For people living alone, doing laundry is an essential part of daily life.
However, when you live alone, laundry is less likely to pile up like it does with a family, so you need to be creative with how often and how you do your laundry.
In this article, we will provide useful information for people living alone about how often and how to do laundry.
We'll also introduce tips for doing laundry efficiently even when you're busy, such as bulk washing and time-saving techniques.
If you live alone, this is useful information that will make laundry more comfortable, so be sure to read to the end.
How often should you do laundry if you live alone?
There are three main patterns for how often to do laundry when living alone: "everyday," "2-3 times a week," or "once a week." Which pattern you choose will depend on what you consider important.
If you are concerned about hygiene, it is recommended that you wash your clothes every day, while if you wash a large amount of laundry at once when it has accumulated, washing your clothes two to three times a week would be appropriate.
Now let's take a look at why people who live alone decide how often they do laundry.
Someone who does laundry every day
There are a certain number of people who live alone but still do laundry every day.
The main reasons include the following:
- For hygiene reasons, you don't want to leave dirty clothes or wet towels lying around.
- There are few clothes and towels, so laundry must be done every day.
- I hate leaving dirty or smelly clothes lying around.
As such, many people have made it a habit to do laundry every day for personality reasons.
In addition, for people who wear a uniform for work and take it home with them, washing it every day may be necessary, even if they live alone.
People who live alone usually do laundry 2-3 times a week.
The most common frequency for people living alone to do laundry is 2-3 times a week.
When you live alone, the amount of laundry you do each day is small, not enough to fill up your washing machine in one day.
You don't want to leave your laundry out for a long time, but taking into account the capacity of your washing machine, two to three times a week is recommended.
In addition, doing laundry two to three times a week not only reduces the hassle of having to do it every day, but is also efficient as it saves on utility bills.
In terms of hygiene, many people would consider bathing two to three times a week to be sufficient.
If you get home late or are busy, do laundry once a week.
Some people only do laundry once a week.
There are three main reasons for this:
- I want to save on utility bills
- I get home late and don't have time to do laundry.
- It's hard to get time off
Depending on where you live, many people are limited in how often they do laundry due to time constraints, such as having to consider whether doing laundry at night might disturb their neighbors.
Also, if people do laundry infrequently, some people choose to use a coin laundry instead of having a washing machine at home.
Tips for doing laundry when living alone
Next, we will introduce four key points for doing laundry when living alone.
Improve your clothing care skills and learn economical and effective washing methods.
The four points I would like to introduce this time are as follows:
- Washing methods vary depending on the type of clothing
- Disinfect with oxygen bleach or baking soda
- Avoid using leftover bath water as much as possible.
- Hang out immediately after washing
1. Wash different types of clothes differently
Although clothing is generally referred to as one thing, there are many different ways to wear it and the materials it is made of.
By washing them at the appropriate frequency, you can effectively keep them clean.
First, I've compiled a list to make it easier to understand.
| Summer | Winter | |
|---|---|---|
| Innerwear | Immediate washing | Immediate washing |
| Pajamas | Immediate washing | Once every 2-3 times |
| Bottoms | Immediate washing | Once every 2-3 times |
| Knitwear | - | When you are concerned about dirt or odors |
Here we explain the proper washing method for each type of clothing.
Underwear and other innerwear
Items that come into direct contact with the skin, such as underwear, undergarments, and socks, tend to become dirty with sweat and sebum.
If you leave clothes in a bulk wash, they can become smelly and stained, making them difficult to remove, so make washing them a top priority after wearing them once.
Pajamas to wear when sleeping
Pajamas, loungewear, and other items worn while sleeping are prone to getting soiled with sweat and sebum produced while sleeping, so it is recommended that you wash them as frequently as underwear.
However, in times like winter when you don't sweat much, you may wear it for several days in a row.
In that case, it is recommended that you set some rules in advance, such as washing the item after wearing it two or three times.
Bottoms such as trousers and skirts
Bottoms such as pants and skirts are also items that should be washed more frequently.
