When is it anti-social to do laundry? The rules from the experts

While it may be rare that the urge to do laundry strikes you in the middle of the night, some of us may want to set up a laundry load to be ready for when we wake up first thing in the morning.

There are a few factors that determine when is best to do laundry, from flexible energy prices to the need to have fresh clothes when you wake up in the morning, but it turns out that these little conveniences are outweighed by the risk of angry neighbors.

Here, laundry experts explain when it is best to leave your machines off to help keep the peace in your neighborhood.

When is it anti-social to do laundry? 

Whether it is anti-social to do laundry or not will depend on several factors, from how loud your machines are, how close your neighbors are to your home, and whether you live in a house or an apartment, begins Itamar Dor, green cleaning expert and founder at Green Life.

Clearly, if you live in a more built-up area or in an apartment block, then the noise is more likely to travel and disturb neighbors. If you have a quieter machine, have good insulation, or have a lot of space between houses then you may be able to get away with running your laundry machine late into the night. 

All in all, however, Itamar recommends avoiding laundry between the hours of 10 pm and 7 am to ensure a harmonious living environment.

Just because you can run your machine this early in the day doesn't always mean you should though, as Nathaly Vieira, cleaning expert and founder of Inspire Clean explains:

‘If you're doing laundry in a shared space or near other people's homes, the best time to do it is in the afternoon or early evening,' says Nathaly. 'That way, you can avoid being too loud and intrusive for your neighbors, especially in the mornings on weekends when many people value their quiet time.’

If you are concerned about getting all your laundry done during the day, but you will be out of the house a lot, you could always choose the best washing machine with a timer, and set it up to run just before you get home from work. Not only is it a great laundry hack to save time, but it means you can throw everything into the dryer as soon as you get home, and set up another load to go right away – having everything washed and dried before dinner. 

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If the reason you are doing your laundry at night is to help you save money on laundry due to perceived lower energy costs at off-peak times, then it may not be worth the effort, suggests Millie Hurst, solved section editor at Homes & Gardens. While there have been some instances where energy companies have offered lower prices for using electricity at night, this is rarely the case, unless you pay tracker prices that are affected by peak and off-peak usage. 

‘More often than not, washing your laundry will be the same price even at night, so you don't have to worry about setting up your wash before going to bed – but you can always ask your supplier to see if they can offer cheaper evening rates.’

Millie Hurst

Millie Hurst is Section Editor at Homes & Gardens, overseeing the Solved section, which provides readers with practical advice for their homes. Millie has written about and tried out countless laundry, cleaning and DIY hacks in the six years since she became a journalist, and has worked in both London and New York. 

The best time to do laundry

The best time to do laundry is, then, between 7 am (maybe 8 am to be extra considerate) and 10 pm, but there are a few other things to take into account. Nathanly Vieira, cleaning expert says working during the day can have some added benefits when drying your clothing: 

‘Any time when the sun is out is a great time to get a load of laundry done as you can hang it out in your yard to dry clothes quickly and naturally on either a line or a more discrete clothes drying rack, at Amazon, helping you to save on dryer costs and cut energy bills,’ she explains.

If you have one, be sure to check that your local HOA allows line-drying laundry before you hang things out, however, or ensure your laundry is in your backyard and cannot be seen by others, to prevent landing yourself in further hot water. 

FAQs

It is worth noting that, while doing your laundry at night is not illegal, it could be against your HOA rules (if you are a part of one) or could just annoy your neighbors. As a result, it is best to stick to normal daytime hours, to help keep the peace if you are unsure or have a conversation with your neighbors to see if they mind if you find it difficult to alter your routine.