What is the average amount of loads in a washing machine per week

[paranoidmother]

This morning my new washing machine arrived after i'd spun the last one into the ground. So I was wondering how much washing do you do a week? what is the average? Does anyone know how many washes a washing machine should do on average?

I was going to try and work out how long i'm going to get to keep this machine.

I think I do about 20-25 wash loads a week.

That's a lot! I was going to be that I sometimes feel I'm putting on a wash every day, and only have one DC. But part of it is having a terrible weeing cat so I'm always having to wash a bathmat or blanket she's decided to wee on.

How the hell do you get 25 loads a week dry???

Blimey. I would say I do 2 loads 2 or 3 times a week and that included washabe nappies. How many dc do you have?! Is there no way you could cut back? Your electric bill must be huge

20-25!
Holy Mary!

We do about 7-10.

erm I think prob one a day (esp if it's sheets changing week) otherwise it's 4/5 Thats for me and DS who's currently not doing so well on the potty training front.

About 10 - one a day and two a day over the weekends.

What on earth are you washing to do all that? I wash our clothes when they're dirty usually but not always after one wear (less for jeans etc), four lots of bedding weekly, towels weekly or sooner if they need it, dishtowels/cloths daily, in with the clothes. Every couple of months I'll do the sofa covers too. We have a normal sized machine and I sort into whites/non-whites.

(we are four - 2 adults 2 children)

I do 5 or 6 loads a week (family of 4)

Well there is 5 of us 1- grandmother, 2 adults and 2 dc's. Also have cat and dog which seem to shed/wee etc on anything important.

Oddily enough it's my mother who creates most of the washing.

2 washes - cycling gear (DH cycles 30 miles per day - so smelly)
4 washes - towels (sometimes more depending on whether DS has had an accident in the bathroom)
2 washes - work clothes
2 wash - whites
4 washes - dark
1 wash table cloth
4 washes - 4 beds (DD is being trained at night so this can increase depending on whether it's been a good night or not)
1 wash - gardening clothes (we have about an acre to mow/veg garden etc)

Then we have the accidents from kids - DD night training and DS potty training.

Drying I have to hope for good weather or I have one of these and lots of non electric ones.

20 - 25

what are you wahsing and how often?

we wash at least one load per day and then bedding and towels weekly so i guess around 7 - 9 loads per week (there are 3 of us)

extras like cushion covers, blankets etc are every few months

This is cutting back as we all try to wear clothes till they are dirty and not swap them around just because we've worn them.

Right aim for this machine is to cut down

Ok well, I've done a uniform wash each night for the last week, usually whites one night darks the second night so that's five. Probably one day or two with an additional wash in the day of my stuff or red/pink stuff so that's another 1-2. Yesterday I did 3 additional washes of coloured stuff plus a duvet and one DS bed linen.

I have one load in machine, one in washing basket (the dreaded 'yellow' wash consisting of about 6 items!) and aim to do a wash of my bedlinen and a hot wash for white towels before the end of today. So that would be a further 4.

Total for us - 3 DC (2 boys, which is worth noting!) and me is about 15 or so.

I don't wash towels or bed linen every week though - quite often change but put in laundry basket waiting for a non-rainy day.

You must have a lot of towels - 4 washes a week! Do you use them more than once? I know everyone's different but on another forum I found people who were washing towels after every use - we use them them for 5-7 days hanging them up to dry in between - I always thought this was "normal" (it's what my mum did) but maybe not? That way towels (which get washed in with the other clothes) only take up 1-2 loads out of the week.

Right, the cycle geaar can go in with the darks or lights.
You do not need 4 washes for 4 beds. The kids bedding can go in together and if their are accidents then the wet stuff can go in with lights or darks as appropriate.
2 washes for towels should be enough, maybe 3 at a push.
The tablecloths can go in with lights or towels surely. Same with work clothes.

Seriously, my friend has 5 kids and doesn't do as many washes!

OK well I would -

• keep dedicated mucky clothes for gardening and wash them less often
• don't wash beds so often - are you doing them all once a week?
• don't have a tablecloth except for special occasions?
• towels, are you washing them after every use? not necessary imo.

I also wash all our colours together and don't separate them out (unless they're very new) - so darks get washed with bright colours, and whites get washed with pastels/light greys/ husband's shirts. It doesn't seem to make a difference - I was v cross when on holiday my MIL just bunged it all in together as I'm pathetically proud of my white whites.

You can get colour run absorber sachets for the supermarket which I use when washing new clothes.

It does seem a lot 20 - 25 washes a week.

We do about 10 washes per week for 2 adults and two pre teen DSs who have sports kit etc.

We are pretty fastidious too so no one goes out of the house with dirty clothes on.

there are 7 of us in this family, and with a DH who is a builder and the three dancers (so making lots of washing with the smelly dance gear/very heavily soiled work gear), even we don;t hit 25 loads per week!

I do washing three days per week. I used to do every day, but it took over my life, so I cut back. it also means that I do proper loads, rather than lots of half-loads (IYGWIM).

we also have a machine with a large drum, so that I can fit a double duvet in if needed (and we have needed with sick children and potty training children).

working it out, I probably do about 12, maybe 16 if I have a lot of sleep-overs (so there is more bedding to wash).

Good advice I see on cutting down on loads. I would say though, not knowing if this applies to OP, putting towels and bedding in with the normal loads, quite often tips the balance in terms of whether a load has become ridiculously large for the machine. Also, regardless of load size towels always crease smaller items too much when they spin together. I am a non-ironer!

I do bedding every other week, and towels every other week.

towels do not need to be washed after every use. it is not as tho you are getting them dirty after all, as the dirt has been washed away

Get yourself a wipeable tablecloth.

I think it would help not to sort your clothes into categories - just think dark or light. Things can go intogether - save perhaps the really mucky gardening clothes which can be worn again and washed together when you have enough for a full load. (that's another tip - never do less than a full load - drummed into me by my mum and never forgotten) Agree cycling clothes can be washed with other "coloureds".

I wash towels separately so I can wash them on a higher temp.

One white wash per week.

One dark wash per week.

One DH's chefs whites wash per week.

One towel wash per week.

Bedding as and when.

So that is 4 washes per week and there are 4 of us!

Well I can see I definately need to cut down.

So I'll start with bedding and make that every other week - unless accidents make it more.

I've tried a wipeable tablecloth and as it's my mothers house she doesn't want one, I can't have one (that's another thread)

our machine drum isn't very big only 5kg and i don't want to overload it. We do only full loads, never half loads.

Thank you for the advice. I'm going to keep a log of what I do to try and reduce it each week/day

I am with you PARANOIDMOTHER, I do at least 20 washes a week,Have 4 DCs

I do (for 2 adults and 2 dcs aged 3 & 6)

1 x white wash -school polo shirts, white bottom sheets off boys beds, vests, sports socks

1 x black wash -dh's work trousers, underwear, socks, t-shirts

1 x light colours - work shirts, my clothes, duvet and pillowcase from 3 yr olds bed

1 x dark wash -mainly boys stuff, reds, dark blues, duvet cover and pillowcase from 6yr olds bed

1 x tea towels, dishcloths, flat mop heads

1 x bedding wash - ours

1 x towel wash

so about 7 washes a week, always full loads as my machine doesn't do a half load.

I try to get it all done in the week as I am a sahm so that weekends are washing free

I have a 6kg capacity drum.

at a guess, i'd say about 8 loads a week, there's 4 of us. 20-25 seems a huge amount, thats an average of at least 3 loads every day.