How often should you wash your jeans?

Jeans are probably one of the hardest-working items in your closet, but when it comes to laundry day, denim plays by a different set of rules than the rest of your clothes. Unlike your favorite T-shirt or leggings, jeans don’t necessarily need a spin in the washing machine after every wear. In fact, washing them too frequently can cause fading, wear down the fabric and rob them of that perfectly broken-in feel we love so much.

So how long can you really go without washing your favorite pair? And is there such a thing as too long? We tapped a team of cleaning and laundry experts to find out when jeans actually need a wash, which shortcuts are worth trying and how to keep your favorite pairs looking good in the long run.

How many times can you wear jeans before washing them?

As much as we’d love a hard-and-fast number, Maria Cabral Menezes, founder of WashWise, tells us there isn’t one. “I actually think that’s where we go wrong with laundry in general,” she says. “We get so used to washing things after a certain number of wears rather than asking ourselves whether they’re actually dirty.” When it comes to jeans, she says five to 10 wears is a reasonable starting point, but it really depends on what you’ve been doing in them.

Matt O’Connor, founder of laundry service NoScrubs, agrees that’s a good general guideline for everyday denim and that the main consideration is how much action your jeans see between washes. “An office day barely counts, whereas an active outdoor day should count double,” he says. But if you’re wearing raw denim, you can be even more patient. “Raw denim can go months” without hitting the washing machine because the fabric is untreated.

How can you tell when your jeans need washing?

“Smell would definitely be the No. 1 indicator that your jeans need to be washed, even if they don’t look dirty,” says Melanie DiSalvo, founder of A Look Behind The Seams, a clothing sourcing company.

Cabral Menezes agrees, adding, “Denim can absorb sweat, body oils and everyday odors without necessarily looking dirty. I’d pay particular attention to areas like the waistband and seat, where there’s more contact with your body. Also, how the fabric feels. If your jeans start feeling grimy or have noticeable buildup, that’s usually a sign they need a proper wash.”

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All the experts we talked to recommended using a mild laundry detergent when washing your jeans to prevent the color from fading. This option from All is hypoallergenic and free of any dyes and perfumes.

What happens if you wash jeans too often, or not often enough?

Washing denim can be a bit of a Goldilocks situation. You don’t want to overdo it, but you don’t want to skip it forever. “Too often and they get faded, shrink and break down the stretch. Too rarely and body oils set into the cotton and actually weaken it. The sweet spot is closer to rarely than constantly,” says O’Connor. “If you wash them too often, the blue indigo color will fade, and the denim will become weaker over time. But if you don’t wash them enough, the fabric will also become weaker because the bacteria will eat away at the textile, causing rips and holes,” adds DiSalvo.

So what’s a denim lover to do? Instead of constantly sticking them in the wash after every wear, spot cleaning or airing them out can help freshen things up without putting the entire pair through the stress of a wash cycle. “Something as simple as hanging your jeans up after wearing them rather than throwing them in a pile makes a difference,” says Cabral Menezes. “And if you spill something on one small area, why wash the entire pair when you can just spot clean it?”

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One way to extend the time between washes is to treat stains immediately. “Remove grease, food and other stains with a suitable spot treatment rather than letting them accumulate,” says David Grippi, director of operations at Clean Brands. These pens are super compact, so you can carry them anywhere, allowing you to act fast when stains hit.

Does freezing jeans actually get rid of odors and bacteria?

Many denim enthusiasts swear that sticking jeans in the freezer will freshen up a pair without exposing it to a spin cycle. But does it actually work? According to our experts, not exactly. “The idea that freezing jeans kills odor-causing bacteria and eliminates smells is popular, but the evidence does not support relying on it. Freezing can temporarily slow microbial activity, but it doesn’t remove sweat, body oils, dead skin cells or dirt,” Grippi tells us.

Cabral Menezes echoes that warning, explaining that a chilly freezer isn’t quite the denim-refreshing miracle people think it is. “Freezing can temporarily slow bacterial activity, but a household freezer doesn’t reliably kill odor-causing bacteria, and it certainly doesn’t remove the sweat, oils or dirt sitting in your jeans. So you might take them out of the freezer thinking you’ve solved the problem, only for the smell to come right back once they warm up. I’d stick to airing them out, refreshing them when appropriate, and actually washing them when they need it. Your freezer can stick to storing ice cream.”

What’s the best way to wash and dry jeans?

Once your denim is actually due for a wash, you don’t need a complicated laundry routine or a cabinet full of specialty products. Just a few tweaks can help keep your favorite jeans looking their best. “Turning jeans inside out helps protect the color from some of the friction during washing, and cold water is generally gentler on the fabric. I’d also avoid using more detergent than you need,” says Cabral Menezes.

And don’t overlook what happens after the washing machine finishes its job. The dryer can be particularly tough on denim. O’Connor tells us to “hang dry or tumble low and pull them while still damp. Heat is what wrecks jeans. We see a lot of laundry, and the dryer is where the damage happens.”

Finally, make sure your jeans are completely dry before folding them or hanging them back in your closet. Proper storage matters, especially if you’re trying to stretch time between laundry days. “Damp jeans can develop musty odors and mildew,” Grippi warns. So be sure to give them plenty of time to air out.

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Grippi recommends that you air-dry your jeans because it helps prevent shrinking, fading and other damage. This handy drying rack has plenty of room for you to dry multiple pairs at once, and it folds up for easy storage.

Now that you know how to properly care for your denim, shop some of our favorite styles — with the necessary TLC, they’ll last years.