Laundry: How Many Loads Per Week In Your Household?

[frigilux]

Having come to the realization recently that I wash 10 loads per week in a household of one (+ 2 cats, who are responsible for 2 loads) I thought I'd pose the question to the AW family.

Most are close to the 8-lb. average-sized load. Here's my weekly rundown:

> Sheets + 6 Pillowcases twice a week (Sunday and Wednesday); Normal cycle.
> Kitchen & personal whites twice a week (Sunday and Wednesday); Sanitize or Power Wash cycle + Steam + Extra Rinse (chlorine bleach)
> Sofa towels twice a week (six large bath towels covering back, seating surface and arms of sofa; cat-related); Normal cycle.
> Mixed colors (Sunday); Wrinkle Control cycle.
> Blacks (Sunday); Delicate cycle.
> Bath Linens (Saturday; definitely a BobLoad); Normal cycle.
> Queen-sized comforter (Wednesday or Sunday; each cat has one and so do I; one gets washed each week in a rotation); Bedding cycle.

And that makes 10. Throw in a load of household rugs or bed linens from the guest room every couple of weeks and the total gets pushed to 11 (just like Spinal Tap!).

I could wash one BobLoad of kitchen/personal whites, but prefer to do two. I love a fresh bed and have always washed sheets twice a week (own only 1 set of linens). I'm actually allergic to the cats, but adopted them after providing what I thought was going to be temporary foster care, so the 'cat towels' on the couch need to be washed twice a week.

Good thing I enjoy doing laundry----and glad I own a parsimonious HE front-loader, as well.

What's your weekly laundry list?

[this post was last edited: 6/1/2016-09:36]

 

[revvinkevin]

Dang Eugene, you do a lot of laundry!

 

 

I live alone (this will hopefully change in the next few months) with my 5 yr old black lab.   I used to do laundry weekly (and whites every other week), but came to the realization I can do the bulk of my laundry (in larger loads) every 2 weeks, so that's what I do.

 

Every week:

~ 2 loads of sheets, normal cycle, hot <span style="font-size: 12pt;">+ extra rinse - Load #</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">1: king set w/5 king pillow cases,   Load #2: 3 or 4 "doggy bedding" king/queen flat sheets, used to cover the bed, sofa, inside dog bed, etc.</span>

 

Every other week:

~ 2 loads of sheets (same as above)

~ 1 load of colors - normal cycle, warm + extra rinse (usually 14 pairs of shorts, etc) - I always wear shorts.

~ 1 load of darks/bright colors - <span style="font-size: 12pt;">normal cycle </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">cold or cool </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">+ extra rinse (14-16 short sleeve cotton shirts = work, Hawaiian, black t-shirts, etc) </span>

~ 1 load of whites - whitest whites cycle, hot w/LCB (personal whites, wash clothes, etc).   When my dad was still alive, I would save the grimy kitchen towels until I had enough for a load, then do whitest whites/sanitize hot & LCB. 

 

Every 4 -5 weeks I will also do a load of bath towels.  I use 1 bath towel per week, so I wait until I have enough for a load.***     

 

Other bedding?   No o<span style="font-size: 12pt;">ther bedding to speak of.   </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I use only a down comforter during the coldest winter months or maybe 2-3 blankets.  The last 4-5 months it's been only 2-3 sheets and maybe 1 light blanket occasionally, if needed.</span>

 

When I give Westy a bath, that will generate 2 loads right there, towels plus his outside dog bedding/blanket.

 

The best part is I can do 5 loads at the same time (these 4 machines plus one in the house) and two of them have built in heaters.

 

*** I am not a germaphobe and being in Southern California, our humidity is low enough that we do NOT have problems with towels not drying on the towel bar/rack or becoming musty / mildew-y, as with high humidity areas. 

  

Kevin

 

[washman]

Approximate 1.7 loads

with ZERO pods!

Hi Frig!

 

[lordkenmore]

I've probably changed my laundry practices as many times as a politician seeking elections changes his/her/(maybe its) promises...

Plus a lot depends on timing and how much laundry needs to be done and how close I am to running out of stuff to wear.

My actual clothes tend to be done maybe 1-2 times a week.

Towels: it was once a week for a mixed load. Now recently it has seemed like more like 2 times a week. (Doing some cleaning. I'm washing my hands a lot more. So hand towels don't last as long. Once this is done--or I give up--it will probably revert to once a week again.)

Sheets are done as their own load. Typically I aim for 1-2 weeks of use. (Winters more likely to be 2 weeks, summers 1 week).

Other loads crop up as needed.

Currently I'm doing zero kitchen linens--in fact, I don't have any linens left. The old supply was not in good shape, and, at some point, they were invaded by mice. I could have probably washed them...with tons of bleach. But I cringed at the idea, and decided maybe just to start over. Except I never did get around to a new supply. I don't really need linens at this point.

