How many days do your wear your socks before changing them?
Some people change their socks every single day, to me that's a little to much. I'm more of a 2-3days kinda guy. Is changing socks each day absolutely necessary?
Edit: Obviously something is wrong with me, I'll take some time to rethink my life decisions and buy more socks! π Edit2: I mostly wear wool socks, I hope that justifies this a bit..
One you fucking heathen
π
You're that stinky guy, still in his 20's, who doesn't think he stinks right?
Pfft..
Too close to the bone?
I agree.
OP, do you also only shower once every couple days, and maybe use deodorant that same amount?
The only clothes I wear multiple days are pants and sweaters. Only on days when I barely used socks I may wear them two days in a row.
Wearing socks two days in a row is insane behaviour. Depending on the day, I might go through multiple pairs.
Athlete's foot?
Material makes a big difference. I was with you when I wore synthetic and cotton socks. Cotton is such a terrible sock material.
Wearing socks more than 1 day in a row means you've failed to uphold the social contract.
Once the socks come off, they go through the laundry before I put them on again. They're just not comfortable unless they're fresh.
Same. Back when I wasnt remote working, I'd carry two pairs of socks because I'd go to the gym in the middle of the day, shower, then when I went back to work, new socks.
One day only! Trust me, you can't smell old socks but everyone else can! They also make your shoes stink. In the same vein, never wear closed shoes without socks unless you want them to be eternally smelly
Changing socks is like changing undies. Daily at minimum. Don't see how being woolen changes anything. Wool socks absorb sweat and bacteria just as much as anything else
Wool makes a massive difference and it isn't even close.
For one, it has an uncanny ability to wick away moisture from the surface of your skin, away from your body. As it reaches the outside, it more easily evaporates away and minimizes the amount of absorbed and thus odorous sweat.
Skin also maintains "comfort" at a larger range of temperatures with wool. I have thicker wool socks I wear in summer with tall leather work boots and after 12-16 hours straight of wear my socks typically have virtually no smell and they're dry to the touch. Synthetic socks like Dickies absorb the sweat and cause the fibers to break down terribly. You end up with crusty, worthless socks.
Sorry, I wasn't saying that wool socks aren't better than synthetic - they definitely are. But IMO wool socks should still be washed daily 'cos they are still absorbing sweat. "wicking" keeps you dry, sure, it doesn't make the sweat disappear
My socks smell like cheese after a single day, and I can wash a month's worth of them in a single load of laundry, what am I gaining by wearing them multiple days in a row?
I only wear wool socks and work from home. I can easily go 4-5 days if I've only gone outside to get groceries or whatnot.
If I'm going out to socialize though and it's been more than 2 days I'll get a fresh pair.
I wear socks with at least 60% merino wool and wear the same pair for 5 days. After airing the they have zero smell.
Yeah same here, always wearing wool socks!
Wool socks don't need washing as frequently as cotton. They've got antimicrobial properties that make them take longer to get stinky.
If you're only wearing wool socks you can go several days, especially in the winter. Summer socks? Daily imo.
With wool socks, i'd recommend changing them every day, to give them a chance to air out, but you don't have to wash them every time. You can easily get 3 swears per wash with even the most squeemish people examining your socks daily.
FYI, i'm squeemish and I knit lots of wool socks.
Oh God. Back when I was dirt poor, I needed socks but I wanted to save money, so I wore them for two days, hanging them to dry overnight.
I ended up with athlete's foot. Don't skimp on socks.
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Dude I already know you smell
Feet sweat. A lot. Like a pint (450g) of sweat a day or more if particularly active or you have larger feet.
So for me, daily at the least. On particularly active days, multiple times.
Like a pint (450g) of sweat a day
citation needed
Yeah, that's half a litre of salty water soaking into your socks and shoes. I find that hard to believe
I mean, you could have easily searched "how much do feet sweat per day" and verified this yourself.
But ok, here's one of hundreds of the results from podiatry clinics that say roughly the same thing.
This is exactly the type of thing I imagine my fellow Lemmings asking as a serious question.
I tend to wear anything made from wool for a week or so before laundering. Anything else I tend to wash after one wear
I'm the same. When I was recently buying some new wool socks the seller said something like "these are great - you can wear them for days without washing" and I thought that was gross - but he was right. I leave them loosely sitting on top of my boots to air overnight and they are ready for another day.
Once a sock comes off I cannot put on a used sock again. So at least once a day for me.
Days?
Average athleteβs foot enjoyer.
Two. They're Darn Tough wool socks, and the packaging recommends even more days between washes for longevity.
Before these I had only worn cotton socks, mostly Nike, and those stink like hell and did need to be washed daily. But these wool ones really don't, even in the summer.
