Is separating laundry colours dated practice?

I never separate. The kids school shirts are really the only white things that get washed on a weekly basis. By the end of the year they are a bit grey I suppose but it doesn’t really matter does it. Kids don’t care, teachers don’t care and I definitely don’t care.

I don't separate things - if I did I'd either be running part full washes or building up piles waiting for their particular basket to be full! Lights, darks, bedding, towels...it all goes in the same wash, same temp, same washing powder. The only things I've ever bothered splitting out and washing alone are wool jumpers or silk items. But they come around rare enough that it's no big deal running them on their own.
Having said that, we don't own many white things...maybe a shirt after a funeral, or a vest. We tend to buy coloured stuff.

Whites and v pale things on occasion together. Unless some dickhead has squished a dark sock in.. weirdly, one of dd 's pale pink tops hotbed everything pink. How?

Lights if one got enough.
Very darks.

I generally separate into lights and darks, but occasionally chuck in a mix if I haven't got enough for two loads. My whites are still super bright, no dinginess at all.

I do whites, lights & darks, also bedding & towels separately.
Judging by the grey colour of my student DS's t shirts, I'd say colours running is still a thing!

I buy persil colour washing powder or capsules or equivalent
Plus use a colour catcher sheet in each wash

Household of many coloured items

DP never separated things. Said it wasn't necessary, clothes don't run anymore.

Several hundred quid later, he separates my stuff and the overly expensive bedlinen I bought and he had to replace, along with underwear, t-shirts, blouses, socks, face flannels and anything else that's light, very carefully in every wash.

My one concession was buying dark towels to replace the vaguely shit-stained resembling things that emerged from the machine that are now used to mop up leaks and spills on the kitchen floor.

I'm wary of new things, for instance a red cotton shirt I bought recently or dark denim. You still get things that run sometimes. If things have been washed loads of times I don't worry too much. Always separate whites though. And light/pale yellow things. They always go dingy for some reason.

I just have three baskets on the go:

• dark clothing
• whites & pastels
• bedding, towels, cleaning cloths

In my house that means that everyone parks dirty items in the relevant basket, & dd1, who is in charge of washing, runs a 'dark' wash every other day & the others once a week.

I can't think why you wouldn't separate them!

Having said that, if dd1 is away the cleaner takes over & just puts a daily mixed load on, & it's fine - I don't think dyes do bleed like they used to.

For us it's more that one's school trousers are going to be in the dark wash, whereas a pink bra or fluffy cream socks can go AWOL indefinitely without inconveniencing their owner unduly - so it's helpful for the dark wash to be a priority.

I think you can get a product that will make them white again in washing machine. Seems a shame to bin.

my mum always used to call it a 'dirty wash' 😂

Me too !

I always separate because all of my darks run! If I accidentally put something white in with them it turns grey after just one wash. That's with loads of clothes that aren't even new and have been washed loads!!

Whites, lights, darks, towels and bedding here.

Accidentally put white polos with some darks and they went grey and straight in the bin.

I separate whites/pastels/colours/blacks/towels/bedding/tea towels.

I’ve had the same towels and bedding for 20+ years as they’ve stayed white this way.

Ny clothes also keep their whiteness / colour.

I do the whites on their own, everything else gets chucked in together. I only do the whites separate as I have noticed the school shirts start looking a bit grey when mixed.

I hate having to wash whites separately because there is never enough, so sometimes I put them on a massive boiling pot on the stove .
I'm talking a couple of white tops and bras - it seems far too wasteful to put on a full wash for these and they come out lovely.

I religiously separate laundry! Used to hate my mum turning all my school shirts pink when I was a kid 😂 even have the kids trained to use two different laundry baskets

I never separate. Chuck it all in and I just hope for the best

This. I've never separated whites/colours in nearly 50 years of doing my own washing but I avoid white clothes. When DD was at school, I bought her new multipack supermarket school shirts when they got too grey. She usually needed bigger sizes before that anyway.

Do you wash at 30c?

I still wash at 40c, teenagers and 30c just doesn't cut it and I find things do still run. So maybe it's the wash temperature. I do separate white, lights and darks.

That’s madness. I do “clothes” and “stuff that’s been in direct contact with feet or arses”.

I definitely do whites alone - DS has school shirts and t shirts which need to be washed every week so it's easy to get a load of whites. I separate our darks and lights but only because I generally have too much washing for one load and it's as good a way as any to separate them.

I only do it if I have enough white or light coloured items, which is about once a fortnight. Now DS is at school with white shirts that’s going to increase so I might be more diligent.

Your whites will definitely get dingy if you mix with dark colours.