Why a two-wash system isn’t just for nappies

Clean Cloth Nappies admin Jes shares her love of a two-wash system and how it helps to prolong the life of her husband’s work clothes and reduce their consumption of textiles

In the dark ages, back before I knew laundry science and the physical and chemical actions that lead to proper laundering, my husband would get new hi-vis work clothes every three to six months. No, not because they were worn out, but simply because they were so disgusting and filthy they no longer met the hi-vis safety regulations required for his work site.

My husband is a third-generation forestry logger who operates a vast range of machines. Each machine has its own delightfully disgusting flavour of grease and grime that envelopes him at every opportunity.

His work site is the bush which is either hot, sweaty and dusty or cold, muddy and slippery.

Every single fibre of his clothing gets embedded with dirt and grime. 

I find pine needles and woodchips in every load of his dirty laundry and despite my best attempts, there is always at least a single wood chip in my washing machine filter every time I clean it.

I share all of this to give some background as to why I will shout about a two-wash system from the rooftops, and serenade its beauty to any and all who will listen.

Doing a first wash and then a long main wash on my husband’s work clothes has drastically improved the length of time he can wear his hi-vis at work before needing to be replaced. This has reduced our textile consumption and cut down on waste.

I’ve been doing a two-wash system on his clothes for a few years now followed by a tumble in the dyer. I kept these washes at 40ºC as I found that the reflective tape was fading and peeling off. His clothes weren’t getting quite as clean as I would like and the stink of sweat would still waft around occasionally.

I posted about my dilemma in our Unicorns group, a VIP group of engaged and active Clean Cloth Nappies members. The group is a treasure trove of knowledge and experiences. This was where I learnt that many members successfully washed their or their spouse’s hi-vis at 60ºC with great results but didn’t use dryers.

This sparked an idea. What if I did a two-wash system with my husband’s work clothes with BOTH cycles at 60ºC and air dried the items with the hi-vis tape on them? These were polo shirts and fleece so wouldn’t take long to dry, reducing the need for my house to look like a New York City alleyway, you know the ones in the movies with the clotheslines everywhere.

Having a few clothes hanging around drying for a day once a week is absolutely worth having cleaner laundry and kicking the stink of sweat and grime. When I say this has changed my laundry game, I mean it.

The hi-vis is still hi-vis, the tape is intact and the stink is but a faint memory!

Next on the list in the laundry files?

I need to work on finding a way to get that blasted gear-tar out but that’s a problem for another day.