Image via The Laundress
Okay, so this isn’t the most exciting topic ever, but I just love how much I learn from you guys when I do a post like this. So here goes 🙂
- How often do you wash your clothes?
- What detergent/s do you use?
- Do you hang to dry most items, or use the dryer?
- Stain removal tips??
- What about your wools, cashmeres, silks? Do you wash them at home? or take them to the dry cleaner?
How often do you wash?
I wash jeans hardly ever, like once every couple of months or so, and everything else every 2-3 or more, honestly, wears. Besides workout wear and underwear, duh 😉 Towels and sheets every week. I have hooks in the bathroom I hang tees and stuff I wear and only throw them in the laundry if they’re visibly dirty, or if I’ve worn them multiple times already.
When we moved we got new front loading Samsung washer & dryer and it has made laundry a million times better/easier/more efficient. You guys who have front loaders though, what do you do about the mildew smell coming from the door? I leave the door wide open now, but in the beginning I had no idea…I have run the self-clean cycle once but that takes four hours!! My sister mentioned something with lemon that she’s used before. (Actually now, I’ve gone down the rabbit hole at The Laundress and see I can use vinegar to neutralize the smell…)
My mom ordered herself, and my sister and I Guppyfriend wash bags from Patagonia recently and I’ve been using that for my workout wear. I try to remember to put all my synthetics in it when I wash them (I don’t have a lot anymore), but I forget sometimes. So far, I haven’t seen any residue/micro plastic waste to remove yet though.
Oh, and Leo and I do our laundry mostly separately, but he’ll put things in with my whites, or darks that ARE NOT SWEATY or SMELLY. THAT IS THE RULE.
Detergent
I use The Laundress for pretty much everything – The signature detergent for all my stuff except silks (for those I use the delicates detergent), or wools (I use the wool & cashmere shampoo), and the sport detergent for my workout wear. I did splurge once and got one each of the Santal33 and the Rose31 scents and they were AMAZING, but a total splurge, not something to use everyday, or that I would buy again. FYI, I usually stock up when The Container Store has The Laundress on sale, which they do periodically. The Laundress’ website has good codes and sales often also.
Drying
I try to hang almost everything to dry, just because I think it helps pieces last longer, but I don’t always do it…often I don’t have room to hang everything, or I just get lazy and will sometimes dry t-shirts or whatever. Always on super low heat. Drying makes linen SO SOFT so I might do it once or twice 😉
Stain removal
I use the Laundress stain solution for everything and find it works really well on most stains. I have a couple of deodorant and oil stains on my Black Crane linen jumpsuit that WILL NOT COME OUT for anything though, which is disappointing, but otherwise, I find that it’ll get even old stains out pretty well. I have a brush I use to really get it in there on sturdier things. My friend uses a bluing agent on whites that she swears by; it even worked on some of my white t-shirts I thought were hopeless.
Washing Dry Clean only garments
I have been washing all my dry clean only garments at home for years. I use the delicates cycle with cold water in the washing machine for everything, and so far, so good. I either hang or lay flat to dry, depending on heavy the item is. I can’t really think of a situation or an item that I’d take to a dry cleaner anymore. I don’t have a lot of silk, but maybe a silk blouse? Just because I HATE to iron…I do my Elizabeth Suzann silk crepe and raw silk pieces at home and don’t need to iron them, but my pants wouldn’t need ironing anyway, and raw silk looks better with a little more texture, I think 🙂
I will note that my raw silk romper from Ozma did not do well washing this way; it is faded looking and splotchy now, and I haven’t worn it or washed it much. My Elizabeth Suzann raw silk is more “sturdy” than my Ozma, so that may be a factor, but I’m quite disappointed in how it looks now. I’ll just say it has “character” and wear it anyway, but now it’s more appropriate for wearing at home than out. I guess with raw silk, I’d be very very wary to NOT dry clean from now on…
1. How often do you wash?
I usually do a load of washing 1-2 times during the week (sports gear mostly) and on the weekend, end up doing 3-4 (towels, sheets, all R’s work clothes).
