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Original poster

Not bothering to separate colours

168 replies

Trunkybum · 06/06/2024 08:40

I’m just read a reply on another thread where someone mentioned OP should pick similar shades of colour for her child’s clothing so she can wash them all together.
Cant you just wash it all together anyway? I literally bung everything into the machine, including really light stuff and it’s all fine. If I’ve got something dark I’m washing for the first few times lll shove a colour catcher in (yes I’m aware they are the produce of satan). I might keep white stuff separate if it’s really lovely, but white towels are fair game and I hardly have any white clothing.

really who can be arsed with doing so many separate washes? BTW, we’re not talking about high end, delicate garments. Poster was talking about Primark clothes and most of our wardrobe is Next or supermarkets.

OP posts:
Dweetfidilove · 06/06/2024 09:18

I was on a morning train and noticed how different people operate, even to the same end.

Some looking and smelling good.
Some smelling stale.
Men in expensive suits that were not ironed.
White shirts going grey.
Some looking like they’d rolled straight out of bed and onto the train.
Some finishing their grooming on the train.

Fascinating viewing (I hadn’t been on a peak hours train for years), and a lesson in ‘to each, their own’.

NattyTurtle · 06/06/2024 09:17

I separate lights and darks, whites just have to take their luck with the lights. So far so good, in fact I've not had the colour run out of anything for years. Like a pp I use powder for the lights, and liquid for the darks - I've had bleach spots on dark clothing when I've used powder to wash them. My whites always look very white btw. Towels, sheets, and merino garments have their own washes.

Nopet · 06/06/2024 09:11

Unless I have something that will obviously loose dye or a very special light peace of clothing,I just shove everything together.

PlainChipsandIpads · 06/06/2024 09:11

What’s wrong with colour catchers?

Revelatio · 06/06/2024 09:09

I can’t believe anyone cares so much about what other people do with their laundry! Chuck it all in, separate, who cares, you’re the one wearing them!!

mindutopia · 06/06/2024 09:08

The only thing I wash separately are the white school shirts (they do not stay white if washed with other colours). That's the only white clothing we own as I refuse to buy white anything on principle. Everything else goes in together, with the exception of a few random things with natural dye that do stain anything they touch. I wash these individually on a quick wash and that's it.

OMGsamesame · 06/06/2024 09:08

I separate whites and delicates. And wash cleaning cloths and bath mat separately on a boil wash.

Half our household uses bio and softener and the other uses only non-bio, so that's another separation

MegaClutterSlut · 06/06/2024 09:08

I always seperate colours into Whites, darks and pink/browns

Pharos · 06/06/2024 09:06

I used to be a ‘chuck it all in with a colour catcher’ until an expensive engineer call out to clear a blocked filter. Was advised to bin them unless I wanted to continue contributing to his summer holiday fund 😁

It only takes a few seconds to separate lights and darks, I also use powder for the former and liquid for the latter and it makes a big difference.

DappledThings · 06/06/2024 09:06

I separate whites but only since DC started school which gives us enough whites to justify a separate wash. Everything else goes in together. Towels, clothes, bedding, cleaning cloths. Some people have special washes for all those things. Madness.

ClonedSquare · 06/06/2024 09:01

I've never separated colours and never had an issue with day to day washing. I hate beige and light coloured clothes though, so that might be why! Even clothes which have lighter areas (eg stripes or white patches in the design) have never suffered.

luckylavender · 06/06/2024 08:57

Trunkybum · 06/06/2024 08:40

I’m just read a reply on another thread where someone mentioned OP should pick similar shades of colour for her child’s clothing so she can wash them all together.
Cant you just wash it all together anyway? I literally bung everything into the machine, including really light stuff and it’s all fine. If I’ve got something dark I’m washing for the first few times lll shove a colour catcher in (yes I’m aware they are the produce of satan). I might keep white stuff separate if it’s really lovely, but white towels are fair game and I hardly have any white clothing.

really who can be arsed with doing so many separate washes? BTW, we’re not talking about high end, delicate garments. Poster was talking about Primark clothes and most of our wardrobe is Next or supermarkets.

I could not wash like that. It looks terrible.

BaronessEllarawrosaurus · 06/06/2024 08:54

Whites, colours and darks. If too many I might separate colours into pale and bright. Its easy as I use a laundry basket with 3 sections so the clothes are separated as they go in the basket. School blouses and bedding ensure I can always find enough for a whites wash.

Chely · 06/06/2024 08:50

We have so much washing anyway so yes I wash similar together.
Our eldest had a friend stay over who needed her school uniform washing, shirt was grey but was sent home white.

Goldengirl123 · 06/06/2024 08:47

Always separate. White, darks and colours. People that don’t say they’re whites are white. They aren’t compared to people who separate their washing. Why wouldn’t you?

minipie · 06/06/2024 08:46

I separate lights and darks. Wouldn’t go further than that. I had white socks go through a dark wash and they ended up greyish.

Devilsmommy · 06/06/2024 08:46

My machine has a mixed colours cycle so everything gets whacked on that. Can't be arsed faffing around separating whites😂

StarlightLady · 06/06/2024 08:44

I separate colours and whites but it stops there. If a pink to turns a slightly deeper shade of pink, nobody will notice. Greying whites are another matter though.