The washer was not bought for this week, but it will be asked to do the work anyway. Sheets change more often when someone is in the bed all day. Towels, washcloths, nightclothes, and the pads that go under a person all add up, and most of that lands on whoever is standing next to the machine at ten at night.
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.
Settle what the hospice visit covers before you plan around it
Ask the agency, in writing, whether any laundry is part of the aide's visit. The aide's work is tied to the patient's personal care, and routine housekeeping is generally outside it, but the agency's written answer is the one that counts. Put that answer in the same folder as the plan of care so the next person who asks does not have to guess. If the answer is no, you now know the washing is a family job or a hired one, and you can price it as that.
Give the machines one owner for the checks
A dryer that runs longer than it used to is usually telling you something about the vent, and the vent is the part most families never look at. Choose one person to do these checks and write the name down:
Clean the lint screen after every load. Once a week, pull the screen and look at the housing it sits in, then clear what has collected there. Check the flexible duct behind the dryer for kinks, crushing, or a loose clamp. Go outside and confirm the exterior vent flap opens freely when the dryer runs and closes when it stops. Look at the washer hoses for bulges, drips, or a wet patch on the floor under the machine. None of these checks takes long. They take a standing time, and the standing time is the thing that fails when no one has been named.
Set a schedule for a deeper vent cleaning as well, and decide who books it. A licensed appliance or dryer vent service is the right call for the duct run, and whoever books it should know the address, the make of the dryer, and the time window when someone can be home to let them in.
Separate the soiled items from the rest of the house
Keep a covered bin or bag by the bed for soiled linens and clothing, apart from the regular hamper. Follow the nurse's instructions on how to handle those items, including whether they should be rinsed, bagged, or washed on a particular setting. Write down what you were told, because the instructions may change as the week changes. Wash those loads by themselves so they do not mix with the everyday towels.
Count the supply like any other household staple
Detergent, bleach or the product the nurse has recommended, and enough spare bedding for one full change while the first set is in the wash are the items that run out first. Name who buys them and what the reorder point is. Keep a second set of sheets folded and ready in the closet, not in the wash, so a single broken machine does not stop the bed from being made.
Plan the day the machine stops
Every household with a daily load needs a backup, and the backup needs to be settled before the washer dies. Find a laundromat within a reasonable drive. Call before you go and ask what you need to know: the hours, whether it has large machines that can take bedding, whether it has a drop-off or wash-and-fold option, and whether staff will accept soiled items or want them handled some other way. Ask how it charges, by the load or by the machine, so you can compare it with the cost of replacing a part. Then decide who drives the bag there and who picks it up, and write both names beside the number.
If a non-medical caregiver is coming into the house, laundry is one of the household tasks that caregiver can take on, and it is worth stating that in the agreement. Say which loads are theirs, where the soiled bin lives, and who is responsible for the vent check. A caregiver who knows the machine's owner is easier to work with than one who has to ask whether they are allowed to touch it.
For the wider set of questions about what the hospice visit does and does not cover, the hub at The Hours Between Hospice Visits lays out the schedule against the rest of the day. For local places to ask, Local Help for Hospice Families lists where to start in west St. Louis County.