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!

 

[washer111]

I suspect this household of five runs somewhere between 4-7 each week, with the majority over the weekend where the eldest + partner are home.

Unfortunately... The loads are split up into pathetically small loads (about 3-4) and washed on Quick (Warm). Talk about a waste of water, time and energy! These are then bunged into the tumble dryer.
Plus there are about 1-2 loads during the week, tumbled dried, of course. Given the beautiful days here in the 'burbs this week, I cannot fathom tumble-drying, mild temperatures (about 20ºC, dry, slight breeze and all the sunlight you could want. Nevermind the hot, Australian Summer.

The others, including myself, are somewhere between once a week, and once a fortnight.

As for me, all my loads come due right at the same time. Of late, here is the breakdown:

- Whites: "Undershirts," White White polos, and any light colours (shorts, tees), plus white towels (yes, I know). 60ºC on "Everyday/Heavy Soil" or "Heavy/Light soil."
Sometimes add my grey Chino-pants in for a hot wash to relieve wrinkling or shift stains.

- Darks: Dark coloured polos, bright/coloured tees and sometimes dark shorts, jeans or chinos, depending on the load size, or if they need washing.
As above, but on 40ºC (warm).

- Darks (Heavy items): Dark shorts, jeans, chinos. Usually about a half load. I typically wear the same pants for 4-7 days, depending on how soon they accumulate dirt and/or stains.. Obviously, I'm careful to ensure there are no foul odours!
Same as Darks load, have washed in hot before, however.

- Underwear/Socks: No explanation required. Washed on Everyday at 60ºC, with the amount of these items I have, amounts to about a 1/2-3/4 load.

- Sheets: Typically 1-2 weeks. If more frequent, I elect to use a warm, rather than hot wash so I don't rack up the energy bill too much.

ALL loads are line dried, unless timing catches me doing laundry in the middle of a rain storm. Obviously, I would try to do laundry before the fact if I'm running out.

I avoid the tumble dryer as its a complete waste of electricity, and the power bill was nasty enough as it was back when it came Mid-April... While I can perhaps justify being wasteful given the 10-20 min showers of some, constant dryer usage, wasteful small loads, pre-rinsing dishes etc, I'd prefer NOT to contribute to this silly behaviour - even if I don't pay the bill (thank-you for "inclusive" rent prices!)

 

[polkanut]

In our household it comes out to 5 loads per week in our Maytag Dependable Care w/ suds saver.  The suds saver is used weekly as well.  In late spring, summer, and early fall most of it goes out on the clothesline.

 

The pic of our clothesline was taken Nov. 27, 2015, the day after Thanksgiving.  I wanted the tablecloth line dried, and it also happened to be the last time for the year before we got our first snow.

 

[user 3941]

I live alone too and do laundry twice a week. Most everything is done on my first day off, which is Saturday now. I wash stuff on various cycles, though my Ge Filter Flo only has 3 main cycles. So I typically use Regular for everything except my work clothes and darks, which I run on Perm Press.

My loads are:

1. Sheets - Weekly in Warm/Hot water, Regular Cycle (this week bedding including mattress pad twice because 1 cat pee'd on my bed, argh!)

 

2. Bed blankets - Top quilt weekly in Warm/Cold water Regular Cycle (needed weekly due to cats on my bed)

3. Bed blankets - Under blankets every other week in Warm/Cold water Regular Cycle

4. Towels - Twice a week because my GE FF won't hold a full week's worth of towels. I use 1 towel per day and I also wash my kitchen towels and dish drying mat with this load. First load on Saturday, second on Tuesday's. Warm water, Regular cycle

 

5. Work clothes - Weekly, separate from my other clothes. I wash them on Gentle speed, Perm Press cycle, cold water

 

6. Dark regular clothes - Weekly in Cold water, Perm Press cycle.

 

7. Light/White clothes - Weekly in Warm water. Regular cycle, Heavy. Depending on the detergent I will add some Biz when soil selector gets to Light, for added cleaning/whitening. I don't use Chlorine bleach hardly ever. 

 

8. Living room blankets - Usually weekly. Depending on the blanket, I wash the small one in my RCA portable because the GE will get off balance too easily.

 

9. Shower curtain/bath mats/litter box mat - Usually every other week. Warm water on Regular Cycle, Gentle speed (Normal for spin).

 

I do quite a bit of laundry for 1 person. But I'm OCD about it and I separate my stuff. If I lived with someone I'd probably have to do laundry more often, especially since my GE is only Large capacity...

[this post was last edited: 6/2/2016-09:36]

 

[liamy1]

Depends

2 of us here, and 2 kids most weekends, and only I do the laundry.

Normal week around 10, bad week 20+

Can't really pin down individual loads, I just do them as needed, ALL days of the week the washer is on 1 time a day at least, maybe 5-6 times a day on a bad day (when have the time).

