Laundry: frugality vs hygiene

[shelbylovesmelby]

Curtains 2-3x a year or as needed

Bedding every 2 weeks, comforters 4x or more x's

Towels used only once, as the bacteria on the towels contibutes to me getting various boils & my OB GYN told me this & ever since I've had few problems. But when I do reuse a towel I'm in trouble! However dh, will use his more than once & w/ dd's I usually use them 2x as they have them on for but a moment before they are running around bare bottomed *LOL*

[mountainmist]

Originally Posted by PrincessPerky

I would like to know why..cause I bought DD a princess set for her bed and in two washes it is 'pilling' I bought DS a black set for his bed and in one year there is only a slight greying..I want to know what I should have looked for to get the lasting set....I think they are all cotton...

Do some research at google using the keyword: sheets, and the exact phrase, "THREAD COUNT."

AS A GENERAL RULE -- The more threads per square inch, the stronger the sheet - and the more expensive.

That said, I've noticed that some of those earlier polyester/cotton blend sheets apparently wore like iron, because plenty of them can be found at estate sales.

Also, I've occasionally bought a set of 'high count' bed sheets at a liquidator store, but they wore out pretty quickly --- leading me to believe that they might have been mislabeled, or maybe even falsely labeled.

I once read something about that you should have three sets of sheets for each bed -- one set in on the bed, one is in the wash, and the other set is in the linen closet.

By giving your sheets some "rest time" between use, they will last longer.

I cannot imagine any family in this day and age, when again and again and again, all Americans are urged to prepare for national emergencies, terror attacks, horrendous winter storms, hurricanes, industrial accidents, etc...... I can't imagine not having enough sheets for each bed in the house to last for a month without having to use the washing machine.

Are you aware that you can ordinarily pick up sheet sets at garage sales and estate sales for under three bucks?

[mountainmist]

Originally Posted by PrincessPerky

I would like to know why..cause I bought DD a princess set for her bed and in two washes it is 'pilling' I bought DS a black set for his bed and in one year there is only a slight greying..I want to know what I should have looked for to get the lasting set....I think they are all cotton...

Do some research at google using the keyword: sheets, and the exact phrase, "THREAD COUNT."

AS A GENERAL RULE -- The more threads per square inch, the stronger the sheet - and the more expensive.

That said, I've noticed that some of those earlier polyester/cotton blend sheets apparently wore like iron, because plenty of them can be found at estate sales.

Also, I've occasionally bought a set of 'high count' bed sheets at a liquidator store, but they wore out pretty quickly --- leading me to believe that they might have been mislabeled, or maybe even falsely labeled.

I once read something about that you should have three sets of sheets for each bed -- one set in on the bed, one is in the wash, and the other set is in the linen closet.

By giving your sheets some "rest time" between use, they will last longer.

I cannot imagine any family in this day and age, when again and again and again, all Americans are urged to prepare for national emergencies, terror attacks, horrendous winter storms, hurricanes, industrial accidents, etc...... I can't imagine not having enough sheets for each bed in the house to last for a month without having to use the washing machine.

Are you aware that you can ordinarily pick up sheet sets at garage sales and estate sales for under three bucks?

[tinapbeana]

i admit it, i have a crapload of sheets... i collected really nice sheets here & there for a couple of years, but then DH & i graduated from a full to a queen, and had no sheets at all! so off i went to go find some for the new bed. kept all the full size b/c they work on the futon guest bed if ever needed.

[crazyBMB]

There are certain things that I am very pickey about but.....

Bed Sheets - once a week.
Bath towels as us
lHanging towels in bath - 4/5 days (unless yucky)
Comforter - couln't say 6/7 weeks? unless needed
Kitchen towels - at least every 4 days
Clothes are washed as used unless it's something like jeans or something that was used for a very short period period

[Fern]

wow, i'm surprised at how often most of you wash your bath towels.

i live alone, and i maybe put a fresh pair of towels in the bath for myself every 2 weeks or so. I mean, i only use them when i get out of the shower, so they're not getting dirty, just wet.

Sheets, usually every 2 weeks.

[TinyFish]

MountainMist:

'I cannot imagine any family in this day and age, when again and again and again, all Americans are urged to prepare for national emergencies, terror attacks, horrendous winter storms, hurricanes, industrial accidents, etc...... I can't imagine not having enough sheets for each bed in the house to last for a month without having to use the washing machine."

Well, I have a set for our bed and a set for the spare (sofa) bed. Yes, that means that they go from the wash back onto the bed without a rest. I don't get a vacation two out of three weeks, why should they?! We have a VERY small house and don't have a proper linen closet (well, we do, but I had to change it into a coat closet because it was one or the other), so I can't be storing a lot of sheets. If the terrorists attack my town I think I'll live without fresh sheets every week, somehow I don't think that will be worst part.

-TinyFish

[pearlieq]

Originally Posted by mountainmist

I cannot imagine any family in this day and age, when again and again and again, all Americans are urged to prepare for national emergencies, terror attacks, horrendous winter storms, hurricanes, industrial accidents, etc...... I can't imagine not having enough sheets for each bed in the house to last for a month without having to use the washing machine.

