The Ultimate Student Laundry Guide  

It isn't uncommon for people not to learn how to do their own laundry until they reach university age; nearly two in five (37%) people didn't learn to do laundry until they were 18 or older. On the other hand, 44% of people learnt before the age of 16. Women tend to learn how to do their laundry earlier in life than men, with more than half (51%) of women learning before the age of 16 compared to a third (33%) of men. One in twenty (5%) men still haven't learned how to tackle laundry on their own, and neither have one tenth (10%) of the Gen Z population.  

Laundry can be confusing for amateurs and pros alike, and the search data proves it. Thousands still turn to Google with laundry queries - ranging from ‘does detergent kill bacteria’, which tops the list at 9,750 searches annually, to ‘do washing machines heat water’ (9,220), which closely follows. Whether learning for the first time or double-checking what they already know, dryers are another common area of confusion. A total of 8,110 people ask ‘can dryers shrink clothes’ each year, while 5,160 search ‘how long should a tumble dryer last’. Even the basics spark curiosity, with 3,700 annual searches for ‘is detergent the same as fabric softener’.  

While students get to grips with doing their laundry independently, some tasks are likely to trip them up more than others. Our research shows that the biggest laundry headaches are removing stains (25%), followed by selecting the right washing machine setting (22%), and choosing the right detergent or fabric softener, which is a challenge for one in six (15%). Other tricky tasks include knowing the right water temperature, which one in seven (13%) struggle with, and reading care labels, which is a bugbear for one in eight (12%). Meanwhile, fewer students struggle with sorting clothes by colour (8%) or using tumble dryers (5%).

When it comes to what students ask their parents for help with, the most common question among males is, 'What temperature should I wash this at?'. Among females, the most frequent concern is selecting the appropriate setting or cycle, along with effective methods for removing stains. 

Which setting or cycle should they use is also the most asked question among students in the South West, East of England, Yorkshire and the Humber and Northern Ireland. ‘What temperature should I wash this at?’ is the most common query for those in Greater London and the North West, ‘How do I remove a specific stain?’ is the biggest problem for the South East, South West, East Midlands, North East and Scotland, whilst knowing how to separate your laundry by colour is the most common issue for students in the West Midlands and Wales.