Washing underwear on its own?

[timeforanewstart]

Do people really wash all underwear on its own at 60 degrees as suggested on some internet pages?
I never used to just in with normal clothes wash , always keep tea towels etc seperate .
But after reading thought i would try.
But then it means leaving underwear to wash maybe once a week but still a quarter load and slowest 60 wash in my machine is 1.30 hrs
Currently i wash darks , coloureds , whites , underwear , towels , tea towels , bedding , face masks , floor clothes all in separate washes thats 9 separate washes minimum but normally have at least 2 dark washes a week and 2 coloured , and then theres the dog beds which i wash prob fornightly and always run machine on 95 service wash after
But struggling to keep up at moment working full time with so many washes and time they take
Quickest wash is 15 mins but nothing really goes in this so next up is 58 mins full wash , but 60 all over an hr
How do others divide theres ?

I do a towel wash once a week, a bed wash once a week, and at this time of year a wool wash once a week. The rest of it’s a free for all.

@Embracelife

Just throw everything in together. 30 or 40 degreees . Detergent.

Try for six months aNd if not you still alive report back

What you said! I've been putting everything in together forever eons. Not sure what is supposed to happen if you don't. And don't even get me started in ironing tea towels!? 😬

On 40 with everything else

Nope, all together at 40. Pretty sure my underwear is max 40 anyway. The only splitting is darks and lights

Ironing is a rare thing here i only iron if i really have to , ds school shirts all non iron as are majority of their clothes luckily apart from odd t shirt

Can anyone else enlighten us about what's supposed to actually happen to you if you don't wash your underwear at 60°? Or report to us any nasty effects they (or indeed anyone they've ever met) have had from doing so?

@GoudaGirl

I've made it to middle age washing my tea towels with my knickers so I think 40 degrees is just fine, anyway if you check the labels most women's underwear is max 40.

I've also been know to chuck the dog towel in, we lived.

I wash my underwear separately but only because it’s delicate and certainly not at 60.

The only thing washed at 60 and on their own is work scrubs.

@lazylinguist

Can anyone else enlighten us about what's supposed to actually happen to you if you don't wash your underwear at 60°? Or report to us any nasty effects they (or indeed anyone they've ever met) have had from doing so?

I think you might die. Or something.

Darks.
Whites.
40 degrees and everything in together. I'm 46 and to my knowledge, have never once been ill due to my underwear.

I don't even own an iron

I barely vacuum once a week. Life's too short.

Everything goes in together here.

Whites at 60
Dark colours at 40-50
Bright colours at 40-50

Tea towels and underwear get thrown in with whichever colour they correspond to.

I use a "colour" powder, so everything goes in together
No need to separate whites & colours

I am a bit prissy when it comes to laundry!

Bedding and towels, teatowels...always 60, with an occasional 95 if they are looking a bit dingy, all as separate loads.

Clothes...I sort ruthlessly by colour and if on a very organised day with loads to do, also by person, but am happy to have undies wooshing about with similar colours. Mostly 40 or 60 if very grubby

Jeans can mingle willy nilly...person and/or colour :o

Not much makes me happier than a well coordinated and organised washing line all billowing in the wind. Especially if I have managed to match the pegs!

DH and DS2 are less faddy but know they will not live it down if they bugger up anything of mine so they do tend to follow the system, it's so much nicer when everyone follows the rules

@lazylinguist
Very simply stated that in order to kill bacteria you need to wash at this temperature. I am a research scientist who worked in the area and am simply stating fact and that tea towels, as someone mentioned, should not be washed with underwear. Underwear and towels need to be washed at 60 oC to kill bacteria or a sanitiser used at a lower temperature. You can probably pass on bacteria from underwear that may not seem harmful now but can impact later on in life. The machine itself also needs hot wash to kill residual bugs now and then. I wasn't saying wash underwear on it's own but wash at 60oC and best not wash with tea towels just to be sure.

I don't quite understand, apart from the obvious from accidents and early/leaked periods maybe - what this ''contamination'' is?

I can only speak for myself and all others that I wash underwear for but there is NO contamination.
My underwear, unless I'm wearing thongs, is not touching my bumhole and even if it did, I'm as clean as I possibly can be.
I mix undies with other stuff often on a 40. Yes, sometimes, even with towels.
Meh! I'm still alive and haven't caused any deaths by mixing washing yet.

I mix everything but I use a sanitiser in every wash (use cloth pads so it's for them and also my knackered immune system)

My in-laws in NZ wash everything on a cold cycle. All washing is pristine and they are all hale and hearty.

I personally bung all of our (family of 3) washing on the 30 degree cycles with an extra rinse to get rid of the smell of the detergent. Then dried on the line or radiators. None of us get filthy though.

OP I think you’re overthinking it, make life easier for yourself.

GoudaGirl - does biological washing powder not kill the bacteria? I thought that was the whole point of it.

I have three washes - whites, coloureds, bedding, all at 40. Everything goes into one of those, apart from some delicate lingerie that I wash by hand. We're still alive and healthy!

Pants, socks, bras, pyjamas and the odd t shirt or towel to make up a load all go in together.
Enough for a load once a week.

Darks and bright coloured clothes inc. knickers and bras at 40 with bio detergent .
Whites and pale coloured - same.
Towels, bedding, hankies and masks at 60 with non-bio detergent.
The only thing I iron is masks. Had to buy a new steam iron when I was making them as my previous one had gone manky inside from lack of use

All clothing except my bras goes in together on a 30 or 40, bras go on a delicates wash. Towels and bedding are washed at 60. I've got to 45 years old without too many issues so I won't be changing now!

Oh and everything's washed with non bio powder as anything else makes me itch.