How Much Laundry Does the Average Person Do?

Laundry Statistics

The average household washes 50 pounds of laundry a week and 6,000 articles of clothing every year!

Laundry is something we don’t always think about. It’s a bit like cleaning the dishes or brushing our teeth. An everyday habit we grow accustomed to. That said, some of the data on how often people wash their clothes is truly thought provoking.

How much laundry does the average person do? Mulberry’s Garment Care had the same question and conducted a survey asking a little over 1,000 Americans about their personal laundry habits.

Some of the findings were understandable, but others were quite shocking. One of the most unexpected findings from the study was that not everyone cleans their underwear. From those surveyed, 20% of men and 10% of women don’t clean their underwear, at all.

That would mean 2 out of every 10 of your male friends and 1 out of every 10 of your female friends don’t clean their underwear. Now, these results could definitely be fudged – just a bunch of students being funny; at least, we hope.

Other interesting findings featured in the study:

• Women start to clean their laundry at an earlier age than men

• Most people spend less than $50 on dry cleaning per month
• A fraction spend up to $150 per month

• Most men and women clean their jeans after 1 to 2 wears

For more information on individual demographics see below:

College Students

It often becomes necessary for freshmen transitioning to a new school to build clean habits and laundry systems of their own.

The average student washes their laundry once every other week. Now it depends on how many clothes each student may have. The more clothes could mean longer waits between laundry days, but students should try to not go too long between washes. There’s always likely to be that one person on your floor that seems to never clean their clothes, which is likely to not go down too well with roommates.  

Young Professionals

The average young professional does laundry once a week. At this stage of life, laundry day is often allocated to a specific day and becomes routine.

Keeping this system running smoothly is essential for young professionals. For people starting new careers and jobs, staying on top of their personal hygiene is important. It shows the world you take yourself seriously, and in turn, that others should take you seriously as well.

Having a laundry pickup service come once a week on a recurring basis can be helpful for young professionals, becoming a convenient new system in their routine. Saving precious time and energy. If you’re someone who values your time, this can be a great investment.

Families with Kids

Families, of course, are going to be doing laundry more than most. Young children aren’t doing their own laundry just yet. So, it falls to parents to take up the load – or loads. The average family does their laundry once a week. Depending on the family size, this can take anywhere between 2 to 5 hours.

For a family with pets, doing the laundry can take much longer. Is it worth it? Of course! Pets are a blessing.

Wrapping Up

Everyone does laundry. Apparently, some don’t clean their underwear, but that’s a personal choice. If you’re tired of washing 6,000 articles of clothing every year, you can always try a laundry pickup and delivery service. So you can turn “laundry day” into “do what you want day”.