It won’t always be possible to treat flatulence. Everyone farts and some people’s farts are worse than other’s. A year ago I bought some of My Shreddies’ flatulence filtering underwear (their hipsters) in an attempt to try and stop the embarrassing smells I produce. Sadly, I’ve had limited success but going by the comments on the company’s website, I am clearly in the minority and you may find that these work for you.
That being the case, what more should you know?
| Pros | Cons |
|
Great customer service Comfortable and stylish Seem to work for the majority Delivered in discrete packaging |
Expensive Loosen over course of day Need washing separately |
First of all, My Shreddies’ customer services is second to none. Emails were met with prompt, friendly responses, which answered my questions. They were also prepared to be helpful and addressed any concerns I had with the delivery and returns process.
More than usual for underwear, sizing is important: too tight or too baggy and they will be less effective as the flatulent gasses escape around the edges rather than through the charcoal filter. Fortunately, they provide a sizing guide to tell you what to look for in a badly fitting garment.
As usual when it comes to clothing, I was frustratingly between two sizes: XS and S. Their customer services team they suggested I opt for small rather than extra small since the underwear may shrink on the first wash. In the end I purchased both sizes in the hipster style.
They were delivered in a discrete grey package with a small sticker saying they were from My Shreddies but otherwise nothing else embarrassing. Being made from Jersey cloth, they are extremely comfortable to wear and, as you can tell from the pictures on their website, look stylish as well (which is more than one can say about some of the flatulence underwear I’ve seen online!).
The My Shreddies logo is embroidered on the elasticated waistband but is so discrete someone would have to be within a foot to notice and read it. I have had no fear getting changed in public while wearing them.
As they are so expensive, I have not worn them regularly. I tend to wear them on days I will be travelling long distances with other people or when I have important business meetings in case I can’t control the gaseous beast within during some important discussions. I’ve done that despite finding that they don’t always work.
There are several probable reasons for this. As I said above, size is definitely important. I think that the XS hipsters are a touch too tight and the S ones a tad too loose meaning they don’t form an adequate ‘seal’ to direct the flatulence through the fabric. I’ve also noticed that they become looser as the day goes on, although this is not permanent and is fixed with a wash. Posture may be a fact as well; I find them slightly less effective when sitting down than when I am standing up.
All that said, sometimes they have worked and adequately filtered away the smell. And I have decided to keep on wearing them despite their apparent ineffectiveness: I just feel a little more confident knowing that I’m wearing something that might stop embarrassing moments if I can’t control them myself.
The website says that their support boxers are their most effective underwear, but at a cost of £36, and my doubt over the correct size, I’m reluctant to spend so much money without being confident they will work. However, from the photos, they appear to have extra support around the groin area which seems to be where the hipsters let me down.
The only other problem with Shreddies underwear is that they are slightly awkward to wash. Using conventional detergents will damage the filter so they need to be washed with soda crystals, which often means a dedicated cycle just for your underwear, but if you’re not wearing them too often it’s not that big of an ordeal.
So, in summary, a great concept that appears to work for most people but not for me at the moment – I probably need to shell out for the more expensive (but hopefully more effective) boxers instead. However, extra marks are awarded for style, comfort and customer service.
Patient J 
Your experience mirrors my own with these underwear. I too tried the hipsters and found them to be effective around 30-40% of the time. On querying this with myshreddies.com, they were good enough to admit that even they would expect around 70% effectiveness (i.e. 7 out of 10 farts successfully filtered), though of course their website will not publicly concede this statistic! As you suggest, the boxers would probably be more effective given they are larger, but with so much uncertainty there is no way I am prepared to gamble this much cash on a product that can only work some of the time, and even then may not be reliable.
Solution? Perhaps construct the whole garment out of the carbon/filtration material? I would pay more if I were guaranteed the product would work. Every time.
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