CYCLES:
Current washer is a BOL WP DD. So basically it has one speed: clobber the clothes. The two primary cycles are basically the same. The only differences I see are maxium wash time (18 minutes Normal & 10 Casual), and Casual has a spray rinse during the first spin. I go between these cycles depending on mood and position of the stars... Right now,I'm using casual a lot, because I figure that extra spray rinse probably helps get detergent residue out.

Water temperatures tend to run from coolish-warm. Depends on the time of year (unheated laundry room), and how much water gets put in (the water heater is not very big, so a full tub won't be hot).

Because this is a BOL WP Shredmore, it lacks a real delicate cycle. The delicate is thrash the clothes a period, and then pause to let them try and recover a period, just in time to get clobbered again.

They never remembered to remove the previous washer, a WCI Frigidaire. It has trouble going into spin on its own. (Belt here some say, but I was told the belt was pretty new on this washer...) It's also not a very good washer. But...it's handy for delicate loads.

 

[mattl]

I might do 4-5 loads a month, but I like having at least two washers to do them in...

I might do towels every other month, I use one a week also. I guess I have too many clothes, I have enough to get me through a couple of weeks easily. When I have enough to do a load of lights and a load of darks I pop them into the side by side duets. Shirts and dress pants are hung to dry, socks and underwear go in the dryer.

 

[ilovewindex]

1 Cat, a 21 and 26 year old couple and me, who is sick.....

I live with an OCD Germaphobe and his BF who washes everything in cold and on quick wash and then theres me, who, has a massive autoimmune disorder and rheumitoid arthitis and a myrid of issues that are rather unplesent....

We all use 1 towel per day, me due to my skin issues, my roommate due to his issues, and his other half just follows... So we usually do 2 towel loads a week.. Plus the floor mats

They do 1 mixed colors, 1 pants, i bed sheets, 1 blankets and maybe 1 small misc...

Then my sheets ( 1 load), my blanket (1 load), my clothes (just all thrown together, nothing special i wear right now, as i work from home and its all khakis and basics...) and 1 misc load...

There is also usualy a quick load somwhere in there too... So roughly 12 loads...

Sheets are Run on Sanitize with Steam, Towels as well... The rest of our clothes go through on HEavy duty with steam and warm/warm... Comforters and blankets are usualy run on the bedding cycle with stean and warm/cold... Anything misc.. is normal and warm/cold or warm/ warm..All cycles use silver care

Washer is a Samsung 4.2 CU Ft with Silver care, warm/warm rinse, Steam and 1400 rom spin

Towels and Sheets are washed in Gain, with Gain fabric softner and gain scent boosters... Everything else is washed in Persil with gain softner and gain scent boosters

 

[lordkenmore]

2 cats, who are responsible for 2 loads

But shouldn't they do their own laundry?!?

 

[frigilux]

Lord Kenmore: They love to lounge atop the Maytags, but so far have shown no interest in actually providing assistance with laundry.

Hi, Ben!

 

[ilovewindex]

Pet Laundry

Growing up we had 5 outdoor dogs and 2 indoor dogs... And my cat and the other 2 cats...

I found it always odd that my grandparents had a seperate washer/dryer for just the dog blankets, dog towels, cat towels, cat beds and so forth... Always some old machine that was on its last legs from a rental unit or left behind... None where special, and then the ones i remember where either mid 80s hotpoints or ge's, with one being a white westinghouse and the final one being a new in box 1 cycle machine from Montgomery Wards going out of buisness sale that grandpa paid $99 for, it was a hotpoint clone with a butterscotch color control panel... no water or temp selection (it was working so so when they left in 2007, but not well)..The dryer out there was a propane 83 Kenmore they had in a prior home and brought out of storage.... being i wasn't allowed out in the barn until i was older, i didn't even know they existed until i was 12..

Grandpa had a small propane water tank rigged up and washed everything on warm cold... The pet laundry was like 5 or so loads a week, as grandma was always washing soome dogs bedding.... She didn't want the schmutz in her nice washer...

 

[philcobendixduo]

I am on the same schedule....

.....as Kevin. Being just me, there is no need to do laundry every week. With the California water shortage, I need to maximize each load and washing every 2 weeks does it for me. I'm using a 1987 Kenmore top loader and it hold a lot of clothes AND it FILLS to the top, if so desired.

Some will be HORRIFIED, but I only wash my sheets every 2 weeks. I change the pillowcase weekly.

 

[washabear]

Two loads a week: one sheets and the other everything else. I put towels and clothes together because there wouldn't be enough to get a good balance in the Frigemore otherwise. I rewear outer clothes several times a week because I work at home and don't really soil anything, so my weekly clothes load is pretty light. I wash everything on warm because hot doesn't seem to flow enough water by itself to flush out all of the detergent. Everything I own is color.

 

[circlew]

For me, it depends on various factors - especially the time of year. In warm weather, I do about twice as much, due to changing clothing more often after yard work, working on my house, and hiking. If I'm extra grimy from working, I may shower and change clothes before hiking, and again afterwards.

 

[logixx]

Two people, three to four loads a week.

