![]() ![]() As you sort articles of clothing, check pockets for any stowaways, such as money or jewelry. And depending on how thorough you like to be, also sort by similar fabrics and similar textures (such as a towels-only load), by level of dirtiness (such as workout-gear only) or by weight (keeping in mind that not all articles of clothing are equal bulky clothing such as jeans and sweaters, for instance, weigh more than cotton T-shirts or anything made of polyester, by volume.). Separate delicates from more substantial clothing. Most people begin with sorting by color, which leaves you with, potentially, four piles: white clothes, light clothes, dark clothes and any articles of clothing that may bleed (such as red socks or dark denim). To ensure good laundry karma, and score points with the laundromat regulars for not wasting anyone's time, sort your laundry before you go to the laundromat. One of the common themes in laundromat etiquette, you'll notice, is to be considerate of others: their time, their space, their belongings. And of course, nights and weekends are going to be the busiest in any laundromat, so be courteous to all the other people who also need to wash their clothes, and don't hog the machines. If it's a small facility with just a few machines, such as the ones apartment buildings sometimes offer, it's definitely not cool to use all the machines to accelerate your laundry chores. Setting your laundry basket on a machine while you get your quarters or card for payment may be acceptable in some shared laundry spaces, while in others it's considered discourteous.Ĭonsider, too, the size of the laundromat, the time of day and the day of the week. ![]() Spreading your dirty laundry across the lids of a number of machines you intend to monopolize for the entire afternoon between errands is considered inconsiderate by, well, pretty much everyone, as is trying to reserve an open dryer for your wet clothes that still have 20 minutes to go in the wash. When it comes to reserving machines the trick is to be reasonable. Some will tell you it's smartest to claim your machine (or machines) with your laundry basket of dirties. Other potentially harmful bacteria include Staphylococcus (which may cause mild to severe skin infections as well as life-threatening conditions such as sepsis) and klebsiella (which, among other serious conditions, causes pneumonia and urinary tract infections). That translates into about 100 million E.coli released into the soapy water as the clothes are cleaned and rinsed (and that's not taking into account the other fecal-friendly microorganisms such as hepatitis A virus), bacteria that will wait around to hitch a ride on your clothes - and then onto your hands. Let's imagine the person using the washing machine before you does a load of underwear: Each pair of underwear in that load carries an average of one-tenth of a gram of fecal matter. Laundry is dirty before you wash it, but also after. Think twice about bringing your lunch to eat as you pass the time waiting for your clothes to wash and tumble the place is bugged - and, now, so are your hands. And while you may never get excited about laundromat day, it does beat doing things the old-fashioned way with a bit of water and a washboard (or a rock), right? You can make it even a little more palatable by knowing the unwritten rules of the load. And because of dryers that won't dry, washing machines that won't spin, oversized blankets sized too big for home dryers to handle, and on occasion simply out of convenience alone, any one of us may need to take a trip to the laundromat from time to time. Ībout 16 percent) of American homes don't have a washing machine 19 percent don't have a dryer. The American Cleaning Institute estimates that equals about five or six loads of laundry each week for a family of four, assuming people are wearing their jeans and pajamas and using their bath towels three or four times before they wash them. ![]() Answer me this: How many pounds of clothing does the average American wear in the course of one week? If you answered about 16 pounds (7.3 kilograms), you're spot on. ![]()
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