People Are Divided Over How Often To Wash Shirts, Towels, And Sheets

Emily McWilliams
A woman folding stacks of clothes.
Unsplash | Sarah Brown

It seems that most people have their own techniques when it comes to doing the laundry. What could work for one person and their routine, might not work for another. That seems to be what the internet is finding out after a laundry tips video went viral for sparking some heated debates.

While the video was intended to be helpful, it caused quite the controversy online and gave us some insight into people's laundry habits.

It's a fact that no one likes to do laundry.

A blue laundry basket filled with clothes.
Unsplash | Annie Spratt

When it comes to household chores, laundry ranks up there with cleaning the toilet in terms of the worst ones. I have a theory that laundry is particularly tedious and repetitive which is why we dread doing it so much.

Thankfully, in the age of the internet, there are lots of people trying to make chores easier for the rest of us.

A quick look on TikTok or Instagram will turn up thousands of home and laundry tips. One video posted by the account @washlandco recently went viral for sharing some surprising laundry tips.

The video explained how often you should wash common clothing and household items.

Someone's hands putting socks in a washing machine
instagram | @washlandco

Items like socks, for example, should be washed after each wear, according to the video. For women's bras, the video recommended washing those after three-five wears.

For other items, like shirts, the video suggested washing them after two-four wears.

A hand putting a shirt in the washing machine.
instagram | @washlandco

I think this one completely depends on the type of shirt. For instance, I know my workout shirts NEED to be washed after every trip to the gym but I could totally get away with wearing a blouse to work twice before washing it.

When it came to household items, the video said to wash bedding every two weeks.

A hand putting bed sheets in a washer
instagram | @washlandco

This sounds about right to me. I've heard either every week or every two weeks for bedding. Again, I think it depends on the type of person and kind of sheets you use.

For towels, those should be washed once or twice per week.

A hand putting a towel in the washing machine
instagram | @washlandco

Of all the items listed in the video, this one surprised me the most. Once a week seems doable, but twice a week seems a little excessive to me. Maybe I just need to wash my towels more!

The video drew some harsh criticism online.

Instagram comment
instagram | @washland

On one hand, many people said these timeframes were completely unrealistic for the average person when you factor in the price of water and electricity — not to mention how much time you would need to spend doing laundry every week.

But, others thought the video didn't go far enough.

Instagram comment
instagram | @washland

Many commented saying that all clothing garments should be washed after every use. While opinions varied for bedding and towels, most seemed to agree that once or twice a week for both was reasonable. It seems that a lot of people are doing more loads of laundry than I would have assumed.

What do you think of these laundry tips? Did they hit the mark or are the timelines way off?

h/t Daily Mail