Study: Women Do Not Like To Wash Their Bras

By Margarita Nahapetyan

According to a very interesting new finding, women are not quite into washing their bras. Researchers from British stain expert company Dr. Beckmann, have revealed that each woman wears her lingerie for two months before tossing it into a laundry basket.

The company quizzed more than 2,000 ladies with the ages between 20 and 65 years, and found that the average British woman wears her bra seven times over an 8-week period before washing it. White turned out to be the most popular colour, which accounts for 55 per cent of all bras sold, followed by red as the second most popular choice, at 27 per cent, while black bras occupy position number three - 18 per cent of the market.

The survey also showed that women spend 2,700 British pounds on bras during their lifetime. On average, they own 16 different bras in their underwear drawer, topping up their collection with four new purchases every year. British ladies own 2.6 billion bras in total with the market worth 39 billion pounds.

Dr. Beckmann Stain guru and spokeswoman Lesley Naylor said that the problem is not just that the lack of washing means that bras look tatty, grey and dirty which is definitely not a good thing, but it is also very bad for the life of the bra itself. Another negative moment here is that the extra dirt is obviously bad for a woman's skin exposing it to an increased risk of skin irritation through a build-up of bacteria, as bras are fitted snug to the chest. Lesley Naylor also added that unwashed dirty bras could become a thing of the past if British ladies washed them on a regular basis and maintained them every few months, what will also be prolonging the life of the bra.

However, one of the most interesting discoveries in the survey was that it is not just the average woman who does not like to wash her bra regularly - celebrities have fallen into the trap as well. A very famous and popular fashion designer Vivienne Westwood recently admitted that she never washes her bras as she hates graying straps. In a recent interview, Dame Vivienne, who is 68 years of age, said that it is her husband who does all the laundry in the house and that she has never ever used a washing machine in her life. Mrs. Westwood said that she particularly wears the bras that give her a more of an uplift than she is due. "I do not wash them, otherwise they are not very nice. Often, I just put talcum powder on them to clean them," said the designer.

The experts say that the most common stains on bras are those from stale perfume, body lotion, fake tan and sweat. In one of the recent surveys they also found that only a third of women bother to match their knickers to their bra. According to another research, up to 80 per cent of women do not buy and wear bras that fit them in a proper way.

Dr. Beckmann is the firm behind stain removal product Lingerie Whitener.