I also alternate pairs, so they're not two days in a row. e.g. A B A B C D C D etc.
This is the way.
Edit: okay to add more substance agreeing with you, Darn Tough socks, and in general merino wool socks, is a life changer. I didn't believe it initially because I live in a tropical country, but dangit merino wool socks is magical. It still feels cool when I'm stationary. Sure it gets a bit warm when I'm walking about, but I still don't get that damp feeling with typical cotton socks. Feetill dry the end of the day and sock still doesn't smell.
I wear darn tough, still change them daily. I have on occasion worn a pair for more than a day but that has been special circumstances. They don't get nasty like cotton socks but it's still going to feel and smell better with a fresh pair.
As for longevity, they have a lifetime warranty.
you are supposed to change them????
Winter time and minimal activity, if Im running low on socks or if Im lazy and they are right there I might give a pair a second day.
Summertime? If they come off they are done. I could go 3 pairs in a day.
I change my socks and give them for washing after every use. It's kinda necessary as I sweat a lot.
Living in a hot and humid climate I treat every piece of clothing like this. Once it has touched me it goes straight into the laundry bin. Except for jeans, which I do air/sun dry a couple of times before rinsing them.
give them for washing
I get the gist of what you're saying but that's a really weird way to put it. Do you not do your own laundry or do you treat your bin as sentient and pretend it's not you doing the washing later (this is my favorite interpretation)?
I just dump them into the washing machine. So I guess I'm just thinking that the machine is doing it not me!
Depends what I'm doing. Yardwork or exercise? Change as soon as I'm done. Just sitting around the house in pyjamas? They're fine to wear again.
Two caveats: I don't wear socks to bed, and if I'm wearing socks indoors (I prefer bare feet) I always wear shoes or slippers over them
If they smell they go into the wash, if your not sure surprise your SO by putting your sock under their nose and ask for a second opinion
Works every time...
Daily unless I don't have any clean in which case...until I do a load of laundry.
If I take my socks off, they go straight in the wash, if I need socks again that day, fresh ones go on
If clothes touch skin directly then they are put in the wash every day (socks, underwear {boxers}, tee shirt, shirts etc...) other wise it is a check to see.id still.good for follo days - did jeans get muddy / dirty, did I spill coffee on trousers etc... jeans go in wash after a week of wearing even if no spills / mud
Obviously it depends on a bunch of things... type of sock, type of shoe, type of activity, weather, et cetera.
Generally clean socks every day is nice though.
Also. The individual's skintype on their feet. My skin runs on the dryer side, and my feet don't stink easily. I can wear socks a few times because of this, unless I'm working out or something, or they get damp somehow.
It depends on how much you sweat, the stuff in your sweat, how much skin you shed, and your own microbiome. Everyone is different. I change socks every 10-12 hours. My friend changes her socks -and- shoes at lunch. If she doesn't, the smell will literally chase everyone out of the room when she takes off her shoes at the end of the day.
Maybe she's using shoes with a synthethic upper? She could try 100β cotton canvas
1 day? Hoodies I can go a week or more, buy socks changed every day.
buy socks changed every day
That sounds expensive
Well I wear mine for way longer than anyone else in this thread dares to admit.
Exactly. Way longer...
You have to change them?
You guys wear socks?
Around a week usually. Wool socks go much longer before they stink. All this washing and obsessive attention to hygiene is enabled by freely available access to energy and resources that many people don't have. Can you imagine these first world people walking down to the local river with a bag of washing every day? No, they too busy posting on insta for such humdrum peasant activities.
Now Iβm imagining slo-mo insta-mums life styling their river washing board.
βYeah, so I got this new board, extra galvanised and the wooden frame is made from recovered wood; links below if you want to buy one and support the channel!β
Once a day and once every two days if I didn't use them much.
Once they get so crusty they can stand on their own. That's about 8 hours in shoes, or a week next to the bed.
This guy doesn't fuck.
Not trying to be gross here but based on comments some people are going to find me gross. Anyways if I'm wearing socks with shoes then they're done after the day, or the hour If I made a quick grocery trip and came home or something. But I'll wear my warm fuzzy house socks for several days. Idc because my feet aren't sweating like that without shoes so I see those socks as still being usable.
I wear merino wool socks. They don't stink but I change them each day, generally speaking. Wear in day, take off to shower and sleep, new pair in mornings. I bought 10 pair, wash clothes weekly and wanted enough to not worry. But if you hand wash them you can manage it with fewer pairs.
Loose fitted merino stuff doesn't need to be washed often, and sweaters I can wash once or twice a year since they are outerwear but socks are like underwear, sit tight on your skin and better to keep them clean.