I'm sorry, but this just struck my as hysterically funny!!!!

If tornado rips through my town, if a terrorist bombs the nearby industrial plant, if we have a blizzard that shuts us in for a week, one of the LAST things I'm going to be worried about is sheets!!!

I'm all for emergency preparedness, but I thought of it more in terms of medicine, fuel, food, and water, not bed linens.

Seriously, if it came down to it, dirty sheets might be unpleasant but they're really not going to kill you. I don't consider them part of my emergency plans!

[PrincessPerky]

While I will say I do not find sheets the most important thing, I do get a nnoyed at not having a spare, btu then I often have to change them due to pee or puke in the bed (small kids)

Anyway, for storing the spoares, I put them under the mattress above the box springs, works great on all but the toddler bed and crib (no box) but our bed (a queen) has more than enough room to cover them if I needed it (actually the crib stuff is in the baby dresser)

Fern, how wet is your bathroom?

If I hang a towel up after a shower it is still damp a couple hours later.... which is why I wash them every time, not because I think it is all that dirty, in fact in summer I will often use the same towel on two kids..clean kid and being 'damp' feels good in the heat. but I will not use the same one the next day, damp stuff encourages growth of yucky things..eww. I also wash the towels almost every day, so no growing in my hamper either.

[vsjhoc]

Originally Posted by mountainmist

Are you aware that you can ordinarily pick up sheet sets at garage sales and estate sales for under three bucks?

I'm all in favor of shopping at garage sales, but I draw the line at buying sheets that someone else slept in.

[tinapbeana]

Originally Posted by vsjhoc

I'm all in favor of shopping at garage sales, but I draw the line at buying sheets that someone else slept in.

no offense meant, but white sheets from yard sales are just as sanitary as new when you take them home and wash them in hot water with bleach. there are other yard sale items (e.g. stuffed animals, shoes) that are not nearly so easy to sanitize.

[vsjhoc]

Originally Posted by Fern

wow, i'm surprised at how often most of you wash your bath towels.

i live alone, and i maybe put a fresh pair of towels in the bath for myself every 2 weeks or so. I mean, i only use them when i get out of the shower, so they're not getting dirty, just wet.

Sheets, usually every 2 weeks.

Fern, my "schedule" looks more like yours. I change the sheets and towels when I think they need it. Doesn't make sense to me to do it every x days, whether they need it or not. Maybe this explains why my water and electric bills are always low.

[vsjhoc]

Originally Posted by tinapbeana

no offense meant, but white sheets from yard sales are just as sanitary as new when you take them home and wash them in hot water with bleach. there are other yard sale items (e.g. stuffed animals, shoes) that are not nearly so easy to sanitize.

I think it was less the idea of sanitary-ness than the visual picture of sleeping in sheets where some stranger had rolled around, sweated, had sex, cat threw up, kid wet the bed, etc.

[tinapbeana]

Originally Posted by vsjhoc

I think it was less the idea of sanitary-ness than the visual picture of sleeping in sheets where some stranger had rolled around, sweated, had sex, cat threw up, kid wet the bed, etc.

i can see that point of view, but for me that's where the sanitizing comes in to play. if i buy/freecycle a used mattress or couch, i'm pretty much facing the same 'eeeeews!' you mention, but i have no way to sanitize them, short of a case of lysol!

[Bookie]

Originally Posted by vsjhoc

I think it was less the idea of sanitary-ness than the visual picture of sleeping in sheets where some stranger had rolled around, sweated, had sex, cat threw up, kid wet the bed, etc.

Don't ever stay in a hotel.

[vsjhoc]

Originally Posted by Bookie

Don't ever stay in a hotel.

They let cats stay in hotels?

I knew someone would call me on this.

[tinapbeana]

Originally Posted by Bookie

Don't ever stay in a hotel.

hehehehe!! my aunt takes her 'stink finder' when she goes to hotels. a stink finder is a blacklight sold in pet catalogs as a way to find places where pets left a stinky mess that haven't been completely cleaned up.

turn out the lights and turn on the 'stink finder' and you'll see the evidence of all sorts of, um, activities from all sorts of participants, both human and otherwise.

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwww!!!

[PRICEPLUS]

Well, there goes my ability to sleep in hotels! Gee WHizzzz!

[Fern]

I guess i'm lucky cus my upstairs bathroom has 2 windows (facing south and west) plus an exhaust fan, so things dry out quickly.

About those black lights, i have one too, but if you notice when you shine it on the WALL there's all kinds of wierd stains there, too, and i know nothings' touched my walls except paint, so i question the accuracy of those things.

[tinapbeana]

Originally Posted by Fern

I guess i'm lucky cus my upstairs bathroom has 2 windows (facing south and west) plus an exhaust fan, so things dry out quickly.

About those black lights, i have one too, but if you notice when you shine it on the WALL there's all kinds of wierd stains there, too, and i know nothings' touched my walls except paint, so i question the accuracy of those things.

the blacklight will highlight any organic based material that's on a surface. maybe you're seeing splotches from where someone placed their hand/s on the wall?