How many loads of wash do you do a week?

We have 11 people in the family. Four adults and the rest are young'uns. Even wearing clothes till they need changed(not changing every day just because), we still do at least two loads of wash every day except Sunday. More on weeks that we wash bedding. So between 12 and 16 loads a week.

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Emily Dixon
Ozark Jewels
Nubians & Lamanchas
www.ozarkjewels.net

"Remember, no man is a failure, who has friends" -Clarence

we got our front loader at a sears return center, one dent no biggy with stand it was 750 compare to 2 grand for new one... it uses a TINY ammount of water, great for those on well, also will spin dry at super high speeds to save dryer time, uses half the detergent... and has setting like sanitize that super heats the water(for diapers, cow udder rags, dishcloths, puke upon bedding ect) and hand wash cycles that splash the clothes gently here and there while soaking them. mine was sold as holding 17 pairs of jeans, will hold a king size comforter easily. BUT had to get the dryer because 17 pairs of jeans would NOT tumble in the dryer, came out all wadded up.

my mom always used a front loader, even when they werent popular since i was a kid. she wouldnt have any other kind.

i do alot of laundry, a load for cheesecloths(handwash cycle) a load of work jeans, a load of good jeans) a load of whites on sanitize, couple loads of towels(dif colors) table cloths, reds, light colors, drk colors, and delicates.

we are a family of 5, but we do get dirty...if its muddy I dirty up lots when i go to milk, try to save mucky pants to wear out for evening again, when its cold enough for cover alls my laundry goes down. i do have some of the mechanic jumpers ive been meaning to try over clothes to save on laundry.

we noticed a drop in power and water usage as we have replaced our apliances one by one, i would love to get an old fridge for cheesecave at 50 degrees apx, but the cost to run it bothers me, when a new one uses so little, but cant afford a new one so for now im using coolers lol.

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I forgot to say (probably because it's laundry day and I'm hearing the beeping) - I have the duet system - and they are stacked right now (when we get around to remodeling the laundry room they will not be). I like it a lot because I can get a lot of clothes in there. I use the "ALL FREE" which is approved for HE machines and I use about 1/8-1/4 cup depending on what I am washing. I wash a lot more it seems in the winter than the summer months. I think it's because I hate wearing jackets so I layer and as each layer starts smelling like the animals I have to wash it. Jeans 2-3 wears before washing (and I am TRYING to teach that to my kids)

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Dana
Chicama Run

yes when i come in and i can still smell cow, somthins gotta go...

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All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent. Jefferson
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Seems like a million, but I'd say 10 loads a week. With 4 kids and 2 adults, there is always plenty of laundry here at the ranch. We have the Maytag front loading machine and dryer. They use much less water than traditional washers do.

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I can appreciate the fact that these new frt. load machines are supposed to use less water and electricity. But like everything it's hard to compare apples to apples as the figures are very vague. The one figure I can easily see is the price, paying 3-4 times the price to save money still makes me skeptical.

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"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self confidence"
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At least 2 loads a day. Still have a little one going through potty training and one that finds every blasted mub puddle, (now snow/mub/dirt area) there is. Chore clothes are washed once a week and bedding once a week. I make my own laundry soap for just pennies and it cleans clothes just wonderfully!

WOW, some of your septic tanks must really get a flushing if you run your washer through them.

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"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self confidence"
Robert Frost

For a family of 6 (4 kids) I do between 10 and 14 loads a week. I also have a front loading washer, bought at Lowe's as a "scratch and dent" for about $350. Who the heck is going to go in my basement and say "Hey, your washer is scratched?" lol. A lot of our laundry comes from the boys who still wet the bed, more often than not. Infact I had to wash all of my sheets, and comforter today because my 6yo snuck in my bed last night (grrrr)

In the summer I can get down to about 8 loads a week due to the smaller clothes, and no comforters or blankets to wash.

Also my family doesn't own that many clothes, so I do use the "quick wash" option a good bit just to make sure everyone has clean pants etc. for the next day.

The water bill from last March, before we bought the washer was $45, the last few months my bill has been $27-28. My electric bill is down, I really think the way the washer spins helps on the drying time. But we have been doing all we can to lower the bill anyway, so I'm not sure how much savings it has added there. I do hang out my clothes in nice weather.