Other than my sports gears getting washed every wear, everything else is worn 2-3 times before washing. Jeans (they’re my uniform) are washed around about once a fortnight. R’s stuff is usually washed every wear (he’s an engineer who doesn’t seem to NOT be able to get dirty).
We have a Bosch front loader. Have never had a problem with a mildew smell? Maybe cos I’ve always left the door open to dry it out?
We find that our clothes are lasting SO much longer with the front loader. R often complains that his teeshirts do wear out quickly enough now and he gets bored with them 😀
2. Detergent
I use Ecostore or Earthwise laundry powder for everything except wool (I use Ecostore’s wool wash for that).
3. Drying
We don’t own a dryer. Everything is hung outside unless it’s raining. In that case, we have a wall-mounted rack in our laundry (with an extraction fan and wall panel heater).
Drying an entire load of washing in a dryer is so not the done thing here in NZ (well, least among the people I know!). Mostly dryers are used for if the washing has stayed a little bit damp after being out all day or for if you haven’t quite got the washing off the line before it’s started raining, that kind of thing.
4. Stain removal
We wear a lot of dark clothes so often don’t have any stains that we can see to contend with!
If something is stained, I use Vanish. Once I’ve used it up , I’ll look into alternatives. For brightening whites, I’m currently using Sard but again, once it’s used up, I’ll look into alternatives.
5. Washing Dry Clean only garments
I’m not sure we have any Dry Clean Only garments other than R’s suits. I hate the concept of drycleaning so I avoid buying them in the first place.
I have one silk top and, so far, it’s been happy to go through the machine on a delicate cycle.
Hi
Here in the UK most people have front loading machines (you only really get top loaders at launderette shops). In order to prevent the mildew smell it’s advised to run a really hot wash every now and then – the typical 40 degree wash isn’t hot enough to kill the bacteria, and that’s what causes the smell. I usually wash towels/bedding at the hottest wash my machine does (90 degrees) and my machine doesn’t smell.
Hope this helps.
How often do you wash your clothes?
About once every 1-2 weeks. I try not to wash pants that often, and get maybe 2 wears out of shirts. However I sweat a lot and am paranoid about how I smell, so I probably wash more than necessary. I wash other things like towels and sheets once a week or so.
What detergent/s do you use?
All Free & Clear. I hate strong scents, especially chemical scents. All does the job pretty well.
Do you hang to dry most items, or use the dryer?
I hang my pants and anything with rayon in it. I typically will dry cotton or other synthetics.
Stain removal tips??
Sadly I have none. The bane of my existence is those weird little oily spots that show up randomly, most of the time on cotton. So many ruined shirts. I’ve tried tons of solutions and nothing works, either to remove or prevent them.
What about your wools, cashmeres, silks? Do you wash them at home? or take them to the dry cleaner?
I take them to the dry cleaner, but I really really want to wash at home. I hate using the dry cleaner because of the inconvenience and how it makes them smell. But I’m afraid my crusty old washer will ruin them. I’m thinking about getting something like a manual hand washer since I don’t have that many “specialty” pieces and it would save me a lot of grief.
My husband does all his own laundry, but it’s like the “scorched earth” method. Whatever detergent, hot water, high heat, and he uses dryer sheets, which I don’t use because 1) smell 2) it’s just coating everything in silicone. I think the mystery stains are probably a result of old washer + old dryer + husband’s laundry habits, so even if I did get new appliances, I’d still have his laundry methods to deal with, and I don’t want/can’t afford separate appliances! We also take turns doing the house linens, and I usually do my daughter’s clothes.
How often do you wash your clothes?
I do laundry once a week (saturdays) that’s towels (on hot) and sheets, kitchen stuff & rags (we do so many projects – we have SO MANY rags…) underwear, shirts, husband’s clothing. It’s only 5 loads though. I almost never wear jeans; my pants, skirts & dresses for work I typically wear 2-3 times before washing, depending on condition (eg in the summer if I’m out during the day and get hot/sweaty – as I do 😉 – I will wash) Shirts, undies wash each use. (I usually alternate 2-3 bras each week and wash on Saturday, air dry. My undies are sturdy cotton and wash/dry) My loungewear I might change 2-3 times a week too, and then wash. (we sleep naked but I change out of my work clothing when I get home – if I’m good, I exercise, shower, and then put on loungewear 😉
What detergent/s do you use? I get the cheap stuff at Costco 😉 I do have a delicates liquid for handwash items (even handwash in the machine)
Do you hang to dry most items, or use the dryer? Air dry my shirts, bras, workout clothing, sweaters (though rarely washed) Husband’s stuff, towels & sheets in the dryer.
