Washing machine loads - the new MN chicken?

[Singlebutmarried]

Is it just me or are there a lot of

‘5 loads of washing a week, what are you doing, we’re a family of 5 and only make 1 load of washing a week’

Full disclosure

Family of three

At least 8 loads a week. Do these one load a weekers have mahoosive machines?

Family of 3 and have to do a load a day to keep on top of it.

We have a super king bed so the bedding for that is a complete load. Changed weekly.

DS has a double so that plus his school uniform is a load every week.

We have 6 loos (not a massive house just ridiculous number of loos) so towels are one load, washed weekly.

So 3 loads before we start on clothes. We are a sweaty family, even 6yo DS. I wear dresses and tights every day so my whole outfit gets changed every day. Can't reuse tights like jeans. DS gets covered in mud and food most days. DH reuses jumpers and jeans but changes underwear and shirts everyday.

Exercise wise DH runs three times a week, DS swims and we all hike which means muddy clothes especially at this time of year.

Then there is the miscellaneous stuff like teatowels, dishcloths, dressing gowns and coats. Only do dressing gowns and coats occasionally but they take up a lot of room when done.

Forgot to mention PJs, they are changed every 2-3 days.

There are loads of smelly fuckers in the UK, most of them Mumsnetters by the sounds of it

It does sound like it!! If you can’t wear something more than once (knickers and socks/sports stuff etc aside) without absolutely stinking to high heavens, you might want to see your GP.

Washing machine? You were lucky. We used to have to put t'clothes in t'ole in t'ground, fill it with rainwater and poddle it wir our clogs. And if it wirn't raining we'd used urine from t'horses.

Family of four with secondary age kids. I do three loads a week. Kids clothes, adult whites. Maybe sheets and towels a couple of times a month too.

@TwoLeftSocksWithHoles

Washing machine? You were lucky. We used to have to put t'clothes in t'ole in t'ground, fill it with rainwater and poddle it wir our clogs. And if it wirn't raining we'd used urine from t'horses.

You had clothes!? All we had was one sock to share between us and some spiders webs.

20 + loads a week here, family of 5.

• One bedwetter accounts for 7 of those.
• Regular swimming another 2 (I'm all for reusing towels but not chlorine covered ones as there's no time to shower sometimes straight after swimming).
• Three boys with multiple stinking sports kits and trainers - 2
• 2 x normal bedsheets and towels.
• The other 7 or so are regular household clothes, uniforms, at least one child's big winter coat after they came home filthy etc.

Roughly 8 loads a week keeps on top of it. Household of 4, I did try to reduce it but the kids always get their clothes mucky so it didn't work out. Might be more if dp work clothes are very messy

Your machine must be tiny if it can only hold 3 sets of school uniform surely?

Two of mine are in adult sizes. One primary.
I have an average size machine, 6kg I think and 3 full sets of trousers, thick jumper and polo is pretty much the machine full. Maybe space to throw in an extra pair of trousers but certainly not far off.

medical needs aside doing more than 5-6 loads a week is insane imo.

5 adult size people here, midsize washer (8kg).

since dc moved to a school without uniform we have a lot less laundry though.

One adult, two primary school kids. Probably 5 loads a week. Maybe 6. But I absolutely stuff the machine to the point I have to really shove the door closed So probably 7-8 normal loads

I also only wash the towels once a week! Imagine if I did them everyday like some on MN 😱

Family of 3, 2 loads a week. I can't get even all that dry in this weather at the moment and we don't have a tumble dryer. We live in a really old cottage and any drying inside is a terrible idea and would make it damp.

Im always a bit at the number of washing loads people put on here sometimes. Not by everyone but like family of 3 doing a wash a day seems a bit mad to me unless the washing machine is tiny. With the cost of utilities going through the roof, that will felt. Which is maybe not too bad a thing given the general environmental implications (not saying people should stay mucky for that reason but some do seem to overdo it a touch).

We are a family of 6. One toddler in washable nappies.
I do about 3-4 loads a week at the moment. Beddings changed every fortnight and towels every week to 10days. Works for us. The kids don't get mucky at school. They do judo but that is not washed after every session as it is not needed. I suppose it would be a bit more if both DH and I worked in the office every day rather than hybrid. Hopefully the nappies will go soon but to be replaced by slightly bigger clothes from the kids i expect.

Oh god yes.
The absolute travesty when I announced I do 3 loads a day minimum.

They'd have keeled over I'd they knew the dishwasher goes on at least twice a day too.

@oblada

Surely though shoving that amount of stuff into a machine means it's too full to correctly agitate the washing, so it doesn't clean properly. Also dont your colours run? How on earth you do 4 loads a week with nappies and 4 kids is beyond me.

How many sets of bedding are you washing in a go.

My current machine is 8kg however it must be more 'eco friendly' and use less water or something as if you fill it much more than half it doesn't clean anything especially on a quick wash. I could get a bigger load clean in the old 5kg one

I'm desperately trying to think why we have so many loads of washing. Family of 4, one toddler/baby and one school age.

