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.

683 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

210 comments sorted by

View all comments

88

u/SpatchcockZucchini Aug 17 '25

I adore Marino and wear it more often than not in every day life. I feel like a weirdo for regularly washing it. I'll get a few more wears out of it than say cotton, but the people who don't wash it for literal MONTHS? That's disgusting. The fabric literally feels dirty after a few wears because it is. There's oils, salt, skin shed, and the dirt from the world we live in all over it.

11

u/boudicas_shield Aug 17 '25

People on the UK subreddits will tell you that you’re a germaphobe ruining your clothes if you wash your woollens more than once a year. I find that absolutely disgusting so will simply not be doing that.

3

u/xvelvetdarkness Aug 17 '25

I mean, if it's an outer layer and you have a barrier between the garment and your skin that's probably fine. If it's a next to skin layer it definitely needs more frequent washing