Merino wool is the real deal!
Office work 2-3 days.
Dude, 12 hours. Neanderthal.
Seconded. 8-12 hours at most.
This prompted me to buy socks cos apparently I'm an animal.
I wear sandals year round. No socks. I have a drawer full of really nice socks that I no longer have any use for.
I used to laugh when I saw kids with Crocs.
A few years ago, as a gag, I got Crocs.
I now wear Crocs and I'm considering buying indoor Crocs and outdoor Crocs.
Crocs.
I used to think Crocs were stupid. I
I was looking for indoor winter footwear for the cold floors: Slippers with socks were too hot. Slippers without socks were too sweaty and gross. Just socks wore out my socks too quickly.
I now have indoor Crocs. They're great to regulate temperature.
I have a pair of indoor crocs only. It is great on non carpeted floors. Mine are white to make it easy to differentiate from my outdoor crocs.
I wear cheap croc knockoffs. Once I got real crocs as a christmas present, and they weren't as comfy as the cheap no name brand notcrocs.
That said, still prefer leather sandals, they are more comfortable still. But that could be because I live in a hot climate.
I'll only wear a pair again if I happen to run out somehow. Then I usually get more socks to make sure it doesn't happen again any time soon.
24 hrs since I put them on for sleep and keep them on for the next day
On the contrary, if they're not too tight, they are a bit comfy for me. I heard Einstein was even proud of never wearing socks, but I think you people just have different foot vibes, I'm rather neutral about wearing them.
Even more importantly, it's winter, it's really fucking cold, and a blanket or two just isn't enough, at least not when I get out of bed early the next day. Directly covering extra skin helps.
Same.
depends on usage. If the day involves a gym visit or hike or something then more than once a day. Over a weekend where im mostly in the house barefoot and just put on shoes and socks to walk the dog, I might not change them at all for that weekend.
LPT for people who commented that their feet sweat a lot: Apply foot powder before putting on socks. Youβll feel fresher longer, wonβt sweat as much, and your feet wonβt stink when you take off your shoes at the end of the day.
7 pairs, 7 days. Costco Caterpillar socks.
Hours, max 12
And yes I take two showers a day. Got to keep all the bits clean.
Two showers a day realy isn't good for your skin. Even once a day isn't optimal, but I guess you have to compromise somewhere.
Yeah this time is measured in hours not days.
And if I take my socks off for some reason, like getting home from work, theyβre done, Iβll grab a fresh pair if I were to need them again that day.
Great minds think alike!
8hrs, but that could be a day or it could be a week.
NaN. I live in the tropics, socks aren't really a thing.
If I have to wear silly formal shoes for a function or whatever, I wear them maybe two hours.
Iβll change my socks every day, and more if Iβm swapping out workout clothes for fresh clothes.
Oddly, I really donβt experience foot odor. Other bits can get rather ripe, but whether Iβm wearing boots or going barefoot, my feet just do t get funky. That said, I have had athleteβs foot and Iβve seen what happens when someone doesnβt change their socks after days of marching and working in the field. I know itβs not a major danger for me at this point, but Iβve got a whole drawer full of socks, and in any case I want them to match with my shoes and pants.
Plese reply me with picture of Kryten washing Listers socks with hammer.
I exercise regularly so Iβm changing socks like twice a day.
I also change every 2 to 3 days, which is also the interval at which I shower and change clothes in general. So basically "Take off old cloth - shower - put on new clothes".
Had to every day with cotton. I can rotate my merino wool socks throughout the work week. 2 pair for 5 days.
Change your socks!!!
Unless you're laying around doing virtually nothing change your socks daily!
Smelling like a dog? Time to change dem socks.
when they can stand up and walk away on their own, time to get out a fresh pair.
i used to change socks every day, if i wore shoes, but since switching to only wool socks, i basically only change them once a week on laundry day unless they get muddy or something. wool socks can go a lot longer without washing than lesser fibers.
What if I told you that for 10 dollars a week you could wear brand new socks every day!
If they've been off after a day I don't see how you can put used socks back on.
I will wear underwear or socks more than 24h if i shower halfway into a day or if I am being sick/a slob and just not taking any clothes off.
One but I will make a 48 hour exception for socks if you don't wear shoes as well and you don't leave the house, still a bit gross.
I once wore the same pair while camping on a beach for 10 straight days but those were different times.
Wool socks? Camping on a beach i would have just washed them in the water at least once and gone sockless while they dried.
I honestly can't remember but I wore the same clothes for the entire time
Is there something wrong with you?