-School aged child wears uniform twice before it's washed. Apart from PE day as comes home filthy. However this is a dress, jumper and tshirt and tights. Perhaps next year I should buy trousers as they probably take less space.

• Toddler still excessively dribbling and preferring to crawl. Has dribble bibs but soaks them through and the jumper/tshirt. Generally filthy but sometimes I get away with wearing the trousers more than one day. Tiny outfits though. So he probably takes a load or more a week in the winter.

• I never ever wash anything after one wear apart from underwear. Unless it's summer and I sweat. DH also wears clothes multiple times.

• Each has own towel and that's washed every few weeks

• Bedding every two weeks. One load per bedding.

We absolutely do NOT wash stuff excessively and I'm sure by some standards we are positively filthy. But I would say it's 4/5/6 loads per week depending on what gets washed. On bedding change week it's three extra washes.

I think we may have a rather small washing machine though.

@liveforsummer

My current machine is 8kg however it must be more 'eco friendly' and use less water or something as if you fill it much more than half it doesn't clean anything especially on a quick wash. I could get a bigger load clean in the old 5kg one

read the manual.

short washes are for small loads.
if you want to wash full loads you usually need to chose a cotton cycle.

@FinnulaFloss

20 + loads a week here, family of 5.

• One bedwetter accounts for 7 of those.
• Regular swimming another 2 (I'm all for reusing towels but not chlorine covered ones as there's no time to shower sometimes straight after swimming).
• Three boys with multiple stinking sports kits and trainers - 2
• 2 x normal bedsheets and towels.
• The other 7 or so are regular household clothes, uniforms, at least one child's big winter coat after they came home filthy etc.

Why 2 for swimming? Do you use so much stuff that it doesn't fit it one? Or do you wash immediately? Surely if it's 2 lessons a week you can wash them after the second one?

Well have been without a washing machine for nearly 3 weeks! Finally got new one installed yesterday thankfully. When faced with launderette on a wet weekend ,seems like luxury now.However new machine has an 8kg load compared to 6kg of old machine .So heres to a few less loads !

2 kids and 2 adults here with 7kg washing machine.

2 loads of washing a week (clothes) with occasional load of bedding or towels.Washing machine goes on when the drum if full(not overloaded though)

No,we are not smelly fuckers.

Bedding is changed when it needs to be changed.

Towels are washed when they need to be washed at 60 or 90 degrees so they don’t smell.

We change underwear daily. Some adult clothes are wearable more than once (denims,cardigan,jumper),kids hardly ever.
Kids wear one set of clothes a day unless get wet or have their clothes soiled.

Bedding is all cotton so it doesn’t require as frequent washing as polycotton.

Synthetic fabric have a lot to answer for the amount of washing required.

I often wonder how the heck people generate so much washing in one week but according to my relative with the same size of appliance her 5 pairs of knicker from a week is “a load” and so are her husband’s vests.

His gym kit ( boxer shorts,socks,joggers,vest and long sleeve top) is also counted as a load and rattling happily inside drum able to squeeze much more than that.
If you ask her she’s doing probably about 7-8 loads a week. This is a couple without kids in the house. Apparently she wouldn’t be able to cope with smaller washing machine.

I don’t have a tumble drier either. If I had the washing machine on everyday we’d be living in a mouldy pit.

Each to their own.

DD lives with her dad every other week so on weeks it is just me I do 3 washes a week - darks/lights/bedding and towels - and when DD is with me it maybe goes to 4/5 as I do separate bedding/towel loads and then her swim/sports/dance stuff.

On work days (5/7) I literally wear my PJs and then uniform (fresh black polo every day and 2/3 pairs of black trousers) and on days off I will usually either wear jeans and a fresh top each day or leggings and a casual dress if I actually get dressed and with an 8kg washer that is barely two full washes a week.

When DD is with me she has pale blue shirts and black trousers/skirts, if she is going to change after school it is after a shower and into PJs, so they just top up my existing loads and her added bedding and towels mean that it's worth separating them into two separate loads.

[quote RegardingMary]@oblada

Surely though shoving that amount of stuff into a machine means it's too full to correctly agitate the washing, so it doesn't clean properly. Also dont your colours run? How on earth you do 4 loads a week with nappies and 4 kids is beyond me.

How many sets of bedding are you washing in a go.[/quote]
I tend to fill the machine quite well but it always cleans well too. I use 'soap nuts' which cost me next to nothing and work well for me. Can't stand the smell of some detergents or fabric softener. Our machine is not small, i think 8kg?
For beddings it's 4 sets (3 kids and a king size for us as youngest sleeps with us) and it all fits in one load... I don't know really. I do the nappies along with other safe clothes and unless they are soiled (rarely, we use liners and encourage poos in the toilet early on) they go on 40 degrees.
I certainly don't run the machine every day. Usually every other day.
No colours don't run :)

So we have those who rarely wash to those who have sex blankets or strip the bed at the slightest drop of body fluid, so it seems half the population are smelly and half are gleaming 🤣

@OnaBegonia

So we have those who rarely wash to those who have sex blankets or strip the bed at the slightest drop of body fluid, so it seems half the population are smelly and half are gleaming 🤣

Sex blankets??? That's a turn on!!