the laundry theory

The BBC reported recently that...

Record number of people leave UK... More people left the UK last year than in any year since current records began in 1991, statistics show... Dean Morgan, of the website workpermit.com, said the bad summer weather had led to a large number of inquiries about emigration. "Normally in July and August time its quite quiet but this year we've been inundated," he told BBC News. "Perception of crime is another of the main reasons for people wanting to leave," he said. "Also, people are worried about their children and they worry about their jobs and their future here and possibly the economy as well."

Sure, weather, danger, family, and job security are all fine reasons to leave a country. However, I think they overlooked a big one... laundry.

Consider this:
Exhibit A
The size of our combination high-efficiency washer/dryer (Seems like a standard size from what we saw while flat-hunting. It's approximately 1/2-1/4 of our washer at home)


Exhibit B
Washing time for one load: 2hrs. 15min.

Exhibit C
Drying time in the same machine for first 1/2: 1hr. 20min.
Note: The "dryer" function of this machine is steam heat. To function properly, you can only put in 1/2 a load at a time. It is rare, or takes an extremely long time, for your clothes to come out dry. They almost always feel damp, so...
Drying time on drying racks: 1-2 hrs. (varies a lot)
Iron time: 15-30min. (This machine creates some of the wrinkliest clothes I've ever seen. The clothes in this picture are still wet and aren't a good example of this)


Exhibit D
Drying time in the same machine for second 1/2: 1hr. 20min.
Drying time on drying racks: 1-2 hrs. (varies a lot)
Iron time: None for this one. I don't iron underwear.


Exhibit E
Total time per load: approximately 7-10hrs.
Number of loads per week: approximately 4 (this is alternating washing sheets or washing the towels every other week)

Now keep in mind that this is for two adults who don't regularly roll around in the grass, are trying to avoid washing their clothes as long as possible, and aren't hot enough to sweat.

After all of that, you would hope the results would be good. They're not. While the clothes are clean and smell good, they are rough and scratchy even with fabric conditioner (aka softener). And, as I mentioned before, they are the wrinkliest things I've ever seen and don't look good even after ironing. Not to mention that more of the clothes needs to be ironed than I have ever done at home. Now, I'm sure that I have some tricks to learn since I'm new at this, but I'm certainly not looking forward to the bulkier, tougher-to-dry clothes of winter :)

Pat has noticed that people have a different attitude about clothes in his work environment. In the states, it's the unwritten rule that you don't wear the same thing twice in the same week. Here, people wear the same outfit several days in the same week. Makes sense once you've done laundry.

In conclusion, who in their right mind would want to do this when they can see how much and how fast clothes can be washed in the US. Instead of taking all week, it barely takes a day. AND, after it's all said and done, which method is really more energy efficient??

I'll let you ponder that one over Labor Day weekend!

Have a good one!!