Some shirts coming in to be washed and pressed at the Laundry Factory on Ellsworth Avenue in Shadyside these days are, well, grubbier than they used to be. As manager Laurie Padrick works on the collars, she asks, "Gee, how many times are they wearing these?"

The recession seems to be bringing out the dirty laundry.

In new research, 60 percent of consumers surveyed by Information Resources Inc. said they were now wearing clothing multiple times between washings to save money.

Ah, come on, people can't tell, right?

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In less yuck-inducing findings, the Chicago research firm found 48 percent of shoppers are using dry cleaners less often, and more than 80 percent are washing only full loads of laundry.

Ms. Padrick can confirm that last one. She's had to tell a few people that if the agitator in a top-loading washing machine isn't moving, that means the machine is too full and nothing will get clean. She took a picture of one stuffed machine the other day to show the boss in case it broke.

Like many laundromats, the Laundry Factory seems to be on the front lines of the nation's efforts to save money on keeping clothes clean. A few other examples offered by owner Jerry Montesano:

• In the recent semester, fewer students at surrounding colleges took advantage of a pickup and delivery service. "They said the parents were pulling back and making them do their own laundry."

• A number of customers who used to drop off laundry in bulk to be washed at 85 cents a pound are coming in to use self-serve machines. They tell Mr. Montesano: "Oh, I'm still here. I'm just not a drop-off customer."

• Families whose washers and dryers are broken are putting off buying a replacement and using the laundromat instead.

All this amounts to more than just a few personal decisions about what happens in American laundry rooms.

Just last week, executives for appliance maker Whirlpool Corp. were discussing a 36 percent drop in first-quarter net sales on a conference call with analysts. Among other things, President Michael A. Todman said, "Some consumers continue to delay replacement purchases, even for appliances that are beyond repair due to the economy uncertainty."

Detergent giant Procter & Gamble Co. is noticing some users of its premium brand Tide have moved to its lower-priced Gain.

"We are seeing a lot of what we call trade-down," said spokesman Kash Shaikh. "Gain is on fire right now."

Market research firm Mintel International, in Chicago, last month revised its forecast for the home laundry products market, first issued in June 2008, because the recession had changed purchasing patterns.

Instead of projecting that total U.S. sales of products such as powdered and liquid laundry detergents, bleach and fabric softeners would increase 2.1 percent last year to $9.98 billion, the researchers estimated that the gain was just 0.3 percent to $9.8 billion.

A 2.2 percent growth originally forecast for 2009 was revised to a projection that total category sales will drop 0.2 percent this year.

It's not that people are buying less detergent, but it's that they are choosing products that cost less per ounce, according to Mintel.

Ms. Padrick, at the Laundry Factory, is seeing customers bring in their own detergent more often, and it's frequently less-expensive brands, such as the private-label Giant Eagle brand or bottles picked up at dollar stores or discount chains.

Brian Wallace, president and CEO of the 2,500-member Coin Laundry Association in Downers Grove, Ill., is hearing the same thing from around the country. "We certainly have more people bringing their own detergent to stores," he said, although Tide still seems to be the most commonly used.

He suggested people might save a little money by just using less detergent. "The majority of customers will always use too much soap," he said. "It's not just the single guys figuring if one cup is good, two must be better."

The good news for Procter & Gamble, based in Cincinnati, is that it sells a number of brands at different prices. In addition, the big company has been positioning some new products to fit the economic moment.

Tide Total Care, a premium product introduced last summer, was designed to take advantage of beauty care technology to keep clothes from fading so fast. "Women really were looking for ways to care for their clothes and keep them looking like new," said Mr. Shaikh.

Customers might balk at paying a little more for detergent, but Procter & Gamble is pitching this as a cheaper alternative to dry cleaning clothes that actually can be washed. Plus, if those clothes stay nice longer, that delays the need to replace them.

The company also has been testing another line that would seem to address the issue of Americans wearing things a few extra times before they clean them.

Following research that found 75 percent of adults claiming to "rewear" clothes, Procter & Gamble developed a line of products to address that.

The Swash test included items such as Fresh It Up, which is meant to remove smells, Smooth It Out, a de-wrinkling spray, and Steam It Out, which comes in the form of a wet cloth tossed in the dryer for a 10-minute cycle to refresh clothes without putting them through the full wash-and-wear routine.

In late 2007 and early 2008, the line was tested in Columbus, Ohio. Last fall, customers in Lexington, Ky., got to try the products.

The company is studying the results now to decide what the next step should be.

The research that spawned the test predated last year's economic plunge, which may explain why consumers gave different reasons for rewearing their clothes than the money-saving concerns raised in the Information Resources survey.

Procter & Gamble found that those who rewear tend to be style-conscious consumers who like to have their entire wardrobes available most of the time, said spokeswoman Sarah Pasquinucci.

The No. 1 reason they gave for rewearing: "They believe their clothing just isn't that dirty."