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Reducing energy bills
The simplest way of reducing your hot water usage is this:
Only wash clothes when they actually need it.
People develop a habit of flinging clothes in the laundry after a single wear. But, if you stick to wearing natural fibres on the layer next to the skin - which creates a breathable layer that wicks away moisture and body odour - then you can easily wear the same clothes for long time without any smell.
I usually wear a cotton T-shirt under whatever else I'm wearing. I give it a sniff under the arm pits in the morning. If it's fine (and it's usually smell-free for about a week if I air it on the back of a chair overnight), then I wear it again.
The clothes worn over the t-shirt (again, stick to natural fibres) can go even longer without washing. A good wool jumper may only need washing once a year - unless it gets dirty from an external source.
Only wash clothes when they actually need it.
People develop a habit of flinging clothes in the laundry after a single wear. But, if you stick to wearing natural fibres on the layer next to the skin - which creates a breathable layer that wicks away moisture and body odour - then you can easily wear the same clothes for long time without any smell.
I usually wear a cotton T-shirt under whatever else I'm wearing. I give it a sniff under the arm pits in the morning. If it's fine (and it's usually smell-free for about a week if I air it on the back of a chair overnight), then I wear it again.
The clothes worn over the t-shirt (again, stick to natural fibres) can go even longer without washing. A good wool jumper may only need washing once a year - unless it gets dirty from an external source.
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On the other hand, perhaps because I have greasy skin, I can't wear a shirt more than about twice before it starts getting visible marks round the collar (which is a pain when it comes to hand-wash-only clothing -- it means they tend to spend far more time waiting to be spot-cleaned and hung out on the line than they do actually hanging in the wardrobe...) And I can't wear even short-sleeve thermals more than one day before they get yellow rings under the armpits; underwear really does need to be changed every time it's worn. That's what it is *for*, after all -- to protect the rest of your clothing.
But trousers really don't need washing at all unless you are getting them muddy (or are habitually careless in your lavatory habits!) -- knees aren't sweaty or greasy, and again you have socks and pants acting as protection.
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I have skin issues (psoriasis, eczema) and a tendency to fungal infections
and I live in a hot climate (Australia) and sweat a lot
if I wear something for more than one day before washing it, I get skin irritation and often fungal infections
on the other hand, 100% of my washing is cold-water-machine-washing...
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I have started keeping a set of "going to town" clothes that are clean and reasonably new.
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We also are using low water machines, though that extends was times which must use more power.