How grey are YOUR knickers? Women in Glasgow and Manchester wear the oldest pants... and Londoners own the brightest Women in UK own 18 pairs of white underpants, on average Those in Manchester say more than 12 pairs are greying Londoners say only three of their pairs are past their best Washing at wrong temperature or too often and with dark colours to blame Manchester is known for its murky skies and greying buildings, but something else up there is turning a little off-white, too.... its women's underpants. The city has been outed as capital with the most greying underwear, with women admitting that 12 pairs of their 18 white knickers have seen brighter days. Meanwhile, down in London, women are better at keeping their undies sparkling (or better at lying), with girls in the capital saying only three of their average 18 pairs aren't as crisp and white as they once were. Manchester vs London: The North South divide comes into play in the white-off The nationwide study of 1,500 women revealed that the average adult female in the UK owns 18 items of white underwear, with many of these beginning to look grey over time, due primarily to being washed incorrectly or simply being old. And it appears there's a clear north-south divide when it comes to white underwear having passed its heyday. In Southampton just 18 per cent of ladies' white undies are greyed out. But up in Glasgow, from a collection of 18 items of white underwear, 59 per cent are not whiter than white. Birmingham, in the heart of the midlands, is closer to the south in its grey underwear count - with ladies owning a white underwear collection that has just 29 per cent greyed content. White or grey? Whites go grey if washed at the wrong temperature and with other, non-white, clothing items Maybe the statistics can be explained by how much the owners of the smalls wash their underwear - Mancunian women are the most fervent when it comes to washing their smalls, clocking up an average of three loads per week. Maybe the statistics can be explained by how much the owners of the smalls wash their underwear - Mancunian women wash their smalls three times per week Londoners, however, are not quite so committed in the laundry room, with ladies living in the capital opting for just a single underwear wash per week. Susan Fermor, spokesman for Dr Beckmann who carried out the research, said: 'Women in Manchester have the greyest white underwear in the UK. But it seems it is mainly due to the fact that they are the most evangelistic about washing their smalls. Unfortunately, they are almost certainly washing them at the wrong temperature, too often and possibly with other, non-white, clothing items which are affecting the brightness of their whites over time. They should maybe consider using a whitening product in their wash from time to time to correct the adverse effects of the washing cycle on their smalls. UK's most greying whites Manchester (66 per cent) 2. Glasgow (59 per cent) 3. Liverpool (50 per cent) 4. Sheffield (45 per cent) 5. Stoke (38 per cent) UK's most Wimbledon whites London (84 per cent) 2. Oxford (80 per cent) 3. Bournemouth (72 per cent) 4. Brentwood (69 per cent) 5. Northampton (65 per cent)