Laundry: How Many Loads Per Week In Your Household?

[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.

 

[joeypete]

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-samsung-ecobubble-washing-machine-white-28668-1.aspx?&WT.srch=1&WT.z_PT=MDA-Laundry&WT.z_MT=Search&WT.z_RTM=Google%20PPC&WT.z_DT=c&WT.z_KT=Product%20Code&WT.z_CN=Codes%20-%20Washing%20Machines%20-%20API&WT.z_AG=Samsung%20

 

[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?!

 

[panthera]

Only 10?

I see nothing unusual about that listing, at all.

 

[revvinkevin]

you're going to leave us hanging about the 100 washcloth

 

 

Leave you hanging in regards to what Eugene?     Doesn't EVERYONE have well over 100 washcloths?  

 

 

What would you like to know?

 

[vacerator]

A hundred

wash cloths? If I had a bidet perhaps.
I don't use one usually in the shower. Liquid body wash rinses off easily.
Shave gel also. Wouldn't want to scrub off my tan. It's enough to have pale pallor all winter.

 

[frigilux]

Kevin--- My closing statement:

 

[whirlykenmore78]

Since my wife was diagnosed with Lymphadema:

I give the Speed Queens a run for their money.
I run 4 loads of compression bandages/garments- HD cycle/hot wash/3rinses.
1 load of whites- Whites cycle/hot PW/Hot Wash with LCB/5 rinses
1 load of sheets- Whites cycle/hot wash with LCB/4 rinses.
2 loads of work uniforms- HD cycle/hot wash/3 rinses.
2 loads of colors- HD cycle/hot wash/3 rinses.
1 load of delicates- Delicate cycle/warm wash/3 rinses.
1 load of leg wraps- delicate cycle/warm wash/3 rinses.

That equals 12 loads a week. I know I would require many more cycles for a TL.

 

[frigilux]

Nick-- I'm so sorry to hear of your wife's lymphedema. I know someone with it and it is not fun to live with or treat. Hope they caught it early.

You do about the same amount of laundry in your home as I do. Makes me feel a little better---I thought nearly everyone here would do 7-10 loads per week. Boy, was I surprised to find out that is not the case at all.

 

[frigilux]

Update: I'm working on doing fewer loads per week, since 10 seems excessive when even huge washerheads like the AW crowd do half that. Think I have it down to 7. The biggest problem isn't the Maytag's capacity, but limited hamper space..and for that matter, space for additional hampers.

Cat Towels On Sofa Load: I have an additional six white towels available for use, so will do one BobLoad+ of them rather than two per week. Can continue to change towels mid-week.

Kitchen/Personal Whites: Due to changes in diet and social life I cook and entertain far less than I used to. I found one BobLoad per week sufficient (rather than two smaller loads), although it takes ages to fold everything!

Sheets: Tried to wash only once during the week and really missed the fresh sheets mid-week. I absolutely detest folding sheets, which is why I've always had only one set: Launder and put back on bed. I've ordered a second set of bed linens and will wash a larger load once a week. The other set will probably get stuffed in a drawer until ready to use.

So that makes 7 loads nearer full capacity rather than 10 small-to-medium. Biggest savings will probably occur in detergent and drying.

 

[DADoES]

 
Did my load of whites yesterday.  Need to buy more socks again.  Am down to 20 good pairs.  Feet sweat a lot so may change more than once per day depending on activity.  They wear pretty quick, quality apparently has significantly deteriorated.  Use the holey ones as cleaning rags.

Also load of shirts ... seventeen, yes, all in one load, in the Calypso.  Would also fit in the IWL12 or Neppy TL.  Have done many as 21 in a load.

 

[chachp]

You all sound so organized...

 

<span style="font-family: courier new,courier;">We have three hampers.  Whites, Colors and Towels.  When one hits the top I run a load as I head out the door to go to work.  I know that statement will start a conversation.  EGADS you run the washer when you're not home?  The answer is hell yes!!  When I get home they go in the dryer but I do not run the dryer when I'm gone.  I estimate about 6 loads a week maybe.  We have that small BOSCH 2.2 cu.ft. front loader and I'm done with it.  It's a great machine but just too small.  This past weekend we bought a new Samsung set with that door in the door thingie.  We'll see how that works out.  Hubby was really taken by it.  I'm OK with opening the big door.  LOL.</span>

 

<span style="font-family: courier new,courier;">The straw that broke the camels' back was last week the cat threw up on the comforter in the spare room which is a queen size.  That won't fit in the BOSCH and I finally had enough.  This new one will hold my King size comforter and everything else so we'll see.  It has all the Steam nonsense that everyone is crazy about.  I hope I will jump on the Steam bandwagon too. </span>