Is laundry worth hiring out at all?
Sometimes. Laundry is a repeat task. It does not stop, and it builds fast when one step is missing. The question is not whether it is hard. The question is whether it is the job that breaks your week when it slips.
Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.
What are the steps?
Laundry has more steps than most families count. Gathering from bedrooms and bathrooms. Sorting. Washing and drying. Folding. Putting clothes away. Changing bed linens. Each step can belong to a different person. Write them down as separate lines.
Which steps stay with the family?
Keep the steps that need judgment in family hands. Deciding which clothes need repair, which garments need special care, and where things go belong to the people who know the household. Gathering and starting a load are easy to share. Those are the steps you can hand to a family member without a debate about standards.
Which steps can a hired visit cover?
A hired non-medical caregiver can help with household tasks that are part of the visit you contracted. Confirm in writing whether laundry is included and which steps. Ask whether linens are changed, and whether the aide will use your machines or take items out of the home. Those are different services with different terms. Do not assume.
Is sending it out a better option?
It can be. Commercial laundry service is a separate contract with separate terms. Compare turnaround, pickup days, and how items are tracked and returned. Do not confuse that with a home care visit. A laundry service does not supervise a person, and a caregiver does not promise a turnaround.
How do you decide?
Write a split. Each step gets one owner: family, hired visit, or outside service. Review it after the first full cycle. If a step is slipping, move it to a different owner rather than adding a second owner to the same step. For the bigger question of how hours and visits add up, read Budgeting a Year of Home Care.