How Often Brits Do Laundry: The Survey Report
On December 5th, 2017, Love2laundry published an article on ‘when to wash everything you own.’ After servicing thousands of clients and hearing the concerns of many of our loyal customers, we created an easy guide which explains optimal laundry schedules for varying items in the typical household.
We also described the recommended steps for cleaning each item in an easy to follow infographic. We were excited to share, but the process got us thinking, ‘how often are Brits actually washing their clothing and bedding?’ We decided to conduct a survey and find out.
In this report, we are going to reveal to you the laundry habits of Brits while comparing real-world statistics with our laundry recommendations.
Bed Sheets and Covers
You wouldn’t want to spend an hour cloaked by allergens, and you certainly wouldn’t want to find out you spent a third of your life wrapped in fungi and sweat. Clean bed covers are not only a habit of neat people but also those who are health conscious.
We sweat, shed dead skin cells and secret oils while we sleep. Plus, dust gathers and settles on our sheets throughout the day. The combination of these facts means that many of us may be sharing our resting places with germs that may make us sick.
If you have woken up sneezing or coughing, it may be because your sheets need to be changed. Pollen and lint which irritate our nostrils collect on dirty bed sheets. These are a few of the reasons we recommend washing your covers once every week.
We were excited to discover that more than half of Brits surveyed (55%) practice our recommendation. 21% of participants stated that they wait one or two months before washing their covers, while 4% of those surveyed choose to wait a year.
Duvets
Duvets are the fluffy quilts typically filled with feathers or synthetic fibres. They keep us warm at night and tend to be protected by covers. As a result, some may be under the impression that duvets do not need to be cleaned quite as often as is recommended. Plus the large and thick bedding poses a challenge for those who choose to self-clean when it is laundry time.
If you are going to throw your duvets into the washing machine, or trust your bedding with a professional, we suggest you take care of them at least once every three months.
The spaces between fibres in your duvets are a breeding ground for dust mites and bacteria that live on your skin. Allergic reactions can also be triggered by the microbes which thrive in unwashed duvets. But more so, it is a good idea to clean your duvets as you wouldn’t want to transfer unwanted microorganisms onto your freshly washed sheets and covers.
According to our survey, 24% of Brits clean their duvets once every one or two months. 21% of people in the Uk clean their duvets once every six months, while 5% of participants take care of their duvets once every four years.
Towels
Though we may feel clean and refreshed after a bath or shower, there are dead skin cells and bacteria which will be transferred to our towels as dry ourselves. The moisture trapped in the fabric of used towels can become a breeding ground for germs. And though most microbes in your household may not be harmful, you may have noticed your towels tend to have a different odour if they aren’t aired out appropriately. This is because the damp conditions of a bathrooms allow microbes and bacteria to multiply. For this reason, it is recommended that towels are washed once every two days.
We were happy to discover that 31% of our survey participants wash their towels once every one or two days. We also found that 46% of respondents wash towels once every week which isn’t far off the mark of the ideal.
It looks like Brits acknowledge the need for fresh towels after a refreshing shower.
Jeans
What could be more comfortable, convenient and casual than a pair of jeans on a beautiful day out? We don’t have the answer to that question, but we do know how often Brits are washing their favourite clothing item.
Denim trousers are not only suitable for most occasions, but they are also relatively low maintenance items. So low maintenance that Levi’s CEO, Chip Bergh, once claimed that jeans shouldn’t be washed. However, we respectfully disagree.
Although your pair of jeans will withstand the wear and tear of the typical day, they still behave like fabric, picking up contaminants, microbes and bacteria which cause unpleasant odours.
The recommended wash interval for a pair of jeans is once every two months.
We discovered that Brits care so much about their jeans that 50% of our survey participants wash their jeans once a week. 16% of respondents are sticking with our advice. While 4% of those questioned expressed that they wash their jeans once a year.
Suits
Professionals take pride in preserving their presentation. Thus a tidy suit is often vital. Wearing a clean suit to work helps you walk into the office feeling confident, ready to take on the day. We understand this and identified a six-month interval as the ideal gap between cleaning.
Though most would be tempted to wash their work attire on a more frequent basis, laundry professionals realise that over exposure to dry cleaning chemicals may deteriorate fibres of the garment. Once brilliant colour will begin to fade, and your suit may need to be replaced sooner than necessary.
But how often are your coworkers actually cleaning their suits? 12% of respondents to our survey revealed that they wash their suits as per our recommendation. 41% of participants indicated that they take their suits to the cleaners once every 1 to 2 months.
