I can’t do laundry.

[WhyIRayLiotta]

I’m 38, soon to be a mother of 3 and I am rubbish at washing our clothes.
I don’t know what I do wrong. For the last few years I blamed my washing machine for the fact that stains didn’t come out, sometimes clothes got holes in after washing, whites are only white while brand new, and sometimes baby clothes have black marks (mould?!) that I can’t get rid of.

I now have a new washing machine. But my laundrying is no better. I read the machine instructions front to back. But I’m still not sure what the sections in the powder drawer are for?!

How do I get lovely soft towels? Clean clothes that look new AFTER they’ve been worn once then washed, also, that lovely clean smell on clothes and sheets that everyone else seems to be able to get.

Any help appreciated.

Don't overload your machine, separate lights/darks/colours, use the right amount of wash detergent/fabric conditioner and always use the correct programme for the colours/fabrics. Use a washing machine cleaner once in a while and/or do a very hot wash once in a while to keep the machine clean. Make sure the detergent drawer is cleaned regularly if you use powder.

could you take a picture of the drawer OP? that way we can see where each product needs to go. usually the biggest section needs washing powder, so on a regular wash you would put some washing powder in the big section, fabric conditioner in the small, and start the load x

Clothes wear out and fade very quickly these days, don’t be so quick to blame yourself.

Stains- keep a bar of ordinary hand soap by your machine and rub onto any stains before putting in the machine.

Whites- pre soak in napisan overnight before washing. Use soda crystals in the wash and/or a white wash powder. Hang out to dry in the sunshine whenever possible.

Mould spots- use ace laundry bleach in a spray bottle onto the stains before washing. But only on whites otherwise it will bleach the colours. For other mould use a biological washing powder.

Towels- for fluff only a tumble dryer achieves this I’m afraid. Stick them out on the line until almost dry then finish off in tumble dryer for 15-20 minutes.

Nice smell is from fabric softener. Spend a few minutes sniffing the bottles in the supermarket until you find one you like. If you know someone who always has a nice laundry smell about them ask them what they use.

The drawers. I forget what the symbols mean but I just put powder in the biggest section and fabric softener in the small one.

Once a month do a service wash. That’s means running your washing machine completely empty on the hottest wash. I remove and scrub the drawer first then put back in and add white vinegar to give it a proper clean.

How are you drying your clothes?

If you want your whites to stay white only wash them with other white things - nothing else. (Can include white things with stripes, patterns, motifs I'd say where white is more than 90% of the thing)

I've started washing more and more at 30°. Only things that aren't - whites, pants, socks, beddings and towels. They go on 40°. I thought myself an expert on washing. Then I realised that for ever ages I'd been overdosing my powder!! Using 4 times the right amount 🙄. My washing feels a lot better now. And way cheaper!!

Experiment with settings. For years I've been binning shower curtains as couldn't get the soapy mould off. Now realise a longer wash gets it out!!

1. Anything that looks like it will stain should be left to cold soak overnight- big bowl of cold water and some laundry powder. Wash the next day.
2. Whites are whiter after being hung on the line.
3. Black marks/mould appear if clothes have been put away damp or left in a dryer or washer damp for too long. Anything that still feels damp after a good shake out of the dryer either then needs airing or putting back into the dryer.
4. Holes probably happen because belts etc are going in with softer fabrics. Split your laundry by weight of material rather than colour. All soft T shirt or babygrows together. All jeans together etc.

Wash whites on their own. If you wash with other things they will go grey.

Fabric conditioner or highly scented detergent will make stuff smell but is also bad for the environment and allergies. You can buy natural scented stuff, usually marketed as Eco but it is not always great.

I always wash darks in one load, light colours in one load and whites in one load.

Do not use a lot of detergent, most packaging tells you to use more than you really need (they are wanting to sell as much as possible).

Mould is because you are not letting things dry with air around them.

Fabric conditioner is not necessary.

Towels absorb a lot of soap during the wash. Try washing them without detergent a few times and watch the soap appear in the drum. There will be enough left in them to actually wash them if you have a build up. The only way I can get softish towels in a hard water area is to tumble dry them.

Only ever wash whites with whites or pale blue items (a tiny bit of blue makes whites look whiter).

Don't overload the machine.

Tumble dry towels to make them soft.

I also fast spin everything (apart from very delicate items). because the drier things are when they come out of the machine, the quicker they'll dry and the less likely they are to start smelling mildewy.

I use the bold 3 in 1 tabs straight into the machine drum so no need to worry about the drawers.

Always hang clothes up as soon as they come out of the washing machine / dryer, reshape And smooth out any creases.

Doing all of the above, I have no issues.

If something has a bad stain, I treat with banish stain remover. Or just re-wash until the stain fades.

I don't have time for soaking, pre-treating and ironing. This system works well for me.

Most detergents contain optical brighteners. This is another name for bleach and will remove colour. Ideal for whites but not for anything else.

Eco stuff often doesn't contain optical brighteners, read the label.

Don't fall for the increasing range of detergents for each thing, ie: colours, black etc. you only need something like one with optical brighteners for whiles and one without for colours.

If things are quite stained I run the rinse programme before I put the powder/liquid in and run the main programme. Don’t leave stained things too long before washing, and get them out of the machine as soon as possible. Leave your machine door ajar when it’s not in use, and do the service wash, it’s vital.

