How many loads of washing do you do a week

[Newpuppymummy]

Boring I know but I’m just trying to figure out if I’m doing an excessive amount and how to cut down.

One adult, two teenagers and a one-year-old. I would say I do around 14-18 washes a week. Normal?

The jeans thing depends on the type of jeans. Proper, mostly cotton, thick denim jeans can go months without washing and they wear/look better for it. Any small bits of dirt can just be sponged off inbetween washes.
But modern fashion jeans that have lots of polyester etc and made of thin denim, need washing more often.
Same with jumpers etc. wool jumpers and socks can be worn loads before they need washing. Polyester/acrylic things get stinky after one wear.

But yeah, pyjamas don't need washing daily unless you're all slopping your breakfast down them each morning. Towels can last ages unless you have a particularly damp bathroom.
Bedding is fine for longer than a week unless you have children who have accidents.

There is no hope for the planet. Such waste . . .

About 6-8 a week. 2 adults who cycle a lot and 2 teens who play rugby and go to the gym. I can't fathom how you need to do so many.

The sports stuff and underwear goes in the wash after every use but every day clothes, towels and pyjamas don't.

family of 3, 2 adults and teen DD
1-2 loads of bedlinen each bed washed every 10-14 days
1 load of towels reusable dish cloths floor clothes tea towels
1 light ( typically 5 school shirts 3-4 tops for me and 2 for DD 14 pairs pants, bras)
1-2 dark loads ( school skirt and jumper 2 pairs of trousers 10 pairs of tights 7 pairs pants some socks and 5 tops from DH maybe 2 pair of trousers PE kit)
occasionally an extra as DH's work cloths can have oil dirt etc , or maybe a wool load once a month
i would only wash throws and cushion covers every 6 months
apart from underwear socks and white school shirts we don't wash things worn once a tiny mark on a coat etc would be sponged off
it is damaging to the clothes themselves to be washed frequently, dresses jumpers, jeans and skirts as they don't touch skin often only need washing occasionally maybe every 5-6 wears certainly not after 2

How do jeans not touch the skin often?!

because you wear pants underneath, shirts directly touch your armpits hence daily washing white school shirts but most tops with deodorant and washing dauily can do 2-3 wears

I didn't mean no skin at all but not parts that may produce fluids etc your thighs and knees are surely not dirty after a shower so how can they make the inside of your jeans dirty?

But they touch every other part of your skin! Just not the bit covered by the pants 😂

as explained the other parts of your skin not covered by pants are clean they do not spontaneously produce any kind of dirt or sweat

posting at the same time. Think I’ll bow out now but thanks to the people who posted their habits so I could compare and useful advice

I've washed my summer jeans four times this year (twice due to my period), I haven't washed my winter ones yet. I do everything in them, mud brushes off when dry, anything else is sponged off.

This sounds similar to our household laundry. (Although often a single bedding set will go in with pale washing. DS is the only one who wears shirts for school) I don't know where 15 loads of laundry would even go!!

This sounds similar to our household laundry. (Although often a single bedding set will go in with pale washing. DS is the only one who wears shirts for school) I don't know where 15 loads of laundry would even go!!

This thread has made me really pick apart our volume of laundry -I'd say I do a minimum of 15 loads, often more per week which is assumed was kind of normal-but seems not:

I've broken it down a bit here, is this weird???
-Uniform (grey tights, white shirt, grey dress and cardigan, not in same wash obviously)
-DH shirts daily
-Daily dark/whites which the above form part of.
-Swimming x 3 people twice weekly including towels
-We use single use face cloths in the bathroom for hand washing /drying since covid and it's a good habit we continue with (maybe twice a week?)
-Tea towels once a week
-Bath towels at least twice weekly
-Bed linen weekly
-PE kit twice weekly
-Sofa blankets/throws usually three times a week
-School coat weekly with scarves /gloves in daily washes
-Clean pj's for all 3 of us yes I can't contemplate getting out the bath shower and putting on what we slept in last night.
-Also wash jeans as I would trousers after they've been worn as with all clothes.

Genuinely thought this was pretty average?!!

Yes, go and take your filthy legs elsewhere to sob over the cost of your utility bills 😜

Um, are you washing your clothes in a thimble??

We are a family of 5 (2 toddlers, 1 teen) and I do somewhere between 5 and 7 I would guess. I don't do it on a regular schedule, I tend to do one or two a day or skip for several days and then do a mad day of 3-4 to catch up. If I ever get really proactive I can clear all the dirty washing in the house in about 5 loads.

7kg washing machine IIRC.

Family of 3, 2 adults 1 toddler. Usually between 3 and 6 washes a week: lights, darks and a colour or towel/bedding.
However as our pup is getting older we're washing his bedding around 3 or 4 times a week due to increased incontinence, we've tried doggie nappies, but he manages to get them off.

No

It's mot average and is a ridiculous waste of time and energy

I wouldn't wash all that stuff separately. I would just throw it all in together. And sofa blankets 3x per week??? What are you doing to the sofa? I only wash these about twice a year! And never wash coats unless they get covered in mud or something. Scarves and gloves get washed if I notice they are smelly.

Even if you want to do face cloths and tea towels on a hotter cycle, those could surely go in together, it would probably take me about 3 weeks' worth of those two things to make a full wash load, and I use cleaning/face cloths singly too and we tend to use tea towels as general kitchen rags so those also need washing after one or two uses.

Sofa throws 3 times a week?! What are they made of?

Weekly coat washes? I have never washed my toddlers coat or even thought about it. And she likes to splash in mud. It just sponges off. Maybe I'd wash it if she went swimming in a swamp or something.

Bath towels twice weekly seems unnecessary - they're used for like 5 minutes a day to wipe water off clean bodies. If they're not shared, once a week or less is fine.

How do you get it all dry?!

Too many in my opinion! Around 6 per week
We are 3, but now I wonder if I am washing too little?
We have a 7 kg washing machine, not huge, but it is a big difference with what I could wash in our old 5 kg. Are you using a small washing machine?

I would say 8 to 9 loads a week for 3 adults no wonder my bill is high

450,000.
I must wash about 3 loads a day. It's relentless. I'm thinking of getting rid of our bath towels and having those microfibre monstrosities that you take on holiday instead.

I do around 6 a week. That includes bedding and towels.
We never wear clothes more than once. Which is not economical but I like my kids to have clean uniform everyday (age 7 and 8) and anything that's in direct contact to the skin gets dirty imo.
We end up with mostly dark washing rather whites. I probably do one white wash compared to 3 coloured/ darks

For the record, once upon a time when I was young and had my first home, I used to wash towels after one use, clothes after one use.
I have learnt that is not needed, at all.
Towells will last 3-4 days perfectly fresh if you let them dry after using. Heated tower rails are the best.
Only underwear and vests need daily washing. The rest of your clothes does not.
And gymn clothes after each use, but I love these, they take so little space and they dry superquick!

@BertieBotts I do tea towels (kitchen) separately from any bathroom towels or face cloths but yes both on a hot wash.
Scarves gloves as required...