Is this sanitary?

Alicia - posted on 09/07/2012

Yeah, I really didn't think it would work out like this at all. I read an article in Women's Health about germs on gym towels if they are not washed properly, and I said it lead me to believe something. If I had read an expert's opinion, I wouldn't be looking further. Asking a question is completely valid when it's not coated in nastiness. How do you respond to that besides wtf?? Open internet shouldn't be an excuse for rude and insulting, so I guess I will just shut this thing down so I can move on with my life, lol!!

Suzanne - posted on 09/07/2012

http://www.healthline.com/health-slidesh...

http://www.idph.state.il.us/health/infec...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/articl...

http://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/commun...



I'm not a germ-a-phobe by any stretch, but the idea of a bunch of teenage boys sharing shirts makes me squirm a bit (kids are DIRTY!!!).

Wow...I can't believe some of these responses! She's looking for help, not criticism! Jeez people.



It's really about trusting that the people taking care of the shirts are going to wash them properly. When it comes to the health of my child (especially considering the increased MSRA outbreaks), I don't think Alicia is being too cautious. Would YOU wear something off the rack from the Salvation Army, or would you wash it yourself...just to make sure it's clean?

Shawnn - posted on 09/07/2012

lOL@ firebird...Love it



Alicia, very valid questions were asked by Angela, who, by the way is just a blunt, straight forward woman, as are a lot of us on here, me included.



Where did you hear/read that wearing clothing that has previously been worn by another, then washed, is a sanitary concern? I'm curious as well! I take it that you don't shop secondhand...do you take hand-me-downs? Doesn't sound like it.



If you have the money to buy all sorts of different colored shirts for your son to wear, then by all means, do so, but you do run the risk of him being made fun of for his momma being over protective. When my eldest (now 18) was in soccer club, the coaches handed out the shirts before every game, then collected them after. He didn't wear the same shirt twice all season, I don't think, but never had a problem.



If you're truly that concerned, have him wear a neutral colored shirt underneath the other "community" shirt. That should take care of any detergent allergy concerns, and will keep that "unsanitary" used shirt from actually touching him

Firebird - posted on 09/07/2012

LOL I love reading CoM in the morning! I can smell the drama! Very entertaining conversation ladies. =) Alicia, just chill. Angela's statement about "super-sanitizing" Parents was a general remark, not aimed solely at you. If you're in an online forum, you have to be a little less sensitive.



Now on to the actual question. As long as the shirts are being washed regularly, there's no reason to send t-shirts from home, unless,like Dove said, your son has a sensitivity to laundry detergents.

Ashley - posted on 09/07/2012

If it was washed its fine. I don't know where you read or heard such thing about it being unhealthy or gross but its not. Washed means clean therefore its fine. When my child was in baseball this summer I kind of wish they did that so I could save on washing the jersey.

Angela - posted on 09/07/2012

Don't Sarah and Dove get a thank you too?

Alicia - posted on 09/07/2012

Oh, and I forgot to mention a Thank you to Jodi for a helpful response with a respectful tone.

Angela - posted on 09/07/2012

Alicia, my first post on this thread was endorsed by 2 "helpfuls" and one "funny". No-one's endorsed any other responses so far on this thread - including YOURS! Not that it's any kind of a contest of course, just saying!



If I've ever had a bad experience with other parents, I've probably forgotten about it by now as I'm 54 and a grandparent.



Using quote marks is simply signifying it's a quotation. Nothing sinister about that.



I never suggested you were fabricating the reason for your concerns nor did I intend to imply that. I only asked for the source of empirical evidence that it would be somehow harmful to wear a clean, laundered T-shirt that had been worn by someone else the week before! You didn't provide the source though!



And I have conceded that issues with laundry detergent may be a genuine cause for concern.



Hope you have come to a decision you're happy with anyway.

Alicia - posted on 09/07/2012

I can't tell whether you have had some bad experience with other parents and their concerns that has left you emotionally scarred, or if you just like to carry around a soap box to nurse some superiority complex. I looked to this website to pose a question and start a conversation, separate from the people I have talked to that agree it's kind of gross when you think about it. I don't see anyone making a fuss or much ado about anything but you. If we were having a conversation and you immediately dove into assumptions about me and the whole situation, and chose to mock it, I would consider it to be rude and unnecessary. Notice how everyone else just answered the question. However, you chose to go with a haughty tone and sarcasm, now mocking all those colored tee shirts I must own and putting my words into "quotation marks" as if I must be fabricating the whole reason I posted the question in the first place, while going off of the barest of facts. I'm left shaking my head in amazement at your bold ignorance, and making plenty of my own assumptions.

Angela - posted on 09/07/2012

No a rude response at all - simply facing up to the plain facts! Bringing your own T-shirts along is simply extra expense (after all, how many different colours are they?) and trust me, it will be noticed by the other kids and possibly sniggered over!



Of course, it might not be laughed about by the other kids at all. They may envy your son that he has his own collection of T-shirts in all the various colours used for sports and then pressure their own mothers - in which case how popular are you going to be with other parents for setting a precedent that will cost them extra money, extra laundry and extra headaches?



You say "I have read things that would lead me to believe that it is not a good idea". WHERE have you read such things? No-one who has responded on here has any issue with a child wearing a fresh laundered shirt that was worn by another child last time a match was played!



If you have "read such things" and they were put forward by an expert in health & hygiene then please give the source! Otherwise it's just a sweeping statement that you are defensively presenting with no evidence! I'll gladly concede if you can give a reputable source to where you "read such things"!



Have you or your family NEVER worn clothes that have been worn by someone else at some point? NEVER hired clothes for a special occasion? NEVER worn second-hand clothing?



Dove has raised the very valid point about laundry detergent allergies which you would be fully justified in enquiring about if your child has sensitive skin - or if your child had some reaction after wearing one of their T-shirts that couldn't reasonably have been caused by anything else.



Otherwise, it really is much ado about nothing!

Alicia - posted on 09/06/2012

I don't consider myself someone who super sanitizes anything, in fact, I am well aware of the benefit of not being so. I'm not sure why asking a question must mean I have some extreme belief about it. I have read things that would lead me to believe that it is not a good idea, and thought there might be people who had experience to share. Oh, I mean, I want to marginalize my child and make a fuss. What a rude response!

Jodi - posted on 09/06/2012

It's fine. My son's rugby team collects the jerseys after each game, has them washed and then redistributes them the next week. Sometimes they are wearing a different jersey, because the jersey they get depends on their play position. It's common practice here for a lot of sports. They are washed, it's fine.

Angela - posted on 09/06/2012

If they are getting washed before they're worn again, what's the problem?



Parents who keep their children super-sanitized aren't doing them any favours. They have far less resistance to illness!



But a washed T-shirt that happened to be worn by a different person last week isn't even an issue! Of course if you want your child marginalised by the other kids, go right ahead and make a fuss!!

Dove - posted on 09/06/2012

They are washing them in between games, so I don't see what the concern is.... ?? My only concern would be if your son has a sensitivity to certain laundry detergents.

Sarah - posted on 09/06/2012

I don't see the problem if they're being washed between games.