Stain removal tips?? I have a couple products (from Amazon & the sewing store) but use oxiclean a lot. I don’t want to know if/how bad that is. Please don’t tell me.
What about your wools, cashmeres, silks? Do you wash them at home? or take them to the dry cleaner? Handwash and/or handwash in the machine. I haven’t been to the dry cleaner in years – only thing I’d bring there now would be a jacket (or dress if I had something with structure – I ruined an old rayon dress once by handwashing – it never looked or fit the same again…) But most of my work & leisure clothing these days is cold wash/air dry, rarely iron, so….
We have a front loader (our second!) We’ve replaced the shock absorbers on it, but knock wood have never had a mildew smell or issue. I’ve always left the door open, and as noted above, I do at least one hot load a week, so maybe that’s why? We have a whirlpool (replacing a Maytag lemon)
lol at your husband’s “scorched earth” method. mine uses the same 😉
and dryer sheets. ugh. i don’t let him near the household laundry……
Ha – there’s a reason I do *all* the laundry. My husband knows he’s not allowed to touch my stuff because he doesn’t follow/”understand” my rules….
1. I do a small load of laundry weekly for things like my undies, camisoles or anything that comes in regular contact with my skin, since I sweat easily and am in CA where “cold” is mid-50’s so I sweat year-round. I also have two pairs of jeans that I wear for work that I wash almost weekly because they’re old and lose their shape quickly, but I always wait until they hit the threshold of “bagginess” before washing.
2.I was using Dr. Bronners for a while and I really liked using something gentle and mild on my clothes, but in a pinch I bought Seventh Generation recently and have been using that. I am tempted by the Laundress but can’t justify the cost at this point — although I did buy an ES Georgia top from someone on STES and I’m pretty sure it was washed in Rose 31 and it blew my mind! I held out on washing it as long as possible because I loved the smell so much.
3.Depends on the material, and shrink factor. pants and sweaters are always air dried, cotton shirts, undies, socks and workout clothes are in the dryer. I try to wash my husband’s and my workout clothes together, but throw in some hydrogen peroxide or vinegar to work on the smell/bacteria.
4. I heard Oxyclean works wonders?! I wear dark clothing which hides pretty much all my stains and find that anything other than that washes out without any remover so this isn’t something I’ve put a lot of thought into. I also don’t mind wearing something that has a stain if it’s in an inconspicuous place, so that helps too 🙂
5. Once I discovered (through ES) that I could wash these items at home, I’ve exclusively washed at home. I wash on the most delicate cycle, in a garment bag or pillowcase, for the least amount of time, with cold water and the most gentle soap I have (I like Dr. Bronners for this), and have had zero problems, knock on wood. All of my winter sweaters fall into one of those categories, so I’ve been happy with the results so far!
My husband is not allowed to do my laundry either — actually he could, but he chooses not to because of how many “rules” I have about what can and can’t be dried in the dryer (his words)!
RE: oil stains that don’t come out
Buy a big bottle of Dawn Ultra dishwashing liquid—the kind animal rescuers use on oil-soaked birds. This stuff has removed baked-in, years-old oil stains on clothes, from hoodies to T-shirts to fine linen. A bottle can last you a decade, so I don’t find it environmentally unfriendly. What’s worse, buying five new T-shirts or saving one great tee and wearing it over and over? I squirt a little liquid on the oil stain and let it rest (even on whites, it can make you freak out a little because the soap is blue). An hour or two later, I wash the item without other soap on gentle or handwash in the washing machine. Sturdier items get a full wash.
Wipe down that rubber gasket when you are done using the front loader at the end of the day. This should take care of any smells, especially if you leave the door cracked open or a soft cloth in the gasket to soak up any liquid and hair that catches there.
