Australians don’t wash their underwear as much as they need to, but Gen Z are by far the worst.
Earlier this week, LG Electronics’ “Laundry Care Report 2024,” which investigated laundry habits and laundry accidents, was released.
One in five Australians wear their underwear more than once before washing, the report found. To make matters worse, more than a quarter of Australians wore their gym clothes repeatedly before throwing them in the washing machine.
Gen Z was the worst offender in this regard.
The report found young Australians were more likely to squeeze multiple pieces out of their underwear, with 30% admitting to doing so and 36% doing the same with gym equipment.
Gen Z also acknowledged having a chair in the room to put clothes that are clean enough to wash but not good enough to put back in the wardrobe.
This is far more common among young Australians than any other generation, with 46% admitting this.
The biggest challenges when washing items included hard-to-remove stains, fading, tidying up, and ironing.
However, many Australians appear to have stopped ironing their clothes, with nearly three in 10 saying they never iron their clothes, and 42% saying they only iron their clothes when absolutely necessary.
More than half of Australians avoid buying clothing that requires dry cleaning because they don’t want to travel.
Many people also avoid purchasing materials such as silk and cashmere because they don’t know how to wash them.
Shannon Tweedy, Consumer Electronics Marketing Manager at LG Australia, said: “This report paints a clear picture of how Australian households approach laundry, and shows how many of us are actually taking the time to do our laundry. “They have made it clear that they are finding it a confusing and sometimes overwhelming task.”
“From skipping washing and ironing to forgoing dry cleaners and certain fabrics altogether, it’s clear that time-poor Australians are looking for painless solutions to their laundry challenges. ”
