Silver-threaded underwear fights junk funk even after a week of wear

Antimicrobial metal, already in medical and athletic garb, gets in people’s pants.


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[foxyshadis]

Am I the only one hoping for an in-depth review by Lee?

 

[SixDegrees]

glenalec[/url]":2azns6oj]So how do the silver ions discriminate between the unwanted bacteria and all the other stuff that lives on us and is actually necessary for our ongoing dermal health?

Magic.

 

[lewax00]

Am I the only one hoping for an in-depth review by Lee?

Maybe a crossover review with whatever the latest Soylent version is. Or even just 2.0 if he hasn't done that yet.

 

[truthyboy15]

Why can't they do anything for the ladies? Do the ladies not matter at all?

 

[Faceless Man]

total.wimp[/url]":1tup8nkp]The answer is obvious, wear both sets of underwear. Plus an adult diaper. That should just about cover it.

Do you wear the diaper underneath, or on top?

Also, is it a bad thing if your junk turns blue?

 

[yesteray]

Veritas super omens[/url]":4n50ahug]Silver nitrate was used on swabs on newborns to prevent transmission of syphilis to the infant from the mother.

Other way around.

It prevented transmission from mother to infant. It was particularly nasty as it would case blindness in the newborn.

 

[yesteray]

East Wind Rain[/url]":2agfbhq8]
Crotch, genital, and underarm hair are literally apartment complexes for body odor.

You say that like it's a bad thing.

Body odor is one of the extreme pleasures of life.

 

[Skelator123]

biscuitsandcookies[/url]":9qfp7i3c]So are these DNA-wrecking ions going to give me butt cancer?

Yes, just like how everyone wearing silver jewelry has huge tumors growing on their fingers and earlobes.

On a more serious note, is there any benefit to using silver over copper, which is often used in clothing for the same reasons? And are they really effective or is it just marketing crap?

 

[CircleBreaker]

Copper's cheaper, why not use that?

 

[SpatulaCity]

Hmm, I wonder if the silver content would set off the alarms while walking through an airport X-Ray machine. Or worse, will it set your ball on fire while standing in one of those whole body scanners (similar to tin foil in the microwave)?

 

[PrimalxConvoy]

samanime[/url]":3h1022lf]I find this to be a rather interesting and inventive practical use of science... and also humorous that we're now using science to help us avoid bathing. =p

That was already achieved by this miracle if science:

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Febreeze

It has the added benefit of eliminating the need to wash ones clothes, too. Perfect for bachelors, university students, the recently divorced, lazy housewives, prisoners and the homeless.

 

[pbarrette]

yesteray[/url]":effox2si]

Veritas super omens[/url]":effox2si]Silver nitrate was used on swabs on newborns to prevent transmission of syphilis to the infant from the mother.

Other way around.

It prevented transmission from mother to infant. It was particularly nasty as it would case blindness in the newborn.

That's exactly what [Veritas super omens] said.

 

[mike_syn]

thenamenottaken[/url]":1fwz35x8]Is there any news/reporting/science here, or are you just advertising someone's kickstarter and regurgitating the project's claims? I clicked on this expecting a Lee style review, but it seems like not only has the author not tried wearing the product for a week straight, she hasn't even seen the product she's writing about?

Indeed. This product calls for a review and verification of claims.

'Texas in July/August' sounds just right for a serious stress-test. Which Ars writers live in Texas?

 

[Manachanter]

And another reason why we're gonna get hit by an ever-increasing number of super bugs... people need to realise that killing off the 99.9% of bacteria that dies easily will leave 0.1% that doesn't, and when all that's left is that 0.1% it starts mutating to become 99.9% that we can't kill with current medicine... .

You want to not have to deal with bacteria in your underwear? WASH IT! Take a damn swim, something sensible that humanity has been doing for thousands of years.

Darwin at it's best... .

 

[truthyboy15]

VidX[/url]":20qapt4a]And another reason why we're gonna get hit by an ever-increasing number of super bugs... people need to realise that killing off the 99.9% of bacteria that dies easily will leave 0.1% that doesn't, and when all that's left is that 0.1% it starts mutating to become 99.9% that we can't kill with current medicine... .

You want to not have to deal with bacteria in your underwear? WASH IT! Take a damn swim, something sensible that humanity has been doing for thousands of years.