I’m at the mercy of the coin-op washers in my building, so my laundry is not done in any kind of ideal way. I usually wash every two weeks or so – mostly because I hate paying for it. I’ll occasionally hand wash a piece or two in between laundry days if I want to wear it sooner. I’m not as careful with my clothes as I should be, I’m trying to get better at that. Most everything goes in the dryer, with the exception of sports bras (to preserve the elastic) and a few tops that are more delicate or I don’t want to shrink. Currently I’m using Seventh Generation detergent which is okay. I recently started using Nellie’s Oxygen Powder (it’s like an all-natural oxi-clean) and use that to soak my whites (my bath towels and sheets are all white) before putting them in the wash. It can be used as detergent too, so maybe I’ll try that soon. I don’t have any specific products for stain removal, I just wing it when I have a stain to deal with. I only have a couple dry clean items (silk tops) which I just hand wash and air dry.
Thank you! I use the Dawn “clear” for my dishes, does it work as well or do I need the Ultra?
At least he doesn’t care what kind of detergent I buy…I’m super picky about that and I would buy separate detergent if I had to. Some relatives gave me a bunch of Dreft when my daughter was born because “that’s what you’re supposed to use for baby clothes” and it nearly knocked me out, the smell was so strong.
We also *strongly* disagree on when to put the detergent in so the solution is to just never touch each other’s laundry. 🙂
Mine keeps wondering why his jeans and tees shrink…I tell him why but I think he doesn’t feel like waiting for things to dry! I get that way sometimes, and I’ve thrown jeans or whatever in the dryer if I just *really* need them now, but I try to abide by “the rules.” 🙂
But definitely no rayon in the dryer, ever. I’ve lost too many precious 100% rayon shirts that way.
omg. totally. SAME. and he would open the washing machine a million times during the wash cycle when we had an old top-loading machine. drove me bonkers.
so so so curious what the difference is between the laundress detergent for cashmere/wool vs silk? since my ES silk can be washed with regular detergent or woolite, shouldn’t i be able to use my laundress cashmere detergent as well?
Dawn is also supposed to work miracles with skunk smell (for those of you with dogs who like to get in trouble, like mine)…
I usually do the laundry over the weekend. My husband is “allowed” to wash his clothes, but more often than not, I end up doing his stuff.
I have a front loader LG washer and dryer. My towels are white, so I run an all white load with bleach once a week…leave my washer door open when not in use, and also leave the drawer that soap etc. goes in open when not in use. No odors…and I LOVE the smell of bleach…weird I know. For husband’s clothes and the white loads, I use a Tide pod.
For my clothes I use The Laundress products and love her stain solution too! I hang some things to dry, but more often than not, use the dryer on low heat. That includes my ES silks and linen items. I don’t have any fading along seams etc. that I read about on Instagram. I think that the fact we are on a well is the reason. No chlorine in my water.
I don’t use the dry cleaner much anymore…mostly for things like coats.
To get the funky smell out of front loading washing machines, use Glisten Washer .Magic Washing Machine Cleaner. You can get it most hardware stores (not Home Depot), or on Amazon. Works well. And leave the washer door open a crack when not in use.
How often do you wash your clothes?
Usually run a 1-3 washes a week, I am trying to be better at not throwing things in the laundry after just one wear and have gotten better at it. I do both mine and my boyfriends laundry, he could do it but then I would have to get him to follow my ‘rules’ or only wash him clothes and then we wouldn’t always have enough for a full load but still have things we wanted to wash and wear.
What detergent/s do you use?
I use ‘Neutral’ since it is allergy tested. I might check how environmentally friendly it actually is when I run out next and consider other options. For wool I use Dillings wool detergent. And then Vanish for stains.
Do you hang to dry most items, or use the dryer?
I hang everything except towels and bedding. The dryer ruins my clothes too quickly and it is too much of a hassle to separate all the things that can’t handle a dryer.
Stain removal tips??
Clear dish soap and vanish have gotten most stains, as long as I notice them before washing 🙂
What about your wools, cashmeres, silks? Do you wash them at home? or take them to the dry cleaner?
