We have all experienced times when it feels like we are drowning in laundry. No matter if you have a big family or live as a couple, mounds of laundry seems to materialize out of nowhere. It begs the question, should you do laundry every day to stay on top of it?
Whilst doing laundry regularly can help keep laundry piles at bay and prevent stains and lingering odors to set in, our experts say daily laundry may be a step too far – even in a large household.
We spoke to laundry professionals for their thoughts on a daily vs weekly laundry schedule as well as their top tips on beating large laundry loads without constant physical effort.
Should you do laundry every day?
The short answer is that you should not do laundry every single day. In fact, it is one of the most important laundry mistakes to avoid, experts claim – and for several important reasons.
Ken Doty, COO and cleaning expert at The Maids explains, ‘While it's great to stay on top of it, frequent washing can lead to your clothes becoming damaged as cotton and other materials will begin to lose their firmness (especially around the collar). Other signs that you may be washing your clothes too often include color fading and the fabric itself coming apart to the point where you can see the threads of your clothing.’
This is not to mention the monetary cost of washing laundry every day, adds Matt O’Connor, co-founder and laundry expert at NoScrubs.io Laundry Delivery. Not only will you be running up your electricity and water bills, but you will see increased spending on products such as detergent and dryer sheets, he points out.
In the long term, it will have a costly effect on your washing machine too, Matt adds. The more frequently you use it, the quicker it will wear down and break more quickly. You will also see a quicker build-up of soap scum, limescale, and mold, reducing the quality of your washer and increasing how often you need to clean a washing machine to keep it in somewhat good condition.
Cutting back on how often you wash clothes is one of the easiest ways to save money on laundry.
How often to do laundry
How often you do laundry will come down to the size of your household and your lifestyle, begins Matt O’Connor, laundry expert. ‘The ideal laundry frequency depends on your household size and lifestyle. For an average family, two to three times a week is usually sufficient. Singles or couples might get away with once a week.
‘That said, if you're constantly running out of clean clothes, it might be time to reassess your wardrobe or laundry routine. Remember, the goal is to strike a balance between having clean clothes and not overworking your machine or fabrics.’
One thing people who are good at laundry always do to stay on top of laundry without daily cycles is establish a consistent laundry routine, points out Ken Doty, a cleaning expert.
‘It's considered best practice to have a regularly scheduled day each week to wash your white and dark clothing as well as your towels and rags,’ he says.
‘Perfecting a laundry routine isn't as daunting as it may appear. Pick a day at the beginning (Monday) or end of the week (Sunday) as your designated laundry day so your week is set up to have clean and fresh clothes. Stay on this routine for at least two weeks, and you'll start to naturally fall into the established routine.’
If you often find yourself feeling overwhelmed whilst doing the laundry, you might need to establish some quick organizing tricks to make laundry easier. Small adjustments such as organizing a laundry room or sorting clothes for laundry in advance will make setting up and starting a cycle easier. It can also help to break down laundry piles into more manageable chunks so you are not faced with one large mountain of mess.
Make pre-sorting laundry easier with a divided laundry basket. This option with removable baskets makes it simple to carry laundry down from bedrooms and bathrooms to the washer.
I swear by my collapsable laundry basket to help me ferry fresh laundry from my washing machine to my clothesline or drying rack. It is also super easy to fold away when not in use for easy, neat storage.
If you find yourself doing laundry often, consider air drying clothes and linens to help prolong their lifespan and cut energy bills by reducing your reliance on your dryer. A folding drying rack makes storage between uses simpler.
If you have not done laundry for a while, or have been on a long trip, and suddenly have a large pile to get through, it can be okay to occasionally do laundry every day to get through the backlog.
When working like this, consider sorting clothes according to the laundry symbols on the care tag and running dedicated cycles. When the backlog has eased, you can then revert to doing laundry every two to three days to protect your clothes and linens and manage your bills and energy use.
