perfectly good top loader, but if you need a new one a front loader is something to look at .

[Pat Barry]

You've got to be kidding right? How does the washing mashine know to wear out the elbow area of your shirts, or the seat area of your pants?