How Clean Are Your New Clothes? Find Out

[Big Don]

How Clean Are Your New Clothes? Find Out

'GMA' Found Harmful Bacteria on Brand New Clothes

By ANDREA CANNING and RICH McHUGH

Jan. 7, 2010—ABC NEWS/Good Morning America
EXCERPT


When you buy new clothes, you expect them to be new, not already worn by someone else. But that's not always the case.
Consider what happens after you return a pair of pants or a blouse. Often it goes right back on the rack, to be resold instead of staying in the back room, retail experts told "Good Morning America."
"The customer probably gets the wool pulled over their eyes. & A lot of people just come home and if it has a tag attached, they think it's brand new and they wear it," Tori Patrick, a former retail saleswoman, said. "You really never know where it's been."
To see how clean some "new" clothes were, "GMA" bought everything from blouses to pants to underwear from three popular chain clothing stores ranging from high- to low-end and handed them over to Dr. Philip Tierno, director of microbiology and immunology at New York University, to test the 14 items for germs.
Tierno found disturbing results. There was flora, or bacteria, on several items.
"On this black and tan blouse we found representation of respiratory secretions, skin flora, and some fecal flora," Tierno said.

END EXCERPT
You probably don't want to read the full article.
Two words: Silk blouse

 

[rlobrecht]

I never wear clothes without first washing them (other than trying them on at the store, if necessary.)

 

[Big Don]

I never wear clothes without first washing them (other than trying them on at the store, if necessary.)

Apparently, trying them on in the store isn't all that clean...
I buy a lot online, ought to be safer...

 

[Bill Mattocks]

I'm not worried about it. People who try them on after me should be the ones worried. I got stuff that eats ebola, I swear.

 

[Bruno@MT]

Apparently, trying them on in the store isn't all that clean...
I buy a lot online, ought to be safer...

Some things you can but online, but things like pants really need to be tried on if you want to make sure they fit well enough.

 

[Bruno@MT]

If you really care about this sort of nastiness, let me tell you that cash money, keyboards and ATM pin pads are much, much, MUCH grosser than clothes worn by someone else.

My wife works in a microbiology lab. In her previous job she once touched a euro coin to a petri dish and put it in a body temperature incubator. The way it looked a day or so later, you'd think it was a biological weapon. Money bills are even nastier since the germs / fungus / spores have something to cling to.

 

[Bill Mattocks]

They did a Mythbusters show recently, and I believe the nastiest thing they found was a kitchen sponge. Very very gross.

 

[rlobrecht]

microwave your wet sponges for 2 minutes to sterilize them.

 

[Flea]

Ah, I'm several steps ahead of all of you because I only shop in thrift stores.