I do not take anything to the dry cleaner. I run everything on a delicate cycle in the washer and try to avoid buying dry clean only items when possible. Yes one of my blazers might have look better if I had dry cleaned it, but then I would never use it because of the hazzle it would be.
Gretchen – This isn’t really the laundry question you asked – but it might help other dog owners. How do I know this? My dog gets skunked every summer.
Skunk solution for dogs:
1 quart hydrogen peroxide
1/4 c baking soda
1 tsp or so of Dawn
Mix together in a large bottle and use the solution to bathe your skunked dog. Make sure the solution thoughtly saturates the dog’s fur – but don’t leave it on too long unless you want your black dog to turn blondish.
Rinse well and shampoo with dog shampoo.
Voila! A sweet smelling dog!
The Hdrogen peroxide and baking soda neutralize the skunk smell while the Dawn acts as a dispersing agent. I always keep a few bottles of hrdrogen peroxide around as skunk insurance. (But don’t store or premix the solution as it could explode in a sealed bottle.)
oh my gosh. i’m so glad we’ve never had a skunk problem !!!!! i can’t even imagine.
thanks for the recipe LOL
i do have some fading along the seams of my silk florence pants – i saw that mention on instagram…i don’t know, it doesn’t really bother me that much, i don’t notice it except when i’m REALLY looking, and anyway, i don’t expect things that are dyed to stay perfect looking forever…
How do you get by without washing shirts every time you wear them? I use natural deodorant (not antiperspirant) and I remember you writing about using natural deo too. It never 100% works for me, though it works pretty well. I live in South Florida so it’s hot here pretty much every day, so that may factor into it.
oh, yeah, when it’s really hot here, or if i notice my underarms getting a little “wet” (ew) i will absolutely wash the shirt after wearing it once. honestly, i don’t sweat much, unless i get really really really hot, which only happens when the temp is above 90 degrees F.
i do notice with natural deo that i sweat MORE when it’s hot, which is frustrating. but when it’s cool, i can get by with washing tee shirts after two wears, or three at the most.
How often do you wash your clothes? Hm, it depends. I used to wash things much more often but, from you and others, have learned not to. I exercise a lot and it is a pretty sweaty business. I have gotten some merino wool tops, baselayers, and bralettes that I can wear, hang them to dry when they are socking wet with my sweat (TMI!) and wear them again once they dry. I live in New England and spend a lot of time outside on my bike and my wool baselayers are worn multiple times before washing. You may not want to hear it but it is AWESOME! I generally only wear jeans on the weekend so go quite a long period before they’re washed.
We purchased a front loading washer a few years ago via craigslist (try to purchase items there to avoid the brand new price tag and for recycling purposes). I freaking love it. It’s embarrassing how much I love our washing machine.
What detergent/s do you use? I am *just* beginning to use more environmentally friendly detergents so am in the midst of trying out a few. Thanks to you and everybody else commenting I’ve got some more suggestions.
Do you hang to dry most items, or use the dryer? I’ve nearly always hung dry. I have a 34 in. inseam and it’s always been a struggle to not have things shrink. It’s mostly habit.
Stain removal tips?? Please! What are they??
What about your wools, cashmeres, silks? Do you wash them at home? or take them to the dry cleaner? Since purchasing our amazing front loader, we wash everything in it. The way I look at it, if it doesn’t survive the hand wash cycle on our machine, I don’t want it in my life:)
Ha – you’re a darwinian launderer like I’m a darwinian gardener! If it can’t survive, it wasn’t meant to be 🙂
How often do you wash your clothes // We only have a washing machine, so in order to get our clothes to dry in time, we have to do 1-3 small loads per week. I rarely wash my jeans, silk crepe or sweaters; I usually hang them outside in the sunshine to eliminate odors and freshen them up. Workout clothes, undies, socks, and base layers like camisoles get washed after every wear.
