To think that it is simply common sense to separate whites from coloureds?

[HecateTheCrone]

and NOT something a man of almost 50 would need to be sat down and given instructions on?

It has never ever occured to me that Himself does not do this. Ever.

I have wondered why all of a sudden, my bras go grey or the kids' pe tops go grey.

I've blamed the washing powder, the machine, poor quality clothing...

But today I find out that when Himself bungs a load in the washer, he just grabs whatever is in the washing basket and lobs it in

My last white bra is now disgustingly grey.

I mean, when I do the washing, I separate it. He has walked into the kitchen before and found me sitting on the floor putting the dirty clothes into piles - wtf did he think I was doing that for?

It honestly never occured to me that he is the reason I have dirty grey manky bras and that a grown man would need washing lessons.

AIBU? Naive? Thick?

Handwash stuff that's 2 colours? Life is too short!

If there are two colours on something I'd trust it to be colour fast and wash with the lightest shade. Except stupid liverpool babygro

No no no, wash with the darkest shade just in case. And use colour catchers. I keep whites completely separate and it works, I have 15 yo knickers that are literally falling to bits, but they are STILL WHITE.

Your OH does the washing???

And if one odd knicker gets left in the machine and goes round with a dark wash, chuck it away. It's not worth letting that bit of grey contaminate the next white wash.

Also, if one of DS' shirts gets grass stains, wash straight away, larded with stain remover, don't let it near the other whites until it is completely clean.

I have the 3rd most untidy house I have ever seen, but at least DS has white shirts for school.

Omg!

I have too many different wash loads to mention.

I separate by colour and fabric type and wash temp and family members.

The very thought of "bunging everything in at 30" makes me deeply unhappy .

See, I just managed to omit the word 'sense' out of the thread title, so thought someone was suggesting it was 'common' (ie, not the done mumsnetty thing) to separate out your washing.

I feel very relieved now, particularly as I have about 6 different kinds of wash (blacks and greys, blues, reds and pinks, whites and nudes, handwash, and towels and bedlinen). DH is now VERY well-educated about my laundry foibles. He still won't do the handwash/woolwash though, after a particularly bad experience with a cashmere jumper which you could have put on barbie after he'd finished with it...

I generally separate. DH doesn't do the laundry except in dire emergency.

(infact, see profile pic for evidence of immaculate white vest on 11 month old ds which was a hand-me-down from his older sister ).

The neighbours behind us (gardens backing onto each other) put their 'white' wash on the line the other day and it was all grey and stringy looking.

I would have thought that regularly boil washing bras and knickers at 90 would make the elastic expire - saggy is even worse than just being grey.

Just looked at your photos bibbitybobbityhat and I love your house.

Feck my house, what about my darling angel dc ???!!!

90C! OMG, that's almost boiling everything! You really don't need it to be that hot to clean things. You are losing any saving you're making on getting the cheaper detergent by having to heat the water that high.

I wash everything at 40C. Sometimes things will have a Vanish pre-wash spray on them, sometimes I do a 60C with towels or something with mud or food stains.

I'm careful about colours running when they're new, otherwise it all just goes in together.

I will sometimes separate baby clothes from the rest of the family so I can do a wash with biological liquid.

They are very nice too! But I've got one of those myself just as scrumptious, whereas my house is a pebbledashed monstrosity.

LOL at this. I know that most people seperate, but I also know that my priority in life is to do minimal housework, not avoid grey bras!

I mix!

Yes but choccy I ruined a top which was black with a white collar that way. Collar went all grey. Was the faulty WM's fault though.

Have always done baby clothes in bio anyway. Gets the poo and food stains out better.

My simple method of avoiding the bra problem is....always wear black with black underwear (as I do) Tra-la-laa..problem solved . Oh and to all of those who has a OH who actually knows how to use a washing machine !! The last time my oh put on a wash was 6 years ago...the 3 tea towels and his 1 pair of socks came out well!!!

My bf does his own washing but he has no idea what programme he washes it on. I took the piss out of him for this until he revealed that their washing machine is so old that all the symbols have rubbed off, so he just turns the dial and hopes for the best.

pip - he's not supposed to wash at 90! I keep on telling him, yet I keep coming into the kitchen to find that he has put a load on and that load has been put at 90!

and now I find it contains whites, darks and coloureds together. grr.

Normally, he bungs stuff straight into the tumble dryer after washing and then takes it upstairs. so I just find a pile of clothes in the ironing basket.

Now it's getting warm enough to hang stuff on the line. I love the smell of line dried clothes.

and now, since it appears there is Domesticated Husband Envy on this thread, I shall tell you that I am in bed, watching tv, and he brought me the laptop and a cup of tea and he is downstairs, making the kids breakfasts.

ner.

BertieBottsEveryColourBeans If you'd put that black and white item in with your whites, you would have ruined them all. I was exaggerating for effect when I said wash with the darker colour, in reality anything wierd or stripy has to lurk at the bottom of the wash basket until you get the urge to do individual washes with colour catchers. Then send them to Oxfam, and let someone ruin their whites.

ok haven't read the whole thread but I have apartheid too. Darks, whites and the rest of dd's which are generally pink/purple. I am pleased when I can save enough to do a blue/green/yellow of dd's.

I do have a colour catcher but I tend to use it with whites as hardly any of them except my bras and tops are actually white. They have stripes, spots, bloomin peppa pigs. I have stopped getting cross with ILs at buying dd things which are basically white except for bright red motifs.

Have I been wasting all this angst? And superiority with the whole washing thing over dp who can do the washing but leaves it to me?

I am obviously scarred by my mum deciding to wash a green skirt that she had owned for twenty years with various pale things because "it must be ok by now" and living with a underwear a fetching shade of mint for ever until it died.

My DH had the same problem. Then in frustration i just asked him to take care of my car and i will take care of his laundry.

Problem solved.

Napisan for the whites [it removes orange baby poo stains ] and tomato sauce
Vinegar or soda crystals clean the machine after people change car oil without disposable overalls
But I cannot understand the need to boil wash everything, it makes ironing impossible I have been known to put things that have been washed and dried after a boil wash back into the machine on a rinse, and why when he does this is it only mine and the DC stuff that shrinks/falls apart/ loses its embellishment and not his
Candy I like your solution but my car would be a sorry state if I waited foe DP to actually finish a job on the car.