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Housekeeping

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Original poster

Are we gross?

159 replies

MaccaPacca81 · 28/03/2020 14:55

After trying to work out how our neighbours manage to run their dryer for 9-12 hours a day, 7 days a week (2 adults, 1 toddler), I had a poke around some old posts and I'm astounded to find out how often some people are using their washing machines/dryers.

It looks like it's common to be doing 2 to 3 washes a day which boggles my brain.

We (2 adults, no kids) do 1-3 washes a week.

How often do you guys wash certain items?

For us its:

Bedding - weekly / 10 days ish
Towels - weekly
Jeans - maybe 4 times a year
Shirts, tops, tshirts - every wear
Undies - obvs every wear
Hoodies, jumpers etc - whenever they smell or look dirty or out of shape

Do any of you wash everything after just one wear? Towels after each use?

OP posts:
eaglejulesk · 08/04/2020 03:33

@LochJessMonster you sound like my kind of woman! I agree, many people wash far too frequently, wearing clothes just once then washing them is nuts (unless they have become dirty). Also, I wear mostly natural fabrics and they don't require washing so often. Why do people make all this work for themselves?

Imstillskanking · 08/04/2020 03:45

I really don't want to be one of those "you dont have kids so you don't get it" but honestly, when you have young kids EVERYTHING gets dirty. It's not just about having an extra person to wash for - they poo, wee and vomit unpredictably, they get food everywhere, they get muddy etc... and you're running around after them cleaning it all up, and often in the firing line of the mess. So your clothes get dirty, as do your towels, bedsheets etc.

Oliversmumsarmy · 08/04/2020 08:47

Things do get dirty after one wearing.

Even antiperspirant smells. Let alone your general bodies odour.

Things might not look dirty but they don’t smell fresh.

I have a nose like a sniffer dog.

I can tell if people have been for drinks or even what type of restaurant they have been or even if dc have been out who they have been closest to as I know some of their friends have a certain smell just by standing next to them so I know when people don’t wash their clothes regularly. There is a certain stale whiff.

I think that is why I do so much laundry because I am conscious of smelling.

Original poster
MaccaPacca81 · 08/04/2020 09:06

Back of fag packet maths for next doors dryer...it's mental!!

We know the model of the dryer and it uses 2.7kwph. It runs for min 9 hrs per day.

Let's say the avg kwph cost is 16p and let's conservatively say they run it for 300 days per year.

That's almost £1200 a year just to dry stuff.

Confused
OP posts:
Oliversmumsarmy · 08/04/2020 09:18

I actually think that given you don’t have to iron anything when it comes out of a tumble dryer then your time is worth £1200 per year.

We don’t run ours for 9 hrs per day.

But I know the electricity cost as opposed to what I paid for someone to do our ironing works out in my favour.

I hate ironing

eaglejulesk · 08/04/2020 10:28

I have a nose like a sniffer dog.

So do I, and I stand by my comments that clothes don't need washing after one wear - but each to his own.

KindnessCrusader · 08/04/2020 11:10

Jeans 4 times a YEAR?! I usually think the washing on mumsnet is ott but that's...not a lot!

EcoCleaner · 08/04/2020 13:55

“clothes don't need washing after one wear”

Surely that statement varies widely on personal circumstances?

Even though I work in an office, I wouldn’t dare wear the same shirt 2 days running. That’s gross. The office gets stuffy, I get sweaty, deodorant gets stale. Even the thought it quite gross.

I hope everyone wears clean underwear daily. Cause if you don’t, that really is disgusting.

Jeans, trousers and jumpers I can wear a few times, although again it depends on the usage and what you’ve been doing.

e1y1 · 08/04/2020 14:44

I've always been intrigued by these "I never separate" posts (I know, but come on, lockdown and all that).

Don't your whites and delicates look like dish rags? Why would anyone spend that amount of money on clothes to have them ruined after 1 or 2 washes to save what 50p-£1 it costs to run another wash load.

Maybe they don't, but I really try to keep clothes looking like they did when they come out of the shop, and just can't see how that would happen by not separating.

KindnessCrusader · 08/04/2020 15:00

My children's clothes (and mine after spending time with them!) certainly do need washing after one wear Grin

Rolly123 · 08/04/2020 15:08

I'm really surprised about some of the comments about washing jeans. If it's proper denim and you are wearing knickers there's absolutely no need to wash often at all. Unless you spill something on them or something they really last a lot better without continual washing.