What detergent/s do you use // I’m polishing off the last of my Victoria’s Secret laundry detergent now for my delicates (it’s been discontinued and going for triple digit dollars on eBay – crazy). It smells amazing; my boyfriend always tells me how much he loves the way our bathroom smells when I wash my bras, which sounds ridiculous but it’s kind of true! I’ll switch to the Laundress’ version when I’m out. I use their cashmere/wool detergent for my sweaters. I use Tide Sport for our workout gear right now, and found a bottle of Molly’s Suds on clearance at our grocery store to try when the Tide runs out. Target recently did a promotion for $10 off $40 of detergent, so I stocked up on a few natural brands of traditional detergent to try.
Do you hang to dry most items, or use the dryer // I always hung most of my clothes to dry on the line, but sheets and towels are kind of a pain to have to hang outside.
Stain removal tips // Like you, the stain remover from The Laundress; also a Fels Naptha bar.
What about your wools, cashmeres, silks? Do you wash them at home? or take them to the dry cleaner // I hand wash everything as needed, and wear a cami underneath to reduce contact with my skin/sweat/oils. I wash my sweaters at the start and end of the winter in the sink or in a pail, and roll them up in a towel to wring out the water before draping over our rack. I do dry clean my coats and blazers, though. I don’t feel confident hand washing those.
1) I wash most my clothes after one wear, except jeans, which I wait as long as possible, but with young kids, it is never very long before they are smeared with something. And bras get less frequent washes.
2) Tide free for general laundry, Ivory Snow for delicates that get washed a lot like like linen bed sheets and linen table clothes, Eucalan for wool and silk items
3) I hang dry anything delicate and my jeans, good trousers, wools, and all button up shirts.
4) dish soap for grease stains, oxyclean soak for kids clothes food stains, buncha farmers stain stick for wool stains.
5) I hand wash most of my wool sweaters, but cashmere, wool socks and wool kids items do well in the machine on delicate. I hand wash silk too.
I love that! Yes, I’m a darwinian launderer…
Regarding the front loader, make sure you are wiping down under the rubber around the opening. If you’re not doing that regularly you will find a bunch of gunk from your loads there.
And my 5:
1) If I can I wear my work items, linens, merino or dresses 2X (all day) or 3X (partial like a dinner out) before washing. I live in a humid area so it’s not always possible but usually works for denims, oversized fits or dolman/kimono sleeves. Workout clothes, 1X except for caps which get wiped off on the inside until laundering is needed. I hardly launder sweaters that are worn as a top layer over other pieces or jackets. I never launder scarves. I do laundry all week long but it is different types of loads and some small loads (like workout stuff). I’m limited to what I can hang dry and that is most of my items so I spread it out. I also try to do hang dry when my BF isn’t Home since we have a small place and share a bathroom (he takes care of his mom several times a week).
2) I use the Method liquid concentrated for almost everything and Hex Performance for workout fabrics.
3) I was all hang until recently as I didn’t have a dryer. Now I only dry linens and real casual stuff like cotton shorts/Ts/sweats. Almost everything else is hang as it is necessitated by the type of clothing or instructions for what I wear (I wear many handmade items from small brands or Japan). I also wear mostly black so try to prevent fading. My underwear (hanky panky) also needs to be hung as the stretch lace will lose elasticity otherwise (an expensive lesson I recently learned). My items that are washed on delicate are hung and that is most of my clothing. I hang everything in my bathroom away from the playful kitty. I was having trouble with some pieces drying. So I found hangers from Japan that have an oval piece that flips from vertical to horizontal to hold the piece open a bit from hanging (keeps the front and back from touching while drying). Game changer! I also use a drying rack and another hanging thing with a bunch of clips.
4) None except tide pen, learning from all of you. I need to check out the Laundress!
5) I wash as much as I can at home on delicate. For knits I use mesh bags and have a mesh top I can put on the top of my drying rack to lay sweaters. I dry clean certain outerwear like my wool coats. I don’t like to spend on dry cleaning now that I spend more on my clothing. I’d rather use that money for a new dress! However I don’t buy items that require it
I don’t dry my linens, that was an error but I may toss in for a little bit if too wrinkled.
Thanks for this! We plan on moving further out into the country and I have very curious dogs. I thought that solution seemed a little familiar…I’ve used that recipe myself to strip out tough hair color. 🙂