Darwin at it's best... .

Not all bacteria is bad for you and washing some bacteria away can let bad bacteria to overrun you.

 

[android_alpaca]

I've been wearing Mack Weldon silver thread boxer briefs for over a year now. They seem to work pretty well, they breathe better than my previous favorite Ex Officio boxer briefs in warm conditions, but they are cotton so I don't wear then in outdoor winter/rainy conditions where I might get soaked.

The first pair can be returned if you don't like them (I have no ties to this company)

https://www.mackweldon.com/products/silver-boxer-brief

 

[twocsies]

I have a pair of silver threaded underwear that I bought in Taiwan last year. Telita Silver Ion Underwear. They weren't particularly expensive. Isn't this Kickstarter just upselling products? Maybe some reporters for Ars Technica just parrot press releases.

Here's an idea for the next Kickstarter for your "invention" of nano silver socks:
https://www.beauty88.com.tw/master-prod ... &id=120347

 

[TheWerewolf]

Or you could.. I dunno.. change your shorts (or pack more than one on a trip?)

 

[eejaydubya]

So can I just put my silver kill coil in my pants and get the same effect?

 

[Putrid Polecat]

A great way to test the activated carbon briefs would be an elevator test, with hidden camera to observe extent of nose wrinkling

 

[SixDegrees]

SpatulaCity[/url]":2p2ryrta]Hmm, I wonder if the silver content would set off the alarms while walking through an airport X-Ray machine. Or worse, will it set your ball on fire while standing in one of those whole body scanners (similar to tin foil in the microwave)?

Ow! My balls!

 

[Takur]

Just Joe[/url]":ft14bq5p]Or you could just change your underwear and socks every day.

Not for the undies but I like this silver and activated in my bag. Don't wash them then often unlike my undies.

 

[Humanoid1]

Just take your regular undies and give them a "rinse" in colloidal silver and dry for same effect.

Bet it will be a Damn lot cheaper too in the long run while maintaining full effectiveness over lifespan of said undies.
Its really very cheap and easy to make your own for such a purpose.

If I had stinky feet I'd be doing this.

 

[Voice of Reason (or lack thereof)]

ShuggyCoUk[/url]":37lpwn87]There's loads of these about.

There has been testing by repeated washing them and seeing how much silver content remained after several washes.

Some products lost almost all of it very rapidly.

If it only lasts for a few washes it's pretty pointless.

Ah... but you're missing the point!
This is "put on once and forget about it" underwear.
for those of us will to stick to tradition (as opposed to underwear) .... washing once a year will still give you underwear for years to come...

 

[kehcorpz]

Statistical[/url]":100bwd8d]

dfavro[/url]":100bwd8d]If something like this comes into common use, wouldn't it increase microbial resistance to silver? And for what real reason?

That was my first thought. There is probably about 100% chance that silver-resistant superbugs would form if silver-laced clothing was the norm.

There is no evidence to indicate that bacteria can become immune to silver ions any more than you shooting yourself over and over will eventually make you immune to bullets.

Silver ions work by causing catastrophic damage to the physical structure of the bacteria. Interfering in basic life functions. Sort of how how bullets can cause catastrophic damage to you and will interfere with your basic life functions.

They are actually researching this further as they have found adaptation occurring in some scenarios. Microbes evolve at an alarming rate unlike our species which does it over extremely long periods of time. Just like they have adapted to antibiotics and many other things they can adapt to silver. There are certain products that can enter bacterial cytoplasm and destroy the cell but yet they adapt or expel the products. We can't make blanket statements like this because we don't quite have a grasp on the microbiome worlds.

http://www.arc.gov.au/news-media/news/r ... nanosilver

 

[di0genic]

Cheesewhiz[/url]":2b0n3aab]

Kilroy420[/url]":2b0n3aab]I question the lasting power of these funk-fighting silver-meshed Underroos, and thus the viability of the Kickstarter.

If there were a way to embedded the anti-bacterial properties of silver into underwear, I would imagine the industry leaders such as Hanes, Fruit of the Loom, etc would have already cornered this market with luxury lines or wilderness survival versions of this product.

I hope the product comes to market, but I would not donate.

You sound like Mr. Wonderful on Shark Tank. Just because there are big, successful companies that could do something, it doesn't mean that they are interested in doing it.

