How many loads of washing a week?

lostinrates

since reading OS more I have cut down on laundry. I no longer change our bed sheets twice a week, but rather only once....and the world hasn't ending...but thats a wash in its own right. (1) I wash towels more often, because otherwise I believe they get fairl unhygeinic...so twice a week...with facecloths (2 and 3). I do a hot wash of kitchen and cleaning cloths weekly(4) and a darks wash (5) a coloured wash (6) and a white wash (7) and usually a ''crikey I need that and/or dh needs it done urgently wash. I sometimes have a few more, and gtend to do more than one on a day so not one wash a day, but three on two days and a nother couple later in the week. I was throws and householdy stuff irrugularly as and when,

This year we bought a new washing machine, and I'm unwilling to put the dirty dogs stuff in it, so am washing that by hand till I can get a second washing machin for that. In the height of winter I find I can create a dog wash (wet towels after walks/going out in the rain, bedding thats got damp or muddy, car blankets likewise) but I want to maintain that at two a week, and doing without a machine is helping me think more carefully about their stuff.

MoaningMyrtle

Two adults, two teenagers in my house, I'd say we do 7-8 washes a week.

bramble1

Just OH and I - i tend to save alll the washing till we have no clothes and blitz it over one weekend, this weekend i've done about 6 so far and still have bedding, towels and 2 dark washes to do. But i can guarentee i won't do any washing till the clothes have run out again!

zcrat41

Avocado wrote: »

It averages 2 loads a day here for the household linens the 2 babies and I, which is madness. (Partner and eldest child do their own clothes.) It's so high because my babies leak. One sleeps in with me and between nappy leaks and normal baby sick causes the entire bedlinen to need changing frequently, the other baby has a reflux issue and so can easy be sick on every item she and I are wearing twice in a day, or the bed, or half a dozen teddies, or anything else she's near.

I've found decreasing the size of the towels you use makes a huge difference. You'd be amazed how dry you can get with even a tiny towel provided you wrap up long hair first. My partner has perfected the art, he can dry himself fully with 2 flannels! My (adult size) eldest and I need a towel the size of an A5 sheet of paper and something else (bigger) for wrapping up hair in first. You can pick up dirt cheap tiny towels at Asda, but not online (I just checked). If not for you, you might consider downsizing the dog's drying stuff.

If you use blankets on the bed or throws on the sofa each one can be a load on its own. I now have a wipe-clean sofa which saves a lot of bother but with a baby in bed I need to use sheets and blankets rather than a duvet. A duvet creates far less washing as a whole bed set and sheets is still one load rather than the 3 on my bed.

As yourself if your jeans and jumpers are good enough for tomorrow rather than throwing them in the laundry basket automatically.

And don't be tempted to overfill the washing machine. My partner is a Hotpoint engineer and has proven to me that if you put in only enough to fill the lower half of the circle that is the drum then it all washes properly and you'll get more than one days wear out of a pair of jeans. If you literally fill the machine you'll get bed sheets that feel vile within 3 days, because some of the previous dirt is still in them.

He also says that most people can use only half the manufacturers recommended powder and be fine (especially if you put it straight in the drum- whether the box says so or not), so try that too. And if you find your clothes come out whiffy try running the machine on it's hottest setting with a cup of white vinegar in the drawer (40p/Litre in Asda). Stinkiness can be a result of soap and general mankiness building up in the sump and the vinegar clears it down a bit. You should do this about once a month to stay on top of it (especially if you are washing dog towels).

Doing all those things as much as possible has taken a few loads a week out of my basket and saved me money on powder and because I don't need to use the superwash every time because it turns out my machine is actually quite a lot more efficient than I used to think (when it's not got crap in the sump).

There are some really interesting tips here - thanks. Esp about the vinegar.

OH and I both have very dirty jobs as farmers but on the plus side it's kind of expected that we will smell at work so we get away with wearing clothes a few days in a row. Weekend clothes I don't think actually get dirty so I will wear them a few times till they smell or get dirty.

Prob 3 loads of dark and 1 of white a week. Towels are mixed in with the dark and bedding is done once a fortnight.

Although this will probably double now as I stuff the drum full!

Doom_and_Gloom

There are two of us (my fiance and me) and the washing machine is on 1-2 times a week sometimes 3 but that is rare. It only ever goes on for a full load - half load is a dirty phrase to us .

Linda32

Two of us here, myself and OH. I only do full loads and put everything in together. Towels, bedding, clothes - whatever. Never have done "darks" and "lights"

So I'd say about 3 times a week.

budgetboo

1 wash per day & I can't get it below this amount as I discovered recently when my washine machne was out of action for a month.

There are 2 of us but my son wets himself when upset and can wet the bed 3 or 4 times a night. We also have a dog & cat. If I took out the bedding washes it'd prob be 2-3 loads per week.

I've found a combination of fleece blankets and summerweight duvets best as fleece dries fast and single summerwiyght duvets fit in a domestic machine. No feather bedding in this house lol!

Dog bedding is done once a fortnight on 90 with a cup of vineger & a couple of drops of teatree/rosemary/thyme oil to clean out the machine when I do a rinse cycle. I normally clean the filter at the same time.

I also use napisan to soak any really stinky stuff before washing and hand rinse to stop gross gunk clogging the machine.

Otherwise all washes are done on the lowest temp I can get away with for hygiene reasons & I don't like fabric conditoners as they create "build up" over time that can actually make it harder to get stubborn stains out of white school shirts etc. Again most food and paint stains come out with a cold soak in a minimal amount of detergent/star drops. Vinegar (I'll use 13p malt for a dark wash) + a little essential oil fufils my need for a nice smell (don't use citrus in a machine with metal parts) while keepng towels absorbent.

Towels in our house are individual and we have different colours per person. Washed once a week - you are clean (or should be) when you get out the bath so any more is a waste of money. My Mum insisted on all us girls having sep individual towels when we were kids to prvent cross contamination of headlice and or athletes foot (keen swimmers), verrucas etc and it makes more sense to me than having a matching set on display in the bathroom.

totallybored

Wow, you all do so much washing. There are 2 of us and we do one load a week. I don't think we own anything white and all colours go in together (not had an accident with a colour running for years). Bedding and towels then get chucked in a wash together every couple of weeks (I shower before bed so how dirty and they get?).

I remember growing up in the 80s and my mum would only do the washing on a certain day of the week. I don't recall a washing machine like we have now when I was young and seem to think there was some sort of strange one.

catch_me_if_you_can

3 of us and we do 1 bedding wash, 1 towel wash (we have our own towels and hang them to dry between use)
plus 2/3 clothes washes and 1 teatowel/oven glove wash per week.

Spread out over the week to make use of the line outside and if it's raining, the indoor "over radiator" rails (fixed 2' above the radiators as warm air rises and we also want to heat the house)

We do have a tumbly but rarely use that - if we do it's for a few minutes only on low.

jackieb

catch_me_if_you_can wrote: »

3 of us and we do 1 bedding wash, 1 towel wash (we have our own towels and hang them to dry between use)
plus 2/3 clothes washes and 1 teatowel/oven glove wash per week.

Spread out over the week to make use of the line outside and if it's raining, the indoor "over radiator" rails (fixed 2' above the radiators as warm air rises and we also want to heat the house)

We do have a tumbly but rarely use that - if we do it's for a few minutes only on low.

That's so cute! Reminds me of Winnie The Pooh. :rotfl: