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Or that the number of towels from one time period (a guest stay) are being counted as if they exist in a vacuum instead of within an average from a year or two years or even a month. The number of towels is not a constant.
If the acceptable number of towels is, for example, 2, and one stay results in 6 towels being used but the next 4 stays result in only 1 towel being used then the average is still 2. Not 6. The goal of an acceptable number of towels of 2 has been met. The use of 6 towels must inherently be the outlier number of towels or the goal shouldnât be 2 towels.
Yes, but you still use more energy to do 3 small loads than you would to do 1 full load. It is more wear and tear on the machine, which doesnât vary according to the size of the load. Itâs relevant, especially because that kind of machine wears out sooner and there are long-term effects that come from having to transport it, dismantle it and then dispose of it or melt it down.
Besides, the amount of energy used is irrelevant regardless of the amount if 3x the towels is an outlier that doesnât affect the average.
Yes! And the same with clothes washers. Who would put in a load for two face towels??
Of course.
But those arenât typically the facts. [Your load for eight towels would be 12.5# based on assumptions below, and the key would be the number of full loads. If a full/max load is 21 pounds, then based on assumptions below you could wash 13 bath towels per load and therefore complete the wash of 24 towels in two (not three) full loads. Call that cost âxâ. If you had only eight towels and washed only those eight towels in a medium load, the electricity and water cost for the two extra-large loads would be less than 3X the cost of the one load of eight towels because youâre running two loads, not three. There is a scenario where your example is correct; it would be one which the maximum load is 12.5# and you have eight or 24 bath towels to wash.]
Isnât it also a fact that youâre going to wash the towels separately, not with the sheets and the duvet covers? So if you have a 5# load of towels youâre going to run one load. And, for me, I can run a 21# load of towels in just one load. So having extra towels is often not going to require you to proportionally run more loads. And itâs the number of loads that is the key cost.
I have an HE washer that will accommodate 21 pounds as its extra-large load; a large load is 11 pounds; a medium load is 6 pounds.
A premium towel will have a weight of 620-900 GSM (grams per square meter). Call it 760 GSM.
Suppose a hand towel is 16 x 30" [.31 sq meters]; a bath towel 27 x 54" [.94 sq meters]; a wash cloth 12 x 12" [.093].
Suppose in a week one person uses two bath towels, seven wash cloths and three hand towels.
So the weight is 760 grams x [ (2 x .31) + (2 x .94) + (7 x .093] = 760 x [ .62 + 1.88 +.651] = 760 x 3.151 = 2,395 grams / 454 (grams/pound) = 5.3 pounds
So thatâs somewhat smaller than a medium load.
But suppose I have four people at that usage, which is 21.2 pounds, an extra large load that my machine can accommodate (its max) in one load. Thatâs the key: the number of loads. Yes, length of cycle will vary with weight, also water, but it wonât be proportionally more. If it takes 45 minutes for a medium six pound load, it doesnât take 3X (two hours and 15 minutes) as long for an 18# load (so not three times the kWH).
Where I live electricity is the major marginal cost. Is the wear and tear on the machine for one extra-large load 3X what a medium load is? I donât think so.
So does mine. Yes, the amount of water varies, and in my machine the cycle time varies, Iâm just saying that these are not linearly proportional to the weight. That if I have a load of 5# vs 10# the larger load doesnât require twice the electricity because it it runs twice as long. It doesnât run twice as long though it might run somewhat longer, nowhere near twice because the relationship is not linear, not proportional to weight.
Just like if you run a dishwasher with only a spoon in it, the cycle lasts about as long as if it were full.
The biggest factor by far in cost is the number of loads that you run your dishwasher or your clothes washer, not how much is in it, even though there is a variance based on the weight of the load (and other factors) depending on the sophistication of your washer.
Why? Because â I am assuming â you major incremental cost is electricity. And your major long-term cost of wear and tear is the number of loads you run assuming that you donât exceed manufacturer specifications (i.e., a load in excess of specs can greatly speed wear and tear).
No, it isnât a fact. It would be a mistake to assume that everyone does things the same way you do. I wash all kinds of things together. Certainly sheets and towels if thatâs what I have to make up a full load. That has never resulted in any dire consequences.
What is your response to your comment on those who failed 3rd grade math? [I take no offense. I was thinking of using a third grade math reference but you beat me to it!]
Anyway, isnât ALL this discussion that weâre having on costs of washing towels really beside the point? Arenât we just getting a little caught in minor things, trying to prove weâre ârightâ?
Iâve found it enlightening that we really should change/wash our towels far more frequently than Iâve been doing (weekly). And isnât it a good/hospitable idea to make extra towels available to our guests? And isnât it not a big cost if the towels are cleaned in something close to full loads?
So isnât that the end of the discussion? Am I off-based on this?
I have to concur, in a front loader especially, they wash in barely any water, and I put in similar amounts of liquid. and for my turnovers, many one nighters, i wash towels on the fastest wash my machine offers, with low liquid, earth friendly stuff, I do this to reduce wear and tear on my towels. that are probably washed 3x that of other hosts who do longer stays.
I donât tolerate anyone wanting a new towel each day! my husband is a bit precious, and usually operates with 2 towels, i swear without me, heâd be a quivering mess. We had to install a towel warmer cos he is incapable of walking his towel outside to dry in the sun, and on many occasions I fail to pick up his towel as i am busy, (and somehow the patriarchy is a thing???) luckily his people invented solar power so thatâs all good. (omfg!)
That is true, however, opinions are also often based on reality, not just personal preference. I provide my guests with 2 bath towels because as a woman who has had long hair most of my life, I am aware that women tend to use one bath towel on their body and wrap one around their wet hair. If I were a guest and was provided with only one bath towel, I would consider that skimpy of the host and less than adequate for me.
I also always provide a handtowel and washcloth. What is your criteria for only providing a hand towel âoccasionallyâ?
I am not an experienced host by any means, but I never imagined someone wanting a new towel each day. However, I just encountered that! I donât know why I have a hard time imagining the way other people use a space, but this took me by surprise.
So for most of our guests so far, I put out 2 towels (and hand towels and washcloths) per guest but I leave the extras stacked in the bedroom, not the bathroom, so that people have to make a deliberate decision about using them, and so itâs easier to see whatâs been used and what hasnât. This one guest said his wife might join him for a 4 day visit but probably would not, so I said Iâd leave enough towels and other supplies for them both, just in case. She didnât accompany him.
I go to the apartment after heâs left, and every single towel has been used and neatly hung up in the bathroom â one for each day of his stay.
I was so perplexed! Itâs not like some of the towels were dirty and he needed a fresh one. He just wanted a new towel for every day. shrug I donât mind, as I would have to do that much laundry if they both came, and I donât charge differently for one or two guests. But it sure took me by surprise because it would never ever occur to me to use 1 towel per day, even if I were staying at a hotel that provided stacks and stacks of towels.
my husband is notorious for using multiple towels.
because⌠he doesnât hang them up to dry each day then grabs a new dry towel. Iâll use the same towel for a week, heâll go through 3 in a week. maddening.
