Take our quiz to find out how often you should wash your clothes – and how often other readers do it. Plus, find out if the experts agree with your routine.
Looking and feeling clean is a big 21st-century concern. A recent survey by Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, found that a representative sample of 2,000 people valued being perceived as clean by others far above worrying about the environmental impact of doing more laundry than necessary.
Yet there are also other factors at play that keep us chucking clothes into the laundry basket after one wear. For one thing, we all have so many clothes now, we can casually put on an entirely different set of garments each morning.
Our great-grandparents didn’t have many clothes, so would make everything last as long as possible – at least until the weekly washday.
Washing seems to have become almost a hobby for some people, with envy tours of immaculately organised bespoke laundry rooms a popular genre on social media.
This is all tied in with another laundry-pushing effect: clothes washing is a massive industry, with Statista valuing the sector at over £2 billion this year in the UK, with predicted annual growth of nearly three per cent. So, there’s a lot invested in keeping us all loading in yet another wash, via powerful marketing budgets. The good news though is that Statista also remarks on a rise in consumer demand for sustainable laundry products as we begin to understand the physical toll our laundry fetish takes on the environment.
On top of all the single-use plastic and the chemical load of synthetic fragrance, brightness enhancers and the like, there is the damage caused by microparticles of synthetic fibres entering the marine ecosystem.
How to make clothes last longer between washes
The simplest technique is “airing out” – leaving clothes outside the wardrobe for 24 hours after wearing. Tailoring, dresses, blouses and dress trousers on hangers; knits and T-shirts draped over a chair. Any odours will usually completely disperse.
If they don’t, give the garment a spritz with a deodorising spray. (The Clothes Doctor one worked a miracle recently on a rather stinky vintage dress I’d bought.)
Steaming, using a hand-held steamer (which start at around £20), is a game changer. A targeted woosh of magic steam will refresh any garment, removing stale smells and smoothing creases without needing to involve the washing machine or the ironing board. Steaming kills 96 per cent of bacteria and releases no microfibres into the water system.
Sponging is the way to treat visible marks on any garment, by dabbing gently with a damp sponge. Natural sponges are best because they contain antimicrobial properties. Allow the garments to dry before putting them back in the wardrobe.
A proper clothes brush (those things parents used to have…) with natural bristles is a quick way to remove general dust and detritus, as well as more visible dried mud and flicked around make-up.
Is dry cleaning necessary?
No. Traditional dry cleaning uses chemicals which release toxins into the air and water supply. There are modern dry cleaners which use green techniques, but mostly we can do enough ourselves.
Mortram says the exceptions are: “If something is very delicate, with beading or sequins, very expensive and precious, or has sentimental value, then take it to the cleaners.”
Is using a tumble dryer ever justified?
Air drying is better for your clothes, the environment and electricity bills, with more people installing old-fashioned laundry hoists, to get the benefit of rising warmer air to dry things faster. Another option is a heated airing rack. But there are times – like this wet summer – when there is little choice if you want to get wet towels dry (and of course it does make them fluffier…). Generally, though, use any other means of drying first.
Best washing product choices
Liquid laundry detergent should be outlawed. It’s 90 per cent water – which weighs a kilo a litre – being transported around in diesel trucks, in single-use plastic containers. Campaign against it. Tell your friends. There are so many better alternatives.
Laundry pods are more complex. Studies have shown that the water-soluble polymer (PVA) they are wrapped in releases a toxic monomer which enters the water system and harms marine life. Other parties claim it’s more complex and further research is needed for a definitive conclusion.
Surprisingly, the seemingly eco-saintly laundry sheets also contain PVA.
So what to use? The Good Housekeeping Institute rates old-fashioned boxed laundry powder as the most effective washing medium for removing stains. It’s great value (I rate Lidl’s own brand) and while it’s heavy to transport, you can recycle or compost the cardboard box. Just be careful not to use too much in each load.
The most eco-friendly option is the laundry egg. Although the egg bit is plastic, each pack of mineral pellets gives you 70 washes, which are gentle on sensitive skin and delicate fabrics – and then you buy refills. It has great reviews on the website of Lakeland, that retail temple for serious homemakers.
Specialised liquid washes
Worth investing in for delicate items, such as silk and cashmere, and for activewear made from moisture-wicking fabrics (never use fabric conditioner on these items). Try to find ones that come in recyclable packaging, or with refill options.
Fabric conditioner
This is controversial, being 90 per cent water in single-use plastic bottles and containing a lot of chemical colour and fragrance. White vinegar with drops of lavender oil works brilliantly, or there are more eco-aware alternatives (see below).
Stain removal
For that whiter-than-white 1950s housewife ideal, oxygen bleach, or sodium percarbonate – the basis of all branded stain-removing powders – is non-toxic and safe, but supermarkets only sell it in plastic tubs, with plastic scoops. Instead buy it in paper packaging from your local wholefood, or refill, store and keep it in an old pickle jar.
How often do you wash your clothes - and how often should you?
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What the experts say about your washing routine
Katie Mortram, a veritable guru on all things laundry, is Good Housekeeping’s household advice editor. A lot of what she advises is common sense, i.e. clean pants every day and towels every three to four uses.
Where I was surprised is bed linen. Mortram says you can go two weeks between changes, which shocked me (the horror!) until I read on that you can keep sheets fresher for longer by letting the bed air with the covers thrown back for a couple of hours each day before making it.
But while the Good Housekeeping advice seems reasonable, there is a school of thought that advocates laundering clothes as little as possible, using other techniques to keep them fresh between wears.
Lulu O’Connor founded her company Clothes Doctor expressly to encourage people to take pride in looking after their clothes to make them last longer – and laundering them less often is part of it. Indeed, there are some things O’Connor advises never to wash.
“Things that are worn close to the skin need washing more often,” she says, “although it depends on the season, but we advise to wash jeans very infrequently. Use a deodorising spritz and they’ll be good for 30 wears. Or if you like to shrink them back to shape, try steaming them with a hand-held steamer instead.”
For synthetic fabrics she particularly advocates steaming to put off the next wash, to keep polluting microfibres at bay.
When it comes to those skin-contact items that must be washed, O’Connor is a fan of spot-cleaning with oxygen bleach stain removers before putting things in the machine, so you can use a lower temperature wash. With this pre-care she never uses a cycle higher than 30 degrees.
“Put a bowl of water under a stain, put stain remover on top and let it soak for an hour, or overnight,” she says.
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