Expert Opinions: Changing Clothes After Getting Home

I have a bit of a routine that I only recently realized might not be the norm for everyone.

In short, I have dedicated “outside clothes” and “inside clothes.” I can’t imagine lounging around the house in the same clothes that I wore to work or out to run errands. I live in Manhattan, and even when I leave the building to take out the garbage or run to the corner bodega for milk, I pull on specific sweatpants and Uggs to do so. I consider this a clean, sanitary routine.

I’m also an evening shower person — I take one almost immediately after returning home (and before I put on my inside clothes). I’ve never given much thought to whether doing these things actually makes any difference or not.

Until, that is, a few months ago, when, during a conversation with friends, I realized not everyone shared my predilection for designated inside clothing. Granted, most everyone in my friend group said they eventually changed clothing after arriving home, trading in what they’d been wearing outside for something more comfortable — but none of them necessarily did so because of concern for cleanliness or germ transmission.

That led me to wonder if there’s any science behind my madness. Here’s what experts said when I interviewed them on the matter.

In my anecdotal, unscientific survey, I found that those in certain professions and people who suffer from allergies were likely to share my indoor-outdoor clothing routine. Think: medical professionals and healthcare workers, grocery store and restaurant employees, landscapers and sanitation workers.

James Matos, a Navy hospital corpsman and IV nurse, said that while there isn’t necessarily definitive evidence that changing clothes immediately after arriving home significantly reduces your exposure to germs, he does agree that it’s pretty reasonable to see how garments can pick up bacteria and viruses — something that scientific research supports.

A systematic research review published in 2020 documented that bacteria can survive for up to 206 days on polyester and up to 90 days on other fabrics, including some cottons and materials made from fiber blends. Viruses can remain infective on textiles for two to four weeks. Scientific evidence (chronicled in a review at the National Library of Medicine) shows that influenza viruses can live between less than 30 minutes to one week on cloth, depending on the specific virus, while some COVID strains can persist for up to 24 hours. As for bacteria, Bordetella Pertussis (or whooping cough) lives on material for three to five days. Escherichia coli (E. Coli) lasts anywhere from four hours to eight weeks on cloth.

Dermatologist Dr. Hannah Kopelman routinely advises her patients, especially those with conditions like eczema or acne, to minimize prolonged contact with contaminants they might pick up from outdoor environments, including those that might end up on their clothing.

Research shows that eczema triggers include pollen, mold and fumes from wildfires, automobiles and some factories — so you likely don’t want to lounge around in clothing that may have picked up any of these while outside. For those who may experience acne outbreaks, studies have linked air pollution as a trigger.

“While research specifically comparing the benefits of immediate clothing changes is limited, the underlying principle makes sense,” she said, especially in busy urban settings. She told me that the “inside clothing” habit is an easy way to help maintain a clean home environment while stressing that overall skin hygiene should include good hand-washing practices, regular laundering of clothes and a balanced skin care routine.

Any time we venture outside, and especially when in a populated public space, we’re exposed to all sorts of germs, some of which can potentially make us sick.

According to Shanina Knighton, a nurse and infection preventionist at Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University, “Preventing public contaminants from entering the home is a key infection control measure.”

She explained that spaces where our exposure to bacteria, fungi and viruses increases include public transit (specifically the seating) and work settings, especially when cloth is involved. Fabric-covered benches or seats on trains and buses can potentially harbor more pathogens than those fashioned from wood or plastics.

Dr. Laura Purdy, a board-certified family medicine physician, further explained that any space that sees a high number of people every day heightens the possibility that you may pick up germs via indirect transmission. This method includes touching the same door handle or elevator button as someone infected, brushing up against the same table or sitting in the same subway seat.

As well as indirect transmission, Knighton says that environmental toxins from air pollution, vehicle exhaust and airborne germs can settle on clothing and skin throughout the day, which is why washing your hands and face when you come in from outside is always a good idea.

One example of an environmental toxin is the group of manufactured chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. While our exposure to these chemicals, which can be found in the water, soil, air, and food, remains low, over longer periods of time, they can accumulate in the body. So, practicing good hygiene can mitigate this. Adverse health effects of long-term exposure can cause things like decreased fertility, developmental delays in children and an increased risk of some cancers, including prostate and kidney.

Your occupation and/or where you live — specifically, some industrial workers or those who reside near PFAS-producing facilities or factories — can mean you may have a higher PFAS exposure.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, emissions from motor vehicles (and especially diesel exhaust) have been linked to a variety of health issues, including neurological, cardiovascular, respiratory, reproductive and/or immune system damage as well as an increased risk of cancer. While inhalation or direct absorption into the skin are the primary things to be concerned with, these toxins can settle on clothes, making the practice of changing out of and washing what you wore outside regularly one of those “it certainly can’t hurt and it just might help” things.

All the experts I talked to said hand (and face) washing remains the best way to significantly reduce the possibility that you will “catch” a virus or cold.

And if you can’t be bothered to change your clothes, you should at least pay attention to two commonly contaminated items, your handbag and your phone.

Knighton said your unsuspecting purse or bag can “harbor bacteria from being placed on public floors, restaurant counters and bathroom stalls.” Regularly cleaning the bottom of your bag will mitigate toting excess bacteria into your home. So will, as many of us already know, wiping off your phone; studies from 2017 showed significant levels of bacterial contamination on mobile phones.

The trick is, of course, remembering to regularly clean your phone.

For my part, I’m sticking to my disrobe-and-take-a-shower homecoming routine; not only does it make me feel cleaner, it also eases and quiets my mind. Which, in this world of cacophony, remains key to my well-being.