A laundry company has issued rules it suggests households should follow over how often people should be washing their clothes – and it’s probably lot less often than you think.
According to Ecover in its online guidance for laundry, most UK households are washing their clothes far too often, having a knock-on effect on the life of their clothes, their energy bills and the environment. Washing clothes in the washing machine shortens the life expectancy of each item with each wash and in basic terms, there are only so many washes clothes can take before they fade, shink, tear or generally become unwearable.
Therefore, if you can save on washing some clothing for longer, it will cut money off your bills too. Laundry experts Ecover have issued a rough guide on exactly how often you should wash each piece of clothing.
They said: “A cleaning company telling you to wash your clothes less? You got it.
“Washing your clothes too often will break down the fibres and wear out the fabric. As a general rule, if it doesn’t look dirty and doesn’t smell dirty, why wash it? Here’s our guide to wash wisely:
Bedding – every 2-4 weeks (depending on how hot and sweaty you get)
Underwear – daily (never question your pants)
Bras – weekly, unless it’s a sports bra
Jumpers – every 2-3 times you wear it. Give it the sniff test
Denim – only when dirty or smelly, denim fibres wear out quicker with lots of washing.”
They added: “This is about more than fresh socks and squeaky-clean pots. This is about respecting the planet and looking out for nature. This is about fixing our waste culture and making an impact on our impact.
“Every basket of laundry and stack of dishes is a chance to shake the status quo. Because we need system change, not climate change. And together we can roll up our freshly laundered sleeves and get this revolution on the road.”