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?

This is honestly completely and utterly ridiculous. Theo was three times a WEEK? Coats weekly, bath towels 3 x weekly? No wonder people are stressing about CoL if this is the amount of washing.

Thats not (and absolutely shouldn’t be) normal. What a waste of energy and time.

*throws

Family of 2 adults and 2 dc

we were away all week and I did all my washing last night which was more than most weeks. I did 5 loads which included a set of bedding and about 6 towels. Normally I have 3 a week. But I have a 10kg washer and dryer.

@howaboutchocolate
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?!

Throws are mostly fleecy/padded ?
School cost tbf really needs it as DC gets very enthusiastic during outside play.
Bath towels tbh yes it's possibly somewhere we could reduce but getting them dry in between uses whilst trying not to use heating has been horrendous.

I tumble dry the majority of laundry we do, we live in a flat and have no private outside space so it's really our only option.

What is your energy usage!?

Just out of interest, why do kitchen towels need to be hot washed separately from other towels?

@NameChangeLifeChange it's never occurred to me it's at all excessive. I literally just wash the clothes that accumulates- I don't save it all up for one day. It's just one of the many daily household chores and I do it between other tasks, it's not that stressful or time consuming at all.

Fleecy throws will get muckier much quicker than cotton or wool ones but even so, 3 times a week seems excessive.

Bath towels - wouldn't tumbling them a bit to dry them between uses be easier than washing plus tumbling?

I'm sure a lot of the excess washing that people are doing is because of the rise in plastic-based textiles. They just don't breathe or air out in the same way as natural fibres.

@DoubleShotEspresso

But why are you washing clean stuff?

@Mañanarama
Just out of interest, why do kitchen towels need to be hot washed separately from other towels?
Because it feels really off to have bathroom washing bundles in with kitchen things. I've just always done this.

@howaboutchocolate yes air drying here takes literally days. We have single glazing and high ceilings so any heat just escapes and it's going to be freezing in winter with less heating on. I've tried various gizmos to reduce tumble drying so much but everything takes literally days- just horrid having it all hanging about

3, but I have a very big machine. Probably equivalent to about 5 loads in a standard washer.

2 adults.
Between 1 and 2 a week depending on bedding and jumpers.

@DoubleShotEspresso i would take a serious look at your energy usage that is obscene!!!

Surely if you stopped washing and tumble drying all these things then you could afford to put the heating on?

Most washing machines washing machine do a 7-12kg wash. You washing machine can do 35kg+ ? I’ve seen 18kg ones but no bigger.

I read it as 3 loads that would be 5 in a smaller machine.

2 adults, 3 kids. Probably about 7 (seem to do a load a day):

1 whites (just school tops and any random pillowcases etc to bulk out the drum)

probably 2 or 3 nappy washes

4 ish normal clothes

Always reach the bottom of the washing basket. I’ve finally got the system down!

OMG @DoubleShotEspresso you would faint at our school - PE kit stays at school for an entire half term, so it only gets washed in the holidays 😂

Six usually.
One darks.
One lights.
One whites.
One towels.
One bedding.
One dog bedding.

Just two of us.

Two adults, a 13yo and a near 12yo.
Probably 6-7 a week. All done on a Thursday, Friday and Saturday night so it's dry for Monday.

I made a rule DD1 may only choose 5 dirty pieces of uniform to put in the laundry at the weekend.

She was just dumping everything from her floor (including lots of clean that she'd not put away) and returning it to the dirties basket each weekend!

It's worked! She now thinks much more carefully and if she has more than that she checks with me. (And of course I wash anything that actually needs doing).

Unfortunately DD2 just has to look at a piece of clothing and it gets dirty 🙄😆.

Ah yes. I read it differently but that makes much more sense. Thank you. I think I need sleep. 😂

Although I’m slightly disappointed I can’t get a washing machine that big and maybe only do a couple of loads a week. 😅

3 adults, 1 teen and a young adult sometimes back from uni. I was doing around 9 washes per week but had the realisation that we all have plenty of clothes and the laundry basket does not have to be empty. Now I do around 5 washes per week.

@Athenen0ctua you may have a fair point !

Jeans should not be washed too often as it just ruins them. Almost all clothes can be worn more than once unless they get stained. Keep washing them just lessens their life. If you also tumble dry that is lessening them even more.

Even if you feel you have to wash everything after one wear why can the clothes not sit in the laundry basket until you have a full load? Do you only have 2 tops, 2 pairs of trousers etc?

Not only should people be concerned about their energy costs what about the waste of water and electric?

Do none of you care about the future of the planet? Your children are likely to be facing a pretty bleak future with climate change but as long as they have clean clothes every day it's fine