I see all sorts of answers online, but am not fully convinced. I tried finding some research on the longevity of clothes between wash and wash + dry. Considering that it dries for hours just the mechanical movement should damage the clothes I would assume?
Washing clothes defnetely damages your clothes. If you want your clothes to last as long as possible only wash them when they need them not just because you’ve worn them for a day. Also you can air them out instead of washing them to reduce the amount of wash cycles.
This, the process of washing clothing degrades it, in the washer and dryer. As well yes, you don’t need to wash something because you wore it once save for undergarments.
Replace your undergarments everyday because they will absorb the most sweat and oil from your body as well as any other material. That leaves external causes of soiling which are easy to mitigate. So you can wear a single pair of pants easily for a week. You replace your undershirt every 2-3 days and can wear an over shirt for a week as well. Just that people notice shirts more often so rotate your top.
Realistically, unless you’re in a profession where external soiling of clothing is high, you only need to do laundry once every 2 weeks deal. This save money, water, and reduces waste water with harsh chemicals in it.
either that or get gentler machines. i have an impeller driven washer and portable dryer that doesn’t ridiculously hot and my clothes has lasted for literal decades now.
it also helps being naked 99% of the time too. lol