I do tend to find people over wash their clothes though generally, not just jeans.

Knickers, socks and tights need washing after every wear and I imagine bras and t-shirts if you are a particularly warm person, but I completely agree with OPs washing schedule!

We only do two washes a week so we can have a white wash and a coloured wash.

Oliversmumsarmy · 08/04/2020 16:21

We would probably cut down on how many washes we do if we had a bigger washing machine

Mine is tiny.

I was at an Airbnb in America and we would have only needed a couple of washes per week.

The machine was enormous

I struggle to get 2 bath towels into the machine let alone anything else

ClientQueen · 08/04/2020 17:54

@e1y1 I don't really own any whites! Or delicates TBH
Bras get hand washed and so would anything extremely delicate but I wash everything together. Unless it's something brand new and I'm concerned the colour might run like a pair of black jeans

TheSandman · 08/04/2020 18:04

At the moment towels in bathrooms get changed and washed every day.
I usually use get through five or six tea towels a day. excessive I know but I worked in catering it's become a habit - as soon as it's wet washbin it and get another.

Wife is an NHS key worker so her stuff gets thrown into the wash as soon as she gets home.

Bedding once a week.

Pants and socks on for one day then in wash. As there are five of us that adds up to 35 pairs of pants and 70 socks per week.

The washing machine is used at least twice a day in our house. Once for wife's kit and at LEAST one other.

I had 6 loads through one day recently after a clear out of cupboards and sorting stuff.

ChickLitLover · 08/04/2020 18:13

Back of fag packet maths for next doors dryer...it's mental!!

We know the model of the dryer and it uses 2.7kwph. It runs for min 9 hrs per day.

Let's say the avg kwph cost is 16p and let's conservatively say they run it for 300 days per year.

That's almost £1200 a year just to dry stuff.

🤣🤣🤣 I think this lockdown is really getting to you. 😬

e1y1 · 08/04/2020 18:39

Ah that may be it @ClientQueen I do have a lot of white, seems to be one of my favourite "colours" to wear, true delicates not that often, but not completely rarely either

happysunr1se · 08/04/2020 18:41

You know OP there is a Japanese indigo dye; aizome. The tradition uniform for the martial art/sport Kendo is aizome dyed.
It is said to be antibacterial, kendo can be a very sweaty sport, after a hard practise in new uniform your skin is blue afterwards where the dye has rubbed off.

Maybe this is the same indigo dye as expensive denim?

PickAChew · 08/04/2020 18:44

However special your jeans are, the crotch must be pretty rank.

ClientQueen · 08/04/2020 19:35

@e1y1 I'm too clumsy for white Grin I did wash them separately when my work uniform had a white shirt

Susanna85 · 08/04/2020 19:45

2 adults, 1 child, 1 baby. We use the washing machine every day, without fail.

Bedding gets changed every Sunday. Towels changed twice a week. Clothing pretty much after every use, unless it's something very bulky or very delicate. The baby sometimes gets through 3+ outfits a day!

myidentitymycrisis · 08/04/2020 19:54

some people never wash jeans

JKScot4 · 08/04/2020 19:57

Running a drier 9 hours a day is excessive, they should hang outside if able to.
Someone only washing towels every 6 weeks is rank 🤢
I think as a whole ppl do wash too frequently and it wears your clothes out quicker especially tumbling them.

e1y1 · 08/04/2020 20:45

Ha @ClientQueen so am I if I'm being honest with myself.

Elsiebear90 · 08/04/2020 21:10

We have a 10kg washer so it can fit a lot in, I would say for two adults we do on average two full loads per week of washing. I work in hospital theatres though so I only wear my own clothes to and from work and for a few hours in the evening, if I had to wear my own clothes all day at work then I would do more washing. Sheets I wash once every two weeks on average, we both shower before bed, which I find helps them stay fresh for longer. Underwear after every wear, everything else as and when they start to not smell fresh or get stained, so really depends what I’m doing when I’m wearing it, whether it’s hot and how long I’m wearing it for, on average probably after 3/4 wears.

Oliversmumsarmy · 09/04/2020 11:22

I think I wash after every wear because I noticed as people got older they don’t seem to wash their clothes after every wear and there is a certain musty smell to people who after wearing something hang it up and then wear it again a few days, week later.

I just don’t want to smell like that.