Best way to do washing as a single person?

rach_k

You don't need to wash underwear in a hot wash.  If you use a biological detergent with oxygen bleach if you like, that'll be perfectly clean (people wash nappies at less than 60 degrees in non-biological so it'll be more than enough).  In fact, if you're already using bio detergent, using a hot wash is a waste as you'll be denaturing the enzymes that do the cleaning!

Bedding should really be washed every week so if you do want a full load, put that in with your clothes if it will fit.  Towels should be washed weekly too, so put those in for a separate wash.  Don't forget things like tea-towels too - they can go in with either load.  

maman

You say that the towels leave lint and sometimes colours run. That's why I'd not want to put everything in together. I wash in 3 different loads - whites, light colours and dark. Provided you have enough clothes, bedding and towels then you can still wash once a week, just one type of washing at a time . Provided that you can afford it then buy enough extra for a 3 week cycle. 😊

dekaspace1

rach_k said:

You don't need to wash underwear in a hot wash.  If you use a biological detergent with oxygen bleach if you like, that'll be perfectly clean (people wash nappies at less than 60 degrees in non-biological so it'll be more than enough).  In fact, if you're already using bio detergent, using a hot wash is a waste as you'll be denaturing the enzymes that do the cleaning!

Bedding should really be washed every week so if you do want a full load, put that in with your clothes if it will fit.  Towels should be washed weekly too, so put those in for a separate wash.  Don't forget things like tea-towels too - they can go in with either load.  

I have a small machine, I can barely fit in the sheets, and maybe underwear.  if I had a bigger machine then technically I could wash my sheets every week alongside my t shirts and underwear so only 1 wash.

So it seems to come down to efficency, I have a old machine if it did only use as much water as needed then I think that would be great and be rid of the problems.

I'm actually of split mind about the machine, its lasted this long and may still last years, when it does go I will get a modern machine im hoping to move in the next year so maybe then!

My cold wash is 40 degrees, I never know if thats enough for underwear, I have once or twice filled a sink with boiling kettle water and a little liquid and let it soak for about 10 minutes then swirled them around sink before doing cold wash, don't know if thats enough though.

bouicca21

My solution was simply to buy extra underwear so that I didn’t have to run the washing machine half empty.  I always do the towels separately.

missychrissy

I do bed linen on a 30 wash using soap nuts or eco balls as grandchildren stay regularly and some of them are prone to allergies. I do my own clothes when I have a full load, sometimes using soap powder n fabric conditioner but often soapnuts or eco balls. I’m a gardener n sometimes the knees of my jeans are quite soiled so I use soap powder and/or vanish stain remover then.

PasturesNew

I've done it by looking at what I am washing and buying more of the same items, then letting them build up into a pile. 

e.g. if you have two white sheets, then work towards having six white sheets and two white bath towels, so you can create a whites pile and do it once a month. 
It's that whole "not got a lot/it's a waste" issue and you're trying to balance your head between "not enough things" "I need these things to be washed". 

I think whites were my biggest issue: 2 sheets and a white bra was never going to make a load .... so deliberately buying more white sheets and a couple of white towels meant I could make up a whites load. 

It is about increasing the volume of some items owned... and building a large pile of washing to "justify" doing it... 

In all honesty - after many years working with this problem, I fully believe that one way forward is to pick up a small/cheap caravan washing machine, which works like a twin tub .... to do small loads.  These make it easier than hand washing as you stick the few items in.... job done. 

rach_k

dekaspace1 said:

rach_k said:

You don't need to wash underwear in a hot wash.  If you use a biological detergent with oxygen bleach if you like, that'll be perfectly clean (people wash nappies at less than 60 degrees in non-biological so it'll be more than enough).  In fact, if you're already using bio detergent, using a hot wash is a waste as you'll be denaturing the enzymes that do the cleaning!

Bedding should really be washed every week so if you do want a full load, put that in with your clothes if it will fit.  Towels should be washed weekly too, so put those in for a separate wash.  Don't forget things like tea-towels too - they can go in with either load.  

I have a small machine, I can barely fit in the sheets, and maybe underwear.  if I had a bigger machine then technically I could wash my sheets every week alongside my t shirts and underwear so only 1 wash.

