Depending on how you fill your washing machine, the sort of clothes you wear and how fresh you like your clothes, the average person does laundry anywhere between one to three times a week. While this may not seem like a lot, it adds up to between 50 and 150 laundry loads every year.
Here's a general guideline: Single Person: Once a week is common, but it could be every 5--10 days depending on clothing usage. Couples: Typically, once a week or every 5--7 days. Families (4 people): Usually 2--3 times a week, especially with kids who may need more changes of clothes.
Daily washing helps keep the laundry manageable. Hygiene: Some individuals prefer to wash clothes frequently for hygiene reasons, especially items like workout gear, undergarments, or bed linens. Clothing Care: Certain fabrics and garments require more frequent washing to maintain their quality and appearance.
Consumer Reports asked its laundry experts for help. Think you do a lot of laundry? You're not alone: Believe it or not, the average family does about 300 loads of laundry per year. That's about five loads every week!
People spend 4.5 hours each week doing laundry.
On average, women spend approximately 47 minutes per day doing laundry related chores. On average, men spend approximately 38 minutes per day doing laundry chores. Laundry is the third most time-consuming activity for women, behind cleaning and cooking.
A two-person household is washing on average three to five loads a week. If you have four people under your roof, this increases to eight to ten loads of laundry every single week. Part of the frequency of these washes is likely, in part, due to the idea that clothes must be washed after every wear.
"Regular washing, or about once every one to two weeks, is recommended to maintain cleanliness and a healthy sleep environment," says Harris. Once a week if you don't use a top sheet. Once a month if you do. Once a week if you don't use a top sheet.
“Washing our clothes too often is the number one reason they lose color and shape,” says Frej Lewenhaupt, co-founder and CEO of Steamery. It's also wasteful. The average washing machine runs through 23 gallons of water per load, and older models even more. (An Energy Star rating brings that down to 13 gallons.)
T-shirts and tops should be washed after each wear as they collect enough sweat, dirt, and dead skin cells to warrant a cleaning. However, dress shirts which are considered to be outerwear can be washed after 2-3 wears unless you're prone to heavy sweating.
Science Behind Laundry and Mental Health
Research has shown that repetitive, mundane tasks like doing laundry can calm the brain. This is because the brain doesn't have to work as hard to complete these tasks, which allows it to shift into a more relaxed state.
Unopened liquid laundry detergent typically has a shelf life of 12 to 18 months, depending on where it is stored. Laundry detergent should be stored in a temperature-stable, cool, dry environment for best results. Opened liquid laundry detergent should be used within six months for the best cleaning results.
A Twitter poll of the show's viewers found that the biggest group, 46%, wash once a week. The American Cleaning Institute, however, is a little more lenient with its suggestions, recommending that pajamas are washed after three or four wears. Good Housekeeping magazine says once a week is the longest you should go.
You should wash most bras after about four wears, or more frequently if you have a particularly sweaty day. As for sports bras, you should wash them, or at least rinse them with warm water, after every workout. No bra will last forever.
Similarly, dress pants and casual pants can be washed after every two to three wears; blazers, suit jackets, and other jackets, after every four to five wears. Sleepwear, after every two to three wears. Coats and other outerwear can be cleaned just once a season.
Why do some people avoid cleaning and laundry on New Year's? One of the many widely discussed New Year's myths forewarns that washing clothes or laundry could cleanse you of any good fortune for the next 365 days. Similarly, taking out anything from the home that day could remove any future prosperity.
The cheapest time of the day to do laundry is the off-peak hours which is from 8 pm on words. Peak hours start from 4 pm to 8 pm so make sure to keep that in mind.
How often should I wash my bath towels? Dead skin cells, bacteria, and even sweat can accumulate quickly on your towels, so using a fresh one about every three days is a simple rule of thumb—for all kinds of towels. You can of course change them more often.
Men are more likely to wait longer between sheet changes than women (29.6 days vs. 19.4 days). On average, single people go 37 days before changing their sheets, while those in relationships go 21.8 days, and married couples go 19.9 days.
High-traffic areas, like kitchens, bathrooms, hallways, and entryways, require weekly mopping. Infrequently used rooms, such as formal living areas or guest rooms, can be mopped every other week, or even once a month, so long as they're vacuumed once every seven days to remove dust and grit.
There's no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. Many doctors say a daily shower is fine for most people. (More than that could start to cause skin problems.) But for many people, two to three times a week is enough and may be even better to maintain good health.
A good rule of thumb is to wash your jeans after every 3-10 wears, or when they start to smell. If you're regularly active in your jeans (think: manual work, anything where you work up a sweat), wash them every 3 wears, but if you're working at a desk, you can probably go through multiple wears without washing.
Living your laundry pile on the floor for too long provides the perfect breeding ground for dust mites and other allergens. This is particularly common in areas that experience high humidity. With this comes the risk of running nose, severe colds, congestion, skin rashes, and other allergic reactions.