Share with Fairy Non Bio your tips and tricks for mixing colours and fabrics. £300 voucher to be won! NOW CLOSED

[JustineBMumsnet]

The rules on laundry and what to do with mixing colours and fabrics can sometimes get a bit confusing with different people saying different things. Therefore Fairy Non Bio would like to know what your tips and tricks are when it comes to mixing colours and fabrics?

Here’s what Fairy Non Bio have to say: “Everyone’s got their own way of doing things. We design our products so that you can get the most out of every load but would love to know how you divide and conquer your washing and what you use for it!”

Do you find that once colours have been washed once you can mix them with the lighter colours? Are there certain fabrics that you know can be easily washed together? Or have you figured out a laundry system that means your dark colours no longer bleed into lighter clothes? Maybe you’ve had a laundry disaster that forced you to change how you did things?

Whatever your tips are, share them on the thread below and you will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

[FloralSocks]

Washing at a lower temp helps - I find colours rarely run at 30 especially if they’ve already had a few washes. For very strong colours (eg white and red striped tops) i use a colour catcher and they work work well.

[ButterflyOfFreedom]

I'm at bit poor at sorting my laundry - I generally just bung everything in together on a 30 or 40° wash.
However there are exceptions - anything wool or silk is washed by hand, anything particularly muddy is pre rinsed then put in the washing machine, and anything deep red is not washed with anything bright white!! (Learnt from experience on these!!!!)

[Pigeonpea]

I'm a die hard fan of whites with only whites - I've ended up with too many 'pink' or 'blue' white bras when they've been caught up in a mixed wash
I wash red's, pink's and purple's together
Blue's, green's and grey's together
Black, navy and denim together - I find with some jeans, it does't matter how many times they've been washed, the dye still runs
Towels are always washed with towels to prevent a 'fluff' attack!

[ErinSophia]

I wash at a lower temperature to be on the safe side.

[PugwallsSummer]

I always keep my whites together, and often put a sachet of glo-white in. The colors and darks, I'm a bit less careful with unless there are new garments in amongst it that could potentially run.

My husband is way OTT with separating colors, and will do a blue, red, green, lights, darks and whites wash!!! He visibly shudders when he sees me sorting the washing 🙄😂

[LittleMe03]

I put whites and lights on together at 40. And all dark colours together at 30.
I have a few things that are red (including one of mine and DP's fitted bedsheets) So once all of the red things need washing I do a 'reds wash'

[sharond101]

I just wash separate.

[MummyBtothree]

I find washing at low temperatures helps and I always separate whites from lights and darks. I like my DC'S school polo shirts to be white rather than grubby grey!.

[BlueTablecloth]

Things I care about being white


Everything else :)

[Scoleah]

If they're not Really dirty I'll put them on a low temperature wash and ram anything and everything in.

Got to take a risk.

[ncullinane]

I'm terrible at splitting my washing! I usually do a white loaf and a colour load and that it's! Anything that's for fussy instructions I will separate but generally chuck it all in! I wash at 30 mostly and haven't had to many disasters!

[AutumnalTed]

I wash all my darks and colours together, but all whites and light bedding together. After a strong collection of greyish underwear I stopped mixing my washes. However I will throw in colour catchers if washing jeans with say red or blue tops.

[MrsFrTedCrilly]

I wash on a 20 degree cycle, rarely have anything that runs in the wash. Although I do always wash whites with light colours and dark darks separately. Jeans regardless odds how old they are always lose due in a wash!

[BeeMyBaby]

All colours except whites and very very pale colours get washed together, and they rarely bleed out in the wash.

[Sammyislost]

I just wash it all together without separating! If I'm worried about something new that might run, I pop in a colour catcher sheet.

[ReelingLush18]

I would always wash whites/pale colours of different materials on handwash cycles to avoid any likelihood of damage. Works for me.

[Cambam2010]

I do not mix colours. Whites go in one wash - any fabric type, and blacks and colours go in another wash (again a mix of fabrics). If I have a lot of darks then I may separate out the very darks from the brights but this is all I do.

[looliloo]

For strong new colours I'll wash with similar for the first few washes, same with darks. Kids stuff gets all chucked in together whatever colour it is (except white baby grows) and lights separately too

[del2929]

i swear by the colour catchers. theyr great when there is the odd coloured item in a white wash. or vice versa

[Sleepysausage]

We do a dark wash, a colours wash and a whites wash. Our daughter has some beautiful bright clothes which I don't want to risk dulling in a darker wash. I think whites soon go greyish if colours are mixed. We have white bedding which is about 6 years old and still lovely and bright white as new! We have plenty of washing in our house so separating the loads works fine for us.

[CopperPan]

We do a dark wash, a pinks/reds/oranges wash, a blue/green wash and a whites wash. It does mean that sometimes we don't get around to washing certain items for a few weeks, but each of us has enough clothes not to worry about that! Generally I avoid buying clothes that are white or too pale just because it's a pain to separate them for washes, but with bedding/towels it's easiest to stick to whites as there's always enough for a full load.

[IWouldBeSuperb]

I rarely divide colours - maybe an extra dark wash if new jeans are going in. Find I have no problem with most colours running, especially at lower temperatures.

I keep white washes to a minimum by limiting white clothes purchases! But when I can't avoid it I use an extra scoop of whitener to help avoid greyness.

[biffyboom]

We do a dark, bright or white wash in general, usually on a 30°, 40° if more soiled.
Baby's clothes in its own wash with baby liquid, and baby softener.
Bedding in its own wash, towels in their own wash.
Everything gets fabric softener in its load.

[NewMama12]

I separate into three piles - whites (never mix with colours after dying all my whites pink TWICE!), grey/blue/pastels/denim and dark stuff. Always use a colour catcher incase a rogue sock of the wrong colour ends up in a white wash. And wash all fabrics together except wool/cashmere - do those on a cold wool wash.

[NickSharratsFeltTip]

Low temperature, sort into basic colour groups, be fastidious with whites and chuck in a colour catcher if in doubt.