Even though we have a LOT (and I mean a lot of clothes), I still wash a load when it is ready.

The main probable cause is that, no matter how hard I try; I just really, really cannot bring myself to use a towel more than once, I just can't do it. To me, it would be like putting dirty clothes back on after a shower. Of course it works for others, which is great. If I was lucky enough to live in a drier climate then it maybe different - I live in North West England, so it's never going to pan out well.

Also, very conscious of what gets loaded together; example there is no way, on this Earth would I wash kitchen linens with anything else.

Only the one washing machine.

Remember as well, our washers here, don't reach the capacity of MOST of the ones on the US market.

Our washers are rated in KG weight, as opposed to Cu.FT, but on conversion, I don't think you will find a UK washing machine bigger than 2.5 Cu.FT in a domestic setting.

I hope that's right, as I just found out a UK Gallon is bigger than a US Gallon, which surprised me - I'll hold my hands up, it was practically fully metric here by the time I was schooled so only know Milliletres/Litres Grams/Kgs, and CMs/Metres. So cannot be exact on what ours are in Cu.Ft.

My washer is liked below.

http://ao.com/product/wf90f5e3u4w-s...des - Washing Machines - API&WT.z_AG=Samsung

 

[lordkenmore]

I, too, use a bath towel once. It was what I grew up doing. One of my grandmothers even strongly stated towels were used once in her house. (I've been wondering about that one recently... She had several kids, and one wonders if she was so adamant about towels used once when her kids were growing up. She probably would have used during at least part of that time--if not the whole time--a wringer washer.)

One other issue for me: at times I would swim for exercise, and I'd take a long a bath towel for drying off after showering. I cringe at the thought of reusing a towel that has been used in a locker room, where it could pick up all sorts of nasties. Although many guys aren't bothered--I've known some who apparently would keep the towel in use for a week--and wouldn't even ensure it dried out between uses. Yuck.

As far as capacity of washers, I think it has been discussed here before that European machines are, indeed, smaller. I think the washers here are almost too big. I suppose some people have enough laundry to justify 4 cubic feet. Or else wash bulky stuff often enough. But loads for many of us are likely to be considerably smaller. I am not interested--nor do I have the budget--to dramatically expand my wardrobe and towel collection so that I could theoretically fill a huge washing machine. Actually, the best washer fit ever was probably an old standard capacity Kenmore. Small by today's standards--but big enough to handle my day to day laundry needs nicely, and it allowed me to properly sort AND still run full/fairly full loads.

 

[henene4]

6 people.

I do my own stuff now, which brings 2 weekly loads for me (15 T-Shirts plus socks and a jeans/sweater/sweatpants load) plus towels/bedding every other week making 4 loads. 78 loads a year.

The rest of 5 people produce 1 load of towels, 1 load of whites and about 3-4 loads of darks and colors a week. 6 loads a week, 312 loads a year.
Then, every other week, there is an acess of towels, resulting in 2 more loads and beddings, makeing another 3 loads. 130 loads.
Then there's cleaning towels, mops etc. once a month. 12 loads.
Then add the big bedding wash time twice a year. That is 6 loads for my grandparents (comforter, pillow and matress cover times 2), then the same for my brother and me plus 2 matress covers from my parents. That totals 28 loads a year.
Once or twice a year curtains. That is about 15 loads.
Sofa blankets and pillows add another 8 loads.

78+312+130+12+28+15+8=713 loads a year.
That is 355 loads per washer.
About 14 loads a week.
2 loads a day (though that isn't representative, usually that is 3-4 days with 2 or more loads).
Or 2 loads per person and week.

 

[askolover]

For our family of 2 adult males and 4 indoor-only cats we wash probably 6-7 loads per week.  After my 3 night work week my scrub uniforms (consisting of pants, t-shirt, scrub top, and scrub jacket) make one complete load in the Asko.  Then all the whites make another load.  Add in sheets, etc.

 

[psych101]

Interesting to hear about everyone's laundry habits, it seems I am doing much more laundry than most of you. I live by myself and I do around 6 loads per week in my SQ top loader as I have oily skin and can't get away with wearing clothing, using pillowcases etc. more than once. Bath sheets I try to use twice before washing, and I also use them in the place of bath mats.

2-3 loads of mixed clothing - Warm normal cycle
2 loads of bath sheets & towels - Hot normal cycle
2 loads of bed linen (change sheets twice weekly) - Warm normal cycle

Everything is electrically dried, always. Blankets, duvets and other such items are washed about once every six to eight weeks on the delicates cycle.

 

[revvinkevin]

While this is not a load I would normally wash, this is one load I did last weekend.

100 regular cotton washcloths (yes I counted) +6 small hand towels, all in one load. Whitest whites cycle, steam sanitize, with liquid bleach.

Kevin

 

[tolivac]

2-4 for me.

 

[frigilux]

So you're just going to leave us hanging about the 100 washcloths, Kevin?!