Talk to me about washing loads (highly interesting thread)

[Longlostpals]

After ruining yet another pair of dd's baby tights I admit that I need help. How do you manage to not ruin baby clothes?! I have got through my life so far by wearing only dark clothes.

Examples of my inept washing abilities-

Pair of baby tights - blue and red with a white cat on the knee. Put into a mixed wash and the cat is now grey. But surely it doesn't go in a white wash?!

Any swimming costume with white in the pattern is now a muddy grey colour. Again has dark colours on it so should not be in a white wash.

I do various, I do a light wash of pale colourfast cottons, like DH's pink shirt, DD's pale tops and DS's school shirts plus tights, sometimes I pop in a colour catcher sheet.

Stick a colour catcher in with stuff like that.

All white/pale grey/pastel colours in one wash with Ariel normal.
Dark and bright colours in another with Ariel colour.
Tights and underwear in a little laundry bag or old pillow case.
Tend to do everything on 30.

Anything with white on it goes in the whites wash, I've always been told. Works for me!

Sorry about the tights, they sound really cute.

Tell me more about this colour catcher!

Thanks for your condolences

Yesssss you need colour catchers!

I use Dylan colour catchers in any mixed load. They are amazing. Buy a large box!

Dylon not Dylan

I do a

white wash (with vanish white)
Light wash (would include those tights in these)
Dark wash

Swimming costumes get hand washed regardless of colour to maintain the lycra

I just bung everything in together. If i have to sort I sort by person wearing it rather than colour.

I wash everything at 30°.

I'm like @Eeeeek2 but i don't always use whitener in the whites but in the lightish load I nearly always chuck a colour catcher.

Machine washing's bad for lycra?!

I hand wash my DS clothes when they are still being worn out and about.

When they come to be house clothes or garden clothes I throw them in the washer, separate whites (throw a bit of vanish in) and then put on a baby care wash with a bit of dettol liquid stuff. But in all honesty most of my whites, and fluffy stuff comes out dull or grey out of the machine, I'm not the most domesticated lol

I see colour catchers have been mentioned. GAME CHANGING. You won't know yourself OP

I used to chuck everything in together but now I do whites, lights, colours and darks separately and I'm enjoying the way things aren't going grey : ) It does sound like the tights need a colour catcher though.

My solution was not to have clothing with white bits in the house, so all washing went in together. Now I have school polo's to wash .

My local Aldi are currently selling boxes of 50 Dr Beckman Colour & Dirt Collector Cloths.

Got 3 already, off to get more to stock up.

10 will do me for the year.