 

[iheartmaytag]

7 to 10 loads a week

Average one load a day most times.  Saturdays are bed changin day, as that's when I have the time to line dry.  Depending on if it's blanket comforter time or just sheets one to three loads.  

 

A couple of times a year it's curtain time.  But on average about one load a day.  I keep track, between when I run the clean washer cycle, this also helps me track detergent usage as well.  

 

Since buying the HE machine six years ago, my water usage has gone down about 3,000 gallons a month.  So what did the city do?  Everyone was encouraged to use less water, so then we weren't using enough to meet fixed costs, so they raised the rates.  Just can't win. 

 

[westtexman]

I was thinking about this just the other day . . .

I live alone with my dog, and I do a minimum of 5 loads of laundry per week:

- 1 load of queen sheets with 4 pillow cases - Washed in hot water in the LG Mega Capacity FL
- 1 light blanket - Washed in hot water in the Maytag top loader
- 1 load of darks - Washed in warm water in the LG
- 1 load of lights - Washed in warm water in the Maytag
- 1 load of towels (10 extra-large bath towels - 8 for me and two for the dog) - Washed in hot in the LG along with wash cloths, hand towels and kitchen towels.

Loads done less frequently than weekly:

- 1 load of whites - Washed every 1 - 2 weeks on the Sanitary cycle in the LG
- 1 load of bathroom rugs - Washed once a month in the LG in warm water.
- 1 load of entry rugs - Washed once a month in the LG in warm water.

I wash my sheets and my blanket separately as the blanket leaves fuzz on my sheets. I also use softener on the blanket but not the sheets. I use one towel per shower, and I shower twice on Sunday (clean sheet day). I occasionally mix my lights and darks in one load, depending on how large the loads are.

I have more detergent than I can use in several years, and I have mechanically softened water, so I don't use a large amount of detergent! I am now determined to use every bit of detergent before I buy anything else!

 

[appnut]

Living alone, I'm kind of like MattL.  Per my upbringing, it's difficult for me to do small loads, but I'm also a picky sorter, so I have tons of clothing. 

 

I use a towel twice and it goes in one of the hampers (I have built-in ones in each bath).  A load of towels is about 8-12 sets of towels and washed on allergen.

 

  Personal whites about every 3 weeks, also on allergen. 

 

I have 6 or 7 pairs of kakhi colored and 6 or 7 pair dark.  Wear each twice and hampered.  so that's another two loads about once a month.  Usually no soil so they get done on quick wash. 

 

Sheets--two queen sets go in each load and I have 4 sets.  Two are cotton (allergen) and the other 2 are microfiber--delicate warm. 

 

Work shirts about every 3 weeks or so--jeans or bulky items cycle--low or medium speed tumble. 

 

Mattress pad about once every 2 to 3 months--normal hot with steam (122).   

 

Casual clothes at home (when I wear something) 8 or 9 jersey shorts & jersey t shirts.

 

Kitchen towels--have about 20 hand towels, 20 wash clothes, and about 20 cotton napkins.  All can be washed together and is usually done when I run out.  Sanitary with stain treat/steam. 

 

Wintertime it's heavier shirts or long sleeve poly/cotton, also about 3 weeks each. Jeans cycle

 

 Home is sweats and that's usually about 7 or 8 sets--a true BobLoad--usually specialty cycle--cottons/linens--conttons fabric warm with heater on. 

 

Winter I also have dark towels (lights in spring/summer.  Still washed on allergen.

 

Coldest part of winter, flannel sheets.  I find it best to wash only one set at a time--3 sets.  Same cycle/options as the sweats.

 

I also have about 30 pair of dark color dress socks and those go in a load by themselves.  Normal.  I call that my Jetcone load as Mr. Jetcone remarks about going home after a difficult day and washing a small load of socks.

 

 

That's most of my laundry.

 

[DADoES]

 
Average less than one load per week.

I rarely run a load until I'm within a day or two of being out of whatever kind of clothing.  Sock supply determines the whites load.

Sheets usually 2 weeks.  I switch between two bedrooms depending on various factors.

 

[kevin313]

Most of the time I find that in the winter I do three loads a week - in the summer I do four to five loads a week:

First load: Towels. I use a fresh bath towel each day. All my towels are white so I wash them in warm water with bleach added to the detergent. If I happen to have any other whites - like socks or a t-shirt - I'll throw that in with the towels.

Second load: Bedding. Every week I wash my bedding - fitted sheet, top sheet, and four pillow cases.

Third load: Clothes. Most of my clothes are "colors" so most of them get washed together.

Fourth & Fifth load: Cottage bedding, towels and clothes (summer season only). I don't have a washer at the cottage so it's just as easy to bring all the dirty stuff back home, wash it, and take it back up with me the next weekend.

Here are my friends the Whirlpools who have been handling my laundry for the past 25+ years:

 

[norgeway]

The 85 Kenmore 70

And the 73 Lady Kenmore dryer wash at least 10 to 15 loads a week, Donald 's uniforms from work average 4 or5 loads alone!