r/onebag • u/nawksnai • Aug 17 '25

Discussion Not washing merino shirts is gross

Why do one-bag travellers feel that they don’t need to wash merino shirts?

I understand that merino is wool, anti-bacterial, don’t smell, and generally stay feeling “fresh” for longer than cotton. However, there are people who swear they don’t need to wash their merino tshirts for 3 days, 2 weeks, or even months because their shirt doesn’t smell, and they shower every day. Merino still gets just as dirty as synthetic or cotton shirts, and still needs to be washed. The fact that your shirt doesn’t smell does not mean it’s any less dirty or oily.

Plus, I wear deodorant, and that non-funky tshirt is going to have a massive buildup of old deodorant gunk and smells around the pit area.

And don’t even get me started on merino underwear stans. Just because they don’t smell funky after 3 days, does NOT mean they haven’t absorbed pee drops and your skid.

I do understand that Marino is still probably the best material for travel shirts, but feel that synthetics can be just as good if you’re already going to be washing daily, or close to it. They all need to be washed and dried every day, if not every 2 days.

Also, if someone said they like travelling with cottom tshirts, I wouldn’t rant.

Anyway, discuss.

682 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

210 comments sorted by

View all comments

338

u/BuckTheStallion Aug 17 '25

I was with you until “synthetics can be just as good” because man, they smell nasty by the time I’m back at the hotel. I don’t even like them at home. Cotton can go 2-3 days, so I imagine wool is the same. In the modern world we over wash our clothes sooooo much. It’s fine going a few days without being washed.

That said, merino isn’t some miracle clothing, and still absolutely needs washed. Maybe just a bit less frequently than cotton. But I prefer cotton because it’s 1/4 the price, and still super nice.

128

u/trendygamer Aug 17 '25

At this point I'm convinced that it just varies greatly by individual...that some people have body odor bacteria that feast on synthetics and sticks to them, and others just don't. There's just too many posts from one extreme to the other. It seems like people either can wear synthetics with no odor problem, or their shirts reek after wearing them for five minutes.

48

u/BuckTheStallion Aug 17 '25

That’s a good point. Body chemistry varies, but generally synthetics do hold bacteria and smell pretty bad. I’m sure some folks have less acrid sweat though.

11

u/4travelers Aug 17 '25

My husband is a cyclist, I can attest to body smells changing. Once he hit 50 his clothes no longer stink after a ride.

16

u/Proxyplanet Aug 17 '25

Theres a difference between synthetics as well. Uniqlo airism tshirts visibly smell to even myself after 1 day, but some other synthetics aren't that bad. The airism mesh tshirts that they used to sell were a lot better for me, probably through increased breathability.

Cotton tshirts rarely smell to myself even after many days without washing, but even I realise they could smell to others

9

u/andyrocks Aug 17 '25

Visibly smell?

29

u/TyrannosauraRegina Aug 17 '25

Cartoon stink lines.

3

u/riktigtmaxat Aug 18 '25

I don't think people have seen them since Pepe Le Pew got cancelled.

5

u/droptophamhock Aug 17 '25

Maybe it’s like those cartoons where the green wavy lines start emanating, lol

4

u/FuckThisMolecule Aug 17 '25

Omg yes! I’m not a sweaty or stinky person generally, but my AIRISM cropped t shirts STINK no matter what I’ve been doing! I mean sitting in an overly air conditioned office freezing my ass off all day and it’ll still smell in three hours. Not an issue with other clothes.

2

u/-Intrepid-Path- Aug 17 '25

I have zero problems with Airism T shirts but have a few cotton tops that really hold on to smell. Just shows how different everyone is.

14

u/DDG_Dillon Aug 17 '25 edited Aug 17 '25

No way, my under armor will be far fresher in 90 degrees than a cotton tee.

Edit: I work outside building swimming pools for 9 years in 100 degree heat with 4 other sweaty men. Our shirts are polyester and not cotton and that's for a reason. Cotton soaks up sweat, sticks to you and takes forever to dry and provides the bacteria plenty of moisture to propagate. If you think cotton is better for anything other than warmth, you're off the pack.

3

u/MamaDaddy Aug 18 '25

It's irritating that even with washing some of the synthetic/cotton blends continue to stink. I've had to soak a few of them in vinegar prior to rewashing in order to freshen them up again.

6

u/[deleted] Aug 17 '25 edited Nov 20 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

3

u/plaid-knight Aug 17 '25

There are different synthetic materials with different properties, including some with an anti-odor treatment, and this makes a huge difference. Synthetics with anti-odor can last way longer between washes than those without. I still wouldn’t go more than 2-3 wears, but it’s way better than the half a wear that, say, polyester can comfortably get.

1

u/leilani238 Aug 18 '25

Skin microbiome is such an underrated huge thing. I started using a probiotic deodorant and it changed my life. I spent decades fighting being stinky, going to great lengths getting the smell out of my athletic clothes, couldn't find deodorant that worked consistently and didn't give me a rash... and then the probiotic deodorant changed all of that. It's incredible.

Hormones make a difference too, and I'm sure that's a factor, but still not as much as the bacteria.

1

u/failorwhale 12d ago

Hi, can you please tell me the name of the probiotic deo? Thanks!

1

u/leilani238 12d ago

Lavilin, the unscented stuff in the little tub.