I think the question is why the fuck is everyone's feet in this thread so goddamn stinky that y'all need daily changes of socks even if it's like a weekend day or something
Yeah, in threads like these the people who react with "ew no the human body is disgusting, why aren't you constantly changing your clothing and dousing yourself with deoderants after your hourly showers?" Are saying more about themselves than about anyone else. As soon as I saw the title of this thread I knew there'd be a bunch of responses along those lines in here.
The world is a huge and diverse place, and the people in it are diverse as well. Some people are just stinkier than others. Some people are more sensitive to stinkiness than others. Some climates are more conducive to stinkiness. Some lifestyles are stinkier. Different socks hold smells differently. Some floors are worse than others. There's no "right" answer to this.
We be workin n twerkin 24/7
Alright, so, I change my socks daily but I wear them 3 or 4 times before I wash them, unless it's a) abnormally humid and hot, b) I've done an intense workout or c) they got damp/wet somehow.
I dunno. I don't stink easily and my feet and skin are on the dryer side. My feet don't have an odour for a few days if I don't wash them ( like if I'm camping), so it's not a big deal.
Usually, I keep a pair of socks stuffed into a pair of shoes for a few cycles of wear, then toss them in the laundry basket. Right now all my shoes that I wear socks with that a pair stuffed inside.
Bought a marino wool shirt because i was told this. Still incredibly itchy even if it was better than regular wool.
Depends what I'm doing. On an average home office day I barely even wear socks outside of dropping the kids off at school, so the pair that I'm currently wearing is on the floor next to my bed has been used three days in a row.
When I'm doing field work it usually means long days of wearing shoes, often in hot climate, and often loafing around airports. For those days I always pack three extra pairs of clean socks to have in my kit.
4-5 in Winter and 1-2 days in summer
8-10 hours a day btw.
Socks are for the weak. I wear sandals unless itβs a formal occasion and even then I only wear socks to protect my Jordan 1 low Pandas from me.
If you are somewhere pretty cold and unsociable then fine. You could also wear two pairs at once, the woolen ones on the outside and washed less often than thinner ones inside to wash often. Done that. Works well. Again; cold, kinda not social.
I put on new socks everyday. But if I get up early, and have to do stuff as soon as I'm up, I might put back the clothes I had the previous day and, like, prepare my son's breakfast, then I go take a shower, then I put on new clothes.
I used to wash them daily but it made them shrink a bit whereas wearing for 2-3 days makes the fabric a bit wider. As I have pretty wide feet, narrow socks just hurt at the end of the day. So I wear them 2-3 days depending on sweat and dirt.
I rarely leave my home and I still use socks every day, and I still change them every day... I have many of them and are very short ones, so it's easy to wash them all together on the wash machine. Feels like a protector to use with my slippers.
I usually swap clothes every time I take a shower, or when they get dirty. Nothing special happening that's very second day, but can end up being daily.
Iβve had to do 2 days in a row multiple times in my life, and they get gross really fast. I canβt imagine going for 3.
I stumbled upon this thread and got really confused. Do people usually have sweaty feet? I tend not to wear socks except when I wear shoes. Otherwise, I wear slippers or go barefoot. Even when I wear shoes, I don't notice any sweating in my feet. I usually wear cotton socks though.
To answer the OP, though, my rule is to not reuse socks with a couple of exceptions:
Most of the time though, I just don't bother with shoes and socks if I can get away with it. It's too hot where I live to deal with socks.
Whatβ½
People donβt change their sock daily? Do you use the same underwear too? Am I abnormal-er?
Anyone who says more than a day is more beast than man. That said we are on lemmy, so yes you are likely abnormal.
Iβve never in my life been on the more hygienic side of things. Iβm a barely functional mess of adhd and autism that launched itself into grad school in a new country. I donβt wear socks more than 36 hours (if I put them on at 4pm, Iβll still wear them the next day, but otherwise no).
So, probably do every day if you want to be on the safe side
What countries did you move from and to?
Socks and underwear are single-use items. Even if it's the same day, if they come off, freshies go on. This thread is ridiculous.
I have to get up early once a week to drop my kid off at a before school activity. I put on a fresh pair of socks before I go. Then I come back home, shower, and put on a new fresh pair of socks. Putting on a pair of socks that have been on dirty feet would just be weird.
If I leave the house, Iβll change my socks and undies.
If I donβt leave the house for a few days (my partner and I work from home) Iβll wear the same socks and undies for a few days. If Iβm mostly inert nothing gets messy!
(middle panel, from the pre-canceled artist)
Agreed with you at least on inert -> wonβt change tee shirts.
Classy interrobang!
Never notice those! (Maybe due to the font on Voyager iOSβ½)