So it seems to come down to efficency, I have a old machine if it did only use as much water as needed then I think that would be great and be rid of the problems.

I'm actually of split mind about the machine, its lasted this long and may still last years, when it does go I will get a modern machine im hoping to move in the next year so maybe then!

My cold wash is 40 degrees, I never know if thats enough for underwear, I have once or twice filled a sink with boiling kettle water and a little liquid and let it soak for about 10 minutes then swirled them around sink before doing cold wash, don't know if thats enough though.

If you have a small machine, it won't be using as much water as a big machine so I don't think you need to worry about wasting water or whatever.  I know it's easier said than done but I think you're fixating on the wrong thing, unless you are in real financial difficulty.  The purpose of doing laundry isn't about seeing how little you can use*, it's about getting things properly clean when they need to be cleaned i.e. doing a good job (not seeing how little you can get away with).  Can you focus on that?  So if that means doing a load of towels, a load of clothes plus your pillow cases and a load of the remaining bedding, that's what you should do.  If you do need to only do one wash for financial reasons, there are ways to reduce what you need to wash, but you won't be getting things as clean as you would probably like.  

You don't need to wash underwear on hot unless you've been ill, if your detergent is decent.  Put it this way - do your boil wash your bum?  Most of laundry is about removing germs from items and washing them down the drain.  They don't need to be dead, just gone.  A good detergent will do that.  

*I'm big on being eco-friendly, but that doesn't seem to be the concern here.  I also think leaving things like towels or bedding to get extra dirty is a false economy - wash them often and you can do a short cool wash.  Leave them too long and you'll need to do long hot washes... plus you have to live with dirty bedding!

RobM99

" Put it this way - do your boil wash your bum?"
Not an expression you hear every day!

Farway

RobM99 said:

" Put it this way - do your boil wash your bum?"
Not an expression you hear every day!

One for Dragon's Den?

dekaspace1

Ha ha, well I use liquid tablets at the moment as got a good offer 2 years ago and bought in bulk and as I only wash once a week I think I got about 200 at time so still plenty left!  That is technically another reason I like to do at most once a week I don't want to waste a liquid tablet just to wash some underwear.

I was a bit clammy yesterday and today, I don't think my t shirts need rewashed though theres a smell on them itrs more as I was sweating a little (not full on underwear sweat just clammy back and head)

With t shirts I normally notice soaking even in cold water gets rid of a smell but also means the smell comes back with the slightest hint of sweat even if Im not sweating heavily, which is why years ago I found a quick wash good but no option on my machine, when I say quick wash I tended to notice a 15 minute quick wash didn't do much but a 30 minute or so one worked great 45 minute one was even better etc most likely as the short one barely had enough time to wash before it was rinsed and spun.

With the underwear I think it might be mild paranoia, when I have handwashed or run on a quick wash I find them a little more itchy and irritating so I equate that to either not properly washed so the powder/liquid is there, and for all clothes the hotter the wash and longer I run it for the longer I can wear clothes without them smelling, shorter washes tend to make them seem gain a smell quicker.

I know technically with the amount of t shirts and underwear I have I can wear 2 a day and still have some space left in washing machine but that seems wasteful to me!

Ok for my personal possessions.

I only have 1 set of bedding as its a king sized bed (im a big man and even when slim found single beds too small)

I own 2 towels (actually 3 but one is in cupboard) for after showering.

about 5 tea towels but I only use 1 (as if I use one and chuck it in machine the damp makes it smell) Only time I do different is on wash day I may wash as much as I can and all my sideboards then chuck them in machine.

I do have plenty of socks but tend to just wear 1 or 2 pairs as I am barefoot in house and if I go to shops for 1-2 hours max a day they don't stink, if they do I handwash until wash day.

A cupboard full of t shirts, trousers, and a few pairs of jeans many of which are unworn, some of the trousers are tight fitting now but with tags on I gained some weight during lockdown.

I am not worried about the financial side of the wash at least not much its more in back of my brain I think more than 1 wash will wear down the machine quicker.

When I handwash fabrics seem to wear out quicker too and that also makes me think of my final for now thought, when I wash clothes more they wear out quicker so I wear clothes as much as possible.