How Often Should You Wash Your Clothes?

"Based on our household washing regime, the answer to this burning question is: more often. A lot more. Towels, bedding, our daughter’s favourite fluffy bunny, not to mention that robe that has been through two house moves and finally qualifies as ‘vintage’. None of these see the inside of our washing machine nearly enough."

Part of this is just because we don’t have the time. We spend the week working, walking the dogs, dealing with the kids, cooking, avoiding cleaning the house – by the time the weekend rolls round, the clothes have piled up and we haven’t even looked at the lesser-washed items. Trying to get through it all in a day or two is problematic at best.

Fear is another factor: we don’t really want to risk washing delicate items or school uniforms in case they shrink down to itsy-bitsy-teenie-weenie size or come out looking like pale and sad reflections of their former selves.

Bedding

I know that stripping the bed and putting new bedding on is a pain, I really do. But there’s a silver lining to washing your bedding once a week – the feeling of sinking into bed with a fresh set of sheets is simply priceless. Thankfully, technology is here to the rescue. Samsung have launched QuickDrive™ washing machines, which can wash your bedding (and indeed anything else!) without compromising on how clean they come out – so the ‘I haven’t the time!’ excuse is looking a little thin.

Towels

Towels need to be washed roughly every three uses – not days of use. Which means that they need to be washed more often than you think, and hand towels even more so. Kitchen towels are even needier – I usually do a quick wash every day (but then again I am a food blogger).

Fluffy unicorns

Yes, even fluffy unicorns need to be washed. This includes onesies, slippers and cuddly toys. Items that get worn daily need to be thrown in the machine every few days and maybe given a soak with a gentle hand wash detergent. Washing machines like this one by Samsung have an amazing AddWash™ door* so you can throw in a sock that you might have missed, or add more softener for even fluffier unicorns.

Shoes, coats and football uniforms

I am so over the wet weather and the mud… and I’m even more upset about the muddy paw prints all over my coat and trousers. Our washer is getting an additional workout this winter to try and stay on top of all winter and sports gear. Wash gym gear, football kits and muddy coats after every use – but pay special attention to wash labels. Your shoes should always go on a gentle wash with loads of protection in the drum, like pillow cases or towels.

Washing the washing machine?

Even our washing machines need cleaning. If you do a maintenance wash, it prevents the buildup of detergent and bacteria that can breed in the warm, damp conditions of the drum. Models like this Samsung have a cool reminder that comes on every 40 washes. Now if only the reminder would also come on to get my daughter to pick up the clothes off her floor…

*AddWash™ door can be opened at any time when the drum temperature is below 50°C.

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