Mould spots can be caused by washing at low temperatures all the time and a build up in the machine. Clean the machine monthly and do a decent hot wash.

Knickers and breeding should be at 60 degrees

We need more info on what you're doing to see where it's going wrong.

• what washing detergent do you use and is it liquid or powder?
• How much of it do you use each wash?
• Where do you put it in the machine, in the drawer or in the drum?
• what do you put in together and what do you wash separately?
• how do you keep the dirty laundry before it goes in the machine?

I think most laundry problems are caused by using too much powder/liquid etc. It doesn’t get fully rinsed off and leaves clothes slightly sticky and grubby looking.

Also agree with dividing washes by colour. We do whites, darks, pinks and brights. And I only use 30degrees for silk and cashmere. IME washing at 30 leaves the clothes looking clean but they become smelly as soon as you put them on. I use 40 for most things and 60/90 for cotton towels and sheets.

Colour catcher sheets are available in supermarkets and can keep man made fabrics looking fresh.

I’ve also found recently that husband’s gym kit is so very, very smelly (he works out in the morning and so his damp, sweaty kit lies festering in his sports bag for 12 hours until he gets home) that it needs a separate 40 wash on its own and sometimes a second or even third go round before it smells good.

Col

I find that I sometimes get holes in my tops when they rub onto my jeans button and the kitchen counter (when I'm leaning on the counter washing up etc). I used to think it was my washing machine because I only ever noticed them when I hung clothes up to dry.

Towels only stay fluffy if you tumble dry them. Mine are like cardboard!

As others have said, separate your laundry. I do mine into dark, coloured and light/white.

Hang your laundry up as soon as you can and make sure it has room to breathe.

I personally have noticed that when I used liquid my laundry smelled musty and yucky after being washed. I switched to powder and now it comes out smelling lovely and clean.

I am very very far from being a laundry expert but those marks on babies clothes might not be mould?

I used to get odd grey-ish marks if any formula got dribbled and also any banana.

Hard to see before washing so took me a while to figure it out!

Wow. Thank you so much for your help.

challengeyourreality I buy whatever powder is on offer. Usually surf.
From reading the replies I think I probably am using too much washing powder... probably far too much in fact. As I get nowhere near the no. of washes the box says!
I put the powder in the drawer. Never in the drum. Although I might look for the bold capsules as mentioned by lemontreelemon.
I do separate my washes. Lights/ darks/ towels and whites. Everything else tends to go into the everyday wash cycle.
And as for how long I keep the washing before it’s done... too long. I don’t know when I last had an empty laundry basket. I probably have stuff that’s been waiting a month for a wash.

wingbingo I’m drying my clothes inside on racks. Usually in the dining room. Can take a couple of days to get stuff dry now as it’s too warm for central heating, but too showery to risk the line outside. I dry outdoors whenever possible, which is rarely.

I do tend to wash stuff on the quick wash cycles, so at lower temperatures - didn’t realise that could cause mould.
I never ran a cleaning cycle in my last machine. And probably only very occasionally did really hot washes. I’ll defo try to do better with that.

I’m such a disaster at this stuff that I end up buying cheap clothes for us all, which I know is a false economy and so bad for the environment.

You’re not a disaster! I think most people with a family would say they don’t get to the bottom of their laundry basket very often.

well, I never do a washing machine wash or hot cycle, and my washing is always clean, so while I think it is a great idea, I don't think that is causing your problems.
When you say quick cycle, do you mean 30 minutes?

Clothes either need to soak for a while, or they need a hotter wash, but a short, cold wash (30) really doesn't get the stains out.
I use a vanish (well, asdas version of vanish ) spray on food stains on clothes (if I notice them) especially on whites. But actually if you have a food stain that has left a grease spot, a dab of wahsing up liquid or shampoo can get it out. I have learnt that it is 100 x better to treat the stain before it is washed first time, as bio powders can set stains.

The golden rules for me are:

1. always always separate colours - whites, mid and dark colours.
2. use a colour washing powder (surf etc will bleach clothes pretty quickly) for colours (asda own brand colour wash works well, doesn't need to be a pricey one)
3. don't worry about delicate fabircs etc, unless you wash hot, just concentrate on colour separation
4. Use a bio powder for the whites. eg ariel/surf/persil
5. wash clothes at 40, avoid a 30 minutes wash unless it really isn't very dirty. (I do sheets and towels at 60) colour powder is bio as well, just doesn't bleach and bio powders deal with germs etc at 40, so clothes should be fine. Hot wahses do make clothes wear out faster
6. highest spin you can get away with (all mine is done on highest one the machine does)

7 spread out as much as you can to dry, so it dries fast. We have an old curtain pole up near the ceiling in our utility room, all clothes that can go on hangers go on there, they dry really quickly

If you can afford it invest in a dehumidifier to use when drying inside. Switch it on and shut the door to the room, your washing will dry much faster and won’t go fusty from being damp too long.

Never put owder or liquid in the drawer.
It goes mouldy. Straight in the drum.
Never wash under 40° -the powder /liquid doesnt dissolve properly .
Towels and bedding 60°
Separate loads properly

I always do a 90° once a month.
Cleans the residue out of the pipes

Why is there a bloody link to be dding (ha) in my post