In particular, the waist and crotch areas are prone to sweat soaking, dirt accumulation, and odor generation.
Therefore, it is a good idea to decide how many times to wash depending on the season, such as washing after one wear in summer and after three wears in winter.
Sweaters and other knitwear
Sweaters and other knitted items do not get as dirty with sweat or sebum as underwear and pants, so it is best to adjust the frequency of washing according to how often you wear them.
It's a good idea to decide when to wash it by checking for dirt and odor.
2. Disinfect with oxygen bleach or baking soda
During the rainy season and summer when odors are particularly a concern, it is important to disinfect using oxygen bleach or baking soda.
If bacteria have grown on your laundry, an unpleasant odor may remain even after washing, raising concerns about hygiene.
Therefore, it is a good idea to use oxygen bleach or baking soda when washing clothes to disinfect them, especially in the summer when bacteria are more likely to grow.
However, while chlorine-based products have a strong antibacterial effect, they can also cause discoloration and damage to clothing, so be sure to read the instructions carefully before using them to make sure there are no problems.
3. Avoid using leftover bath water as much as possible.
Try to avoid using leftover bath water to do laundry.
The leftover water contains sebum and other substances, which, if left on clothes during the rinsing stage, can cause the growth of bacteria.
It's one thing to use washing water, but rinsing laundry with leftover bath water can also lead to the accumulation of germs.
If you want to use leftover bath water to save on water bills, use it only for the main wash and use tap water for rinsing.
4. Hang clothes out to dry immediately after washing
Once your laundry has finished spinning, hang it out to dry immediately.
If you put the dehydrated laundry back into the washing machine after the wash and leave it there without drying it out, bacteria will start to grow again.
To prevent the growth of bacteria, be sure to hang the clothes out to dry immediately after dehydration.
Four things to keep in mind when doing laundry when living alone
We've explained the key points about laundry, but next we'll introduce four things to keep in mind when doing laundry if you live alone.
Let's take a closer look at some commonly overlooked laundry tips to avoid.
1. Don't let laundry pile up in the washing machine
Avoid leaving used towels or clothes in the washing machine.
Humidity causes bacteria to grow and leads to unpleasant odors.
Therefore, if you are not going to wash your clothes right away, store them in a well-ventilated laundry box.
In addition to the laundry boxes sold commercially, wire baskets and laundry nets are also recommended.
2. Wash items that are heavily stained or prone to fading separately
If the laundry is heavily stained or you are worried about color fading, wash it separately from other items.
Washing them together may result in contamination or color transfer.
It is important to treat heavily soiled clothing as soon as possible before the stains appear.
Even if you cannot use the washing machine right away, it is a good idea to pre-wash the item by spot washing or soaking it before washing it.
Also, it is important to wipe off any dirt that can be removed with the brush before washing.
3. Don't put in more laundry than the washing machine can handle.
If you put in more laundry than the washing machine can handle, the machine may not run smoothly and dirt may not come off easily.
When doing laundry, it is a good idea to wash about 70 to 80 percent of the maximum capacity of the washing machine listed in the catalog, and if the load is large, try to do multiple washes.
Not only does it remove dirt effectively, it also reduces the amount of water used at one time.
Also, be careful not to pack it too full as this can cause water to leak out.
4. Clean your washing machine drum once a month
As a general rule of thumb, we recommend cleaning your washing machine drum once a month.
This will vary depending on the number of people in your family and how often you do laundry, but no matter how busy you are, you should do it at least once every two months.
There is a lot of invisible mold growing in the washing machine.
Because washing machines use water, the inside of the washing tub is always humid.
Dirt from clothing, undissolved detergent, dust and lint remain there, which if left unattended can lead to the growth of bacteria and mold.
To keep your washing machine drum clean, clean it about once a month.
It's easy and all you need to do is run the washing machine using a commercially available washing machine drum cleaner .
