How often should you do washing?

An instructional video from US detergent bran Washland on how often you should be washing items such as clothes, sheets, towels and underwear has gone viral, and is causing quite a stir.

The video suggests towels only need to be washed once or twice a week, bedding every two weeks and bras after every three or four wears.

They also recommended pyjamas should be washed after three to four nights. Thankfully, Washable says socks need to be washed after every wash.

The video has been viewed millions of times and advice is causing a lot of controversy, with many users labelling the advice "nasty".

"Nastyyyyyy. Bedding should be changed and washed twice a week. Towels should be changed and washed twice a week. All clothes should be changed and washed after every wear" one woman said. 

"Shirts every 2-4 wears? Sure, if I want to smell like an armpit," said another.

How often do you wash these items? What do you think of the Washland advice?

5 comments

"Socks need to be washed after every wash"?  Even cursory proofreading should have picked this up.

Whilst I would agree that shirts may need to be washed more often than after every 2-4 wears, the suggestion by someone that the wearer would "smell like an armpit" if wearing a shirt more than once between washes says more about their personal hygiene than about the advice. I shower and use deodorant, so my shirts would not give offence if I wore them for a week (but I don't!). Maybe your contributor should try this.

Same goes for the woman who advocates changing bed linen and towels twice a week and washing "all clothes" after every wear. Taking an occasional shower might save her a lot of unnecessary work.

Changing and washing clothes, towels etc every days seems a bit over the top.

A different story if you're in the tropics.

Most Australians hang their washing out on the line in the sun to dry.   It is healthier, and tumble drying uses lots of electricity.  

Hanging your laundry out on the line is prohibited in some parts of the USA .   

 

Use the sniff test especially with synthetics as they wear out quicker with frequent washings.  Use a cool wash as well.

Oh I had a good laugh at the article and the comments.

I think it depends on the season and whether you have a garden and washing line. In Winter it's difficult to dry towels outdoors so it means finishing off in a dryer (very expensive option) unless you want towels that smell like sick. If you live in an apartment drying washing indoors means damp everywhere and the risk of mold so would need a dehumidifier. Sheets once a fortnight if you sleep alone, could be weekly if a couple.
For clothes, pants, socks daily, bras 2nd daily. Shirts depends on job, how much you sweat,how often you shower.

Trousers, jeans, depends how often you shower, how much you sweat. Alternating several pairs of trousers or jeans then wash or clean a batch every  2 weeks.

we need to be collectively thinking about water wastage, soaring power prices and how much detergent is going into the water system.

The more you wash, the richer they get by selling you more detergent. People wash too often, they use too much detergent in the washing machine. I shower with all my clothes on to save on water!

5 comments



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