We average a little more than two or three loads a week for the two of us, one dark, one white. Sheets once a week, blankets once a month. I keep a pair of coveralls out in the barn for dirty work, they only get washed when they start standing up on their own

Wow. We do about one to two loads a week in our small washer, a Thor front loading model. That is for a family of five on a farm. When we have big things like quilts or winter work suits to wash we do that in down (2x/yr?). One way to cut down on washes is to have outdoor work cloths that you put on for work and then switch to indoor cloths. Don't have to wash either as often and the indoor cloths last a lot longer.

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SugarMtnFarm.com -- Pastured Pigs, Poultry, Sheep, Dogs and Kids

6 people; one week 10 loads, the next week no loads, repeat. hehe we all have 20 pair of socks and underwear so laundry isn't an everyday occurence. I had a electronic digitalized front loader I sold it after 2 years and bought a normal top loader commercial model with ZERO features, the bare bones manual ones seen to last longer and wash better. Not too long ago I was real poor and was washing clothes in the bath tub and sqeezing them out by hand and hanging them up. That makes you really think if they are dirty or not before tossing them into the hamper.

I live in Europe and we had a German front loading washer for several years. They are smaller than American front loaders and take a long time to wash but I was very happy with it. We now live on the Base and have a regular American top loader...it's okay. I would love to have a front loader that's nice and big like the American ones but I don't know if I want it bad enough to make three times as much for it.

Donna

I got a FL last July and do 8-10 loads a week for the 4 of us. I am doing towels more often since I do not waste 40 gallons like before. The FL holds marginally more than what I crammed in my 1984 TL Maytag. Things come out dryer, but since I hang most everything, haven't noticed much difference energy wise (still have 23 yo Maytag dryer). I have an internal heater and the wash gets cleaner with no effort (hot water heater set at 120, really never used hot wash before), but I haven't noticed any change in my electric bill. It seems to have increased, however I have two leaky faucets that my DH has until Jan. 30th to fix. I am happy to use less water, even though it does not go into my septic and I don't pay per gallon. Keep in mind most new TL are not like the old ones and your satisfaction with them may vary. They are cheaper however. My FL was $900 about the same as my $550 Maytag TL when you adjust for inflation.

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Cindy in PA

Front loader Neptune, 1500 gal septic, at least 10 loads a week (me + 3 dirty teens and sometimes extra kids too). Septic has never had a problem, why would it? Drain field in good condition and always use a minimum of liquid detergent.

I only do my own laundry. Kids are responsible for theirs, and this is why:

i'm in the process of training the kids to wear clothes more than once-i wear everything but socks or something i've spilled food on more than once, and we use towels several times before washing. it does cut down on the laundry load-but it's hard to convince a 14yo girl that just because it was on her body for 2 hours it's not really dirty. we use the stink test-if it's not visibly dirty smell it-if it smells, wash it, if not, rewear it.

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diamondtime, Share with us. I have heard of SA8. Is that Amway or Shaklee?

Oh, golly.

There are two of us and we do 2 to 3 loads a week. Not full loads, but because of colors, etc., it is 2 or 3.

Here at the 'farm', I don't have a dryer - so I hang all of them.

My DIL, 3 kids, does tons of laundry. She has one of the new front loader pair. Hers does a great job.
Her washer 'rocks' the load after it has spun. It is all shook out so when it goes into the dryer, it dries faster and it is so near dry when it comes out of the washer.

I just like a top loader. Sometimes I want to add something, etc.

Usually, or this month? There is a new girl at homeschool group classes, so my 13yo is rather more clothes-conscious than ever before

Normally, I do a load a day, except on the weekends -- Saturday I do a load of clothes, one of sheets and one of towels, and Sunday none.

So, eight loads a week for a family of four. I have a top load washer and regular front load dryer -- but hang my laundry out during the spring, summer and fall. Summer is about the same because, while summer clothes are lighter -- shorts instead of jeans, tshirts instead of sweaters, etc. -- the towels need washing more often or they smell sour.

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Trixie,

PM me and I'll tell you about it.

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Diamondtim

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