The pros and cons of doing laundry all at once when living alone
If you live alone, doing laundry every day can be a hassle, so many people do the laundry in bulk.
Next, we will explain in detail the benefits of washing multiple items at once and the points you should be careful about.
Knowing the correct way to bulk wash can help you plan your laundry to fit your busy schedule.
Benefits of bulk washing
There are two main benefits to bulk washing.
- Saving on energy costs
- Save time
Washing clothes in bulk can help you save on energy costs.
The electricity and water bills for one load of laundry may be negligible, but over the course of a year it adds up to significant savings.
Also, on days when you don't do laundry, the time it would take to run the washing machine, hang out the clothes, and fold them can be used for other household chores or personal time.
Since bulk washing can save you time and money, many people will naturally choose to do so.
However, there are also some drawbacks to washing your clothes together, so be aware of this.
Disadvantages of bulk washing
There are three main disadvantages to bulk washing:
- Bacteria can easily grow
- Laundry becomes harder to dry
- The dirt may not come off
When you wash your laundry in bulk, the dirty clothes are left out, making it easier for bacteria to grow.
This bacteria is what causes unpleasant odors such as a damp smell.
Also, if you wash and dry a large amount of laundry at once, the clothes tend to be close together and take longer to dry.
This can also cause a damp smell.
Also, overloading your washing machine can make it even harder to remove stains that would normally be difficult to remove.
As you can see, there are many disadvantages to doing laundry all at once, so it's important not to let too much laundry pile up.
3 Time-Saving Laundry Tips for Living Alone
I think there are many people who want to use their time efficiently by doing laundry in bulk, but are concerned about mold and the smell of damp clothes.
Next, we will introduce three time-saving techniques to help you do laundry efficiently when living alone.
Here are three time-saving laundry techniques to help you:
- Use a laundry timer
- Wash on the short cycle
- Store it on a hanger
I will explain each one in order.
1. Use a laundry timer
The biggest advantage of a laundry timer is that you can do your laundry at a set time every day.
There are many different times when people do laundry, such as early in the morning or when they get home from work. With a laundry timer, you can simply schedule it in advance to do your laundry at a specified time.
You can also set a timer at night to save on your electricity bill.
If you have a washing machine with a dryer, your laundry will be done overnight, and if you don't have a dryer, you can set it to finish when you wake up and hang out your laundry right away.
However, please note that the operating noise may disturb your neighbors at night or early in the morning, so please be mindful of noise.
Also, be careful that if the time your laundry finishes doesn't match the time you wake up, you may end up leaving wet laundry lying around.
2. Wash on the time-saving cycle
Even if you don't wash twice as often, selecting the time-saving cycle will still remove dirt sufficiently in a short amount of time.
The time-saving course is a function that omits the number of rinsing cycles, etc.
Using the time-saving cycle will reduce the overall time it takes to wash, and in some cases washing can be completed in as little as 30 minutes.
This is a convenient function to use when you're busy, such as before going to bed or heading out on the weekend, so if your washing machine has a time-saving cycle, be sure to try it out.
However, if you have a large amount of laundry, it may be difficult to remove the stains, so be careful.
3. Store it on a hanger
We also recommend storing dry laundry in the closet without removing it from the hangers.
When you're busy living alone, folding laundry every time is a real hassle.
Therefore, when hanging out laundry, it is a good idea to hang it on a hanger first.
Once you bring it in, you can store it in the closet.
If you are concerned about wrinkles in your clothes, we recommend quickly ironing them out with a steam iron before putting on the clothes.
summary
This time, we explained how often, how to do laundry, and what to be careful about when living alone.
The frequency of washing will vary depending on your individual lifestyle and the season, but use the points and precautions we have introduced here to consider the frequency that is right for you.
We also introduced tips on bulk washing and time-saving techniques.
There are many different techniques and methods for doing laundry when living alone, but the most important thing is to find a method that suits your personal lifestyle and preferences.
Find the washing style that suits you best by referring to information on how often to wash, how to wash, and what precautions to take.