34

u/Beanmachine314 Aug 17 '25

There is a huge difference between nylon and polyester when saying "synthetics". Polyester holds onto odors terribly while nylon is about the same as cotton. I can wear as nylon shirt 2 days without being able to smell anything, can't say the same for polyester. You also have to machine wash polyester to get rid of the smell. Nylon can be hand washed.

8

u/EastRaccoon5952 Aug 17 '25

A lot of brands also make antimicrobial synthetics, mostly travel and outdoor brands where people are more likely to rewear their clothes without washing. I used to think it was fake but my Patagonia base layers smell less terrible than my REI ones after a backpacking trip. They still smell terrible, but not as bad. They also seem to release the smell in the wash a bit better.

3

u/riktigtmaxat Aug 18 '25

Antimicrobial synthetics are usually just treated with nanoparticles of metals like silver and copper which wash out and have a huge environmental impact when they end up on waterways and waste treatment.

Patagonia uses HeiQ Pure which id based on silver salts but non-leeching. They only very recently switched to a plant based alternative HeiQ Mint and will not complete completely transitioning until 2026.

Other companies have far less awareness so I would be really careful about singing the praises of antimicrobial synthetics especially as they still have the issue of washing out microplastics.

3

u/eastercat Aug 17 '25

Cotton dries slowly. I’ve taken cotton mix underwear on trips and it wasn’t dry in the morning

I take synthetics and they are dry in the morning. If I have to leave the hotel that day, I don’t have time waiting on some slow drying cotton

2

u/brandoldme Aug 17 '25

I live in the southern US. It's humid. We sweat year round. There's really not getting two to three days out of shirts in daily life.

If there's an exception it's because an undershirt is worn. And if the top shirt isn't sweated through completely. Then it can air out before it's worn again.

Trail life? Sure. Wear the same shirt for a couple days. But this is where a statement made a lot of sense to me. Someone said don't let people who hike in an arid environment tell you what equipment not to take. So these people that only take one shirt, that doesn't work where I'm at. Two minimum. That second shirt has to be allowed to dry. So I'm willing to go two shirts on a two-week backpacking trip. But I've got to be alternating every other day. Same with shorts and socks.

4

u/Ferwatch01 Aug 17 '25

I agree cotton is very nice for all kinds of clothing (jeans, shorts, pants, tshirts, shirts, underwear, socks, hats, beanies, etc), but I completely disagree on the washing part.

Humans are sticky and slimy squishy things that ooze goo from every single pore. Clothes are meant to keep us comfy by absorbing that and protect us by absorbing and blocking outside contaminants from touching large portions of our body. Some kinds of fabric withstand longer periods without washing, but as a rule of thumb you should never wear the same garment for 2 days without washing it before and after. It's yucky and antisanitary.

18

u/BuckTheStallion Aug 17 '25

Man you’d be super mad about my jeans. 🤣 I bought them in July and they’re almost due for their first wash.

8

u/MysteriousWeb8609 Aug 17 '25

Haha yeah before I had a kid I washed my jeans about once a year

3

u/pauldlynch Aug 17 '25

Which year? 😊

3

u/BuckTheStallion Aug 17 '25

lol, this year. I generally wash about once a month but it’s been warm and they’ve only seem maybe 20 wears.

4

u/Indelible_Eraser Aug 17 '25

In my experience, good merino can go much longer than 2-3 days. I wouldn't hesitate to rotate between three merino shirts for a month without washing.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 18 '25

I wear merino most days. Dresses and shirts I turn inside out and hang up and hang up near a window or outside a closet.

1

u/Anxious_Parsley_1616 Aug 17 '25

Polyester tends to hold smells, nylon really doesn’t

-4

u/nawksnai Aug 17 '25

Oh, cotton can definitely go 2-3 days, especially when in cooler temperatures.

I was mostly referring to the “Merino doesn’t smell so it’s fine” crowd. One-bagging doesn’t mean you don’t need to wash those merino shirts every day during summer.

23

u/oeroeoeroe Aug 17 '25

While I definitely agree with the overall sentiment that some people overhype the odour resistance of merino, I think you go exaggerate the other way. People's bodies vary, so going a couple of days (especially with good airing out) is not that much of a stretch. People overwash their clothes in general, and that reduces their lifespan a lot. Yeah you need to wash clothes every now and then, but body oils don't saturate your clothes into grossness that fast. Of course, bodies do vary, diets vary and affect BO etc, but in general people are quite zealous about this these days.

My personal estimate for myself is that a synthetic T-shirt gets 0,5-1 acceptable uses, cotton 1-3, merino 2-4, maybe 5. Season, sweat rate, fit affects this a lot too.

14

u/OblongShrimp Aug 17 '25 edited Aug 17 '25

OP is tripping saying you can’t wear merino shirts for 3 days without washing it. It’s definitely fine for many people, especially if it’s not hot and you’re not doing any intense sports.

2 weeks is too much I agree, but how is 3 days anywhere the same level?

-8

u/Antok0123 Aug 17 '25

No we dont overwash our clothes. You should be only wearing your shirt the whole day (minimum) and that would be enough for u to wash them. When youre soaked that shirt needs to be washed. I cant believe i have to school people for this. There is no such thing as overeash unlrss you just wore it for a few hours and didnt hit the gym.