How often should you wash your clothes? These are the top mistakes
The average family spends a lot of time in the laundry room doing about 300 loads of laundry every year. Even though people may be doing five loads of laundry a week, there is a chance they are doing it wrong, according to new research from Consumer Reports (CR).
With three growing boys at home, Erica Dickman-Wilkes has mountains of laundry.
“I do laundry every single day,” she said.
Stained, sweaty and dirty clothes are automatically thrown in the wash, and Dickman-Wilkes said she washes her comforters every week.
CR’s Rich Handel said that is too often. According to CR, it’s not necessary to wash that often unless your pet sleeps on the bed – otherwise, every three weeks will do the job.
But don’t hold off for too much longer as things we can’t see – like dust mites, bacteria, and dead skin cells – can trigger allergies and skin irritation.
CR said that sheets are another matter and should be washed every five to seven days, sooner if you or someone is sick.
Fear of a dank, moldy towel has Dickman-Wilkes washing her towels after every use, but CR said that is also too often.
“Don’t throw towels on the floor. Hang it up and if you allow it to dry in between, you won’t have to wash it as often. We generally suggest three to five days,” Handel said.
CR said that undergarments, t-shirts, socks and especially gym clothes should be washed after each use.
“And they should not be left bunched up in a bag where they can become a science experiment,” Handel said.
When it comes to khakis and dress shirts, unless they are dirty, stained or sweaty, save yourself the trouble and wash them after three wears. Jeans can go without a wash for even longer.
When it comes to detergents, three earned top spots in CR tests. Tide Plus Ultra Stain Release, Tide Oxi, and Persil Pro Clean Stain Fighter yielded very good results.
But don’t overdo it with laundry detergent as more is not necessarily better and research shows many people use twice as much as they need to.
Another mistake many people make is putting stained clothes in the dryer before the stain is removed. Once you do that, the heat sets the stain and it will be hard to get rid of it, so you're better off using a stain remover and washing it again.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Humanist group threatening to sue Vancouver over council prayers
The B.C. Humanist Association has threatened legal action against the City of Vancouver for allowing prayers at council, following a similar warning issued earlier this month to a smaller community on Vancouver Island.
LHSC performs a Canadian first in robot-assisted direct lateral spine surgery
Spine surgery may never be the same for people with chronic back pain and other physical ailments.