I don't know the reference, but he's right. This isn't anything new. I have a few pair of Medalist SilverMax underwear, from like 6 years ago.

Not sure Hanes or Fruit of the Loom make a lot of technical underwear, but some of the companies that do have been using silver for a while.

 

[JmmWill]

A side benefit of silver coatings is that they reflect microwaves -- which are bothersome to individuals who happen to be microwave-sensitive.

 

[Deleted member 276317]

JmmWill[/url]":2g5wv8sr]A side benefit of silver coatings is that they reflect microwaves -- which are bothersome to individuals who happen to be microwave-sensitive.

I thought EM sensitivity was bullshit. Have a reference for me?

 

[telkpat]

Wouldn't the silver content oxidize and eventually wear out? Sulfur will destroy silver quite quickly.

 

[Deleted member 192806]

telkpat[/url]":rtuxjeds]Wouldn't the silver content oxidize and eventually wear out? Sulfur will destroy silver quite quickly.

Why are you sticking sulfur down your pants?

 

[TIMMAH!]

Nice! So we now get 4 weeks of wear from a single pair! (Frontward, backward, inside-out frontward, inside-out backward.)

 

[kehcorpz]

Thoughtful[/url]":3rajw3fw]

JmmWill[/url]":3rajw3fw]A side benefit of silver coatings is that they reflect microwaves -- which are bothersome to individuals who happen to be microwave-sensitive.

I thought EM sensitivity was bullshit. Have a reference for me?

Sounds similar to gluten-sensitivity which a scientist who did a poor study recanted the results as he couldn't reproduce but it's already a huge market and people are stating it as fact. I guess it's good for people with Celiac disease at least. I really don't care if people even believe it. Just some people will shove it in your face and act superior. Geee

 

[TKu]

TIMMAH![/url]":2xwowmpf]Nice! So we now get 4 weeks of wear from a single pair! (Frontward, backward, inside-out frontward, inside-out backward.)

Yummy

Thats a picture I will not get out of my head very soon.


But wondering wearing silver jewellery on your junk would have the same effect?
At least then your partner would also get something out of it.

 

[lloydoldman]

WereCatf[/url]":2umih051]

daarong[/url]":2umih051]

dfavro[/url]":2umih051]If something like this comes into common use, wouldn't it increase microbial resistance to silver? And for what real reason?

That was my first thought. There is probably about 100% chance that silver-resistant superbugs would form if silver-laced clothing was the norm.

This is what I was thinking and the reason I opened the comments here: antibacterial soaps and whatnot are proven a Bad Idea(TM) because they breed superbugs, so wouldn't wearing antibacterial clothing nilly-willy do the same, eventually? If you're trading some underwear-funk for a chance of producing superbugs.. well, it's probably not a trade worth making.

Resistance to redox based toxicity doesn't work like antibiotic resistance. The risk is lower since the damage is spread among many biomolecules in the bacterium as opposed to targeting a specific biochemical pathway.

 

[lloydoldman]

Agree with the others who are disappointed in this article. This reads like the author relatively uncritically regurgitating a company's PR copy with only nominal qualifications of their statements.

Given that the author has a PhD in micro, she should appreciate that the statement about killing 99.9% of microbes is complete nonsense. That may be true when a small amount of a specific bacterial culture is pipetted onto the fabric and allowed to try (or some similar methodology), but it is almost meaningless when talking about the commensal burden of bacteria on the skin. In the skin envrionment, many bacteria will have minimal exposure to whatever small amount of silver ions are solubilized from the fabric. Trying to achieve a 3 log reduction in a highly colonized site for commensals is foolish from a microbiological perspective.

 

[Abosherpa]

A lot of women will want to buy those for "that" time of the month.

 

[etana]

flunk[/url]":qq21i2m2]Is there any evidence this actually works or is it just another junk science claim with nothing backing it up?

"junk science" haha

 

[Deleted member 276317]

Abosherpa[/url]":g06h4401]A lot of women will want to buy those for "that" time of the month.

Are you relatively young?

 

[BajaPaul]

Set off metal detectors...

 

[NedSand]

Antimicrobial copper-alloy touch surfaces = win
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antimicro ... h_surfaces

Iron Maiden undies = fail