Quirky Aussie habit making pyjamas mouldy and smelly

For many Aussies, storing pyjamas behind their pillow is a habit ingrained since childhood. Since they’ve been worn at least once it makes sense not to put sleepwear back in the drawer and tuck them away where you’ll use them the following night.

Unfortunately, experts told nine.com.au it’s actually unhygienic and possibly even more so than leaving them on the floor all day. It seems those who leave them on a designated clothes chair might be onto something.

“Though this is common, it is not the best practice,” Rietie Venter, microbiologist and  associate professor at the School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Science at Adelaide University, said.

“Pyjamas could be slightly sweaty from the night’s wear and keeping them under the pillow will keep them moist. It will also trap the heat from your body on the pyjamas for longer, creating ideal conditions for moulds to thrive and odours to develop.”

Susan Toft, The Laundry Lady founder and CEO, agreed, “That’s exactly the environment odour-causing bacteria like warm, dark, no airflow. Instead of drying out and airing between wears, they sit in their own moisture and the smell just compounds.”

That doesn’t mean you can’t put them behind the pillow at all, just like airing out your bed before making it again, airing out sleepwear is beneficial.

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“Hang your pyjamas over a chair, a hook, or a towel rail rather than folding them away straight off your body. That lets any moisture evaporate properly before they’re worn again, which makes a real difference to odour,” Toft said.

Given pyjamas are known for being worn multiple times before washing there can be confusion around when to toss them in the laundry hamper.

“Once a week is the general rule, though every three to four wears is a better way to think about it. Even though pyjamas look clean, they’re soaking up everything your body sheds overnight: sweat, dead skin cells, and natural oils - that builds up on the fabric whether you can see it – or smell it – or not.”

However, individual bodies, weather and simply personal preference mean washing after one night is fine too.

“What you should consider is factors such as if you shower in the evenings before you go to bed or in the morning, also, how much you sweat,” Venter said.

“You should also consider that pyjama bottoms are worn directly on your skin and in that way are like underwear; so, you might consider washing them after each wear.”

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The deciding factor for pyjama-washing frequency is usually sweat because of the bacteria and odour that it leaves on sleepwear.

“Sweating is the big one. Women going through hormonal changes often sweat more overnight and may need to wash their pyjamas daily rather than weekly. The same goes for anyone running a fever or naturally sleeping hot,” Toft said.

Pyjamas are easy to just dump on the bed or floor and forget about putting in the wash, but Toft said they’re worth prioritising because “they’re against your skin for around a third of your day”.

“When in doubt, the easiest habit to build is simply popping them in with the weekly wash, or twice a week if you’re a hot sleeper,” she said.

Whether you need to wash pyjamas more often or not, it is useful to have two to three pairs, so there is always a clean one to change into while the other is in the wash.

And unlike the dilemma of where to put them after wearing them once, they can simply be tucked away in your dresser drawers.