I just think this is crazy! Do I need to stop being such a mum?

[michelleseashell]

One of my friend's washing machine is broken so I'm helping her out by doing her washing. Rather than waiting around, she's just left me with two big bags of mostly baby clothes.

The thing is about 95% of the clothes are ruined! They're all gray and absolutely covered in bobbles. This is baby clothes so they can't possibly have had time to get in such a state. They've obviously just been put in with darks, jeans, on really hot washes etc.

I just don't understand it! I am literally aghast! Why would somebody do this? Isn't it just a terrible waste of money? These are all Next and Gap but even supermarket stuff can be kept in good condition, surely? A charity shop would throw these clothes out.

I put on a 'white' wash with a stain remover pouch and a colour catcher and the colour catches came out dark gray.

Aghast!!

What heat are you all washing on that dye leaks out of your clothing? Lower the temp and you can have a much more relaxing life, with no more laundry angst.

OP yanbu, i dont understand why people would not separate washing?! but I haven't heard of the whitener pouches, I am going to look for it in the supermarket though, sounds good

Babyheave- YES! I hang them up in my special way so they'll dry right. I have a shelf for my washing stuff too. And I've made my own setting for the washing machine rather than using any of the preprogrammed ones.

My name is Michelle and I wish we all lived in a Daz advert

Jesus..dont you women work?

OP, are you typing this from 1950's suburbia?

MightyQuinn - I agree.

OP - why dont you throw your judgypants in with a colour catcher too. Might wash out the judgyness and you might colour catch some true friendship, which is not, I might add, slagging a friend off on an internet forum.

This thread is mental!! but while we're here, can i get some advice on the stripes issue do people really do a seperate stripes wash? i usually leave stripey things in the bottom of the laundry until dd's have outgrown them lol! fwiw i also do a whites, lights, brights and darks wash, however white school socks, my nice new underwear and other white paraphenalia will find its way in there with the darks! i also put bounce in my airing cupboard with the towels but do draw the line at scented lining paper and potpourri!!!

It depends on the colour of the stripes and the material. The best thing to do if you're unsure though is to hand wash them in the sink. Then you can see how much dye comes out. Oh and stick to 30 degrees in the washing machine and that should stop dye leaking.

Oh I envy my friend her casual approach to the washing. I just think she's f'in bonkers. Keep nice things nice I say!!

She might've just done it once. By accident.

DH & I are gothy types with predominantly black wardrobes. I have had to patiently teach him that dc's white school shirts + a couple of band t-shirts + his new black jeans = greymageddon.

Even so, he doesn't sort it as meticulously as me - if it's a hottish wash (& if it's poo stained baby stuff it will be) it only takes one rogue, new black sock...

i do a dark load, a lightload and a towel load...hardly buy whites so it would take months for them to build up enough for a load

I was thinking that too Mitford!

'At least no-one can say my husbands shirts are dingy!'

Do you have daughters OP? Perhaps getting their husbands shirts pristine is something they can aim for in life.

And you'd be silly not to use colour catchers for just in cases. You don't want to end up with washers remorse.

Am I the only one seeing some tongue in cheek in the op's posts?

Oh lighten up mightyquimm :o

Sorry just don't see the humour in you supposedly helping out a 'friend' (she's not a friend - well you are no friend to her anyway) and picking through her washing, posting your scathing findings on here and basically having a good old group laugh at her expense.

The thing is, these aren't a bit gray. These are mega gray. These are actually ruined. I put a colour catcher in with whites and it came out dark gray.

This is like I've just seen that next door wear their pants on their heads while watching Eastenders. It's not on this planet for me!

Anyway, she'll never see this in a million years. She hates mumsnet. And that means she hates you all too before you stick up for her! :o

I sort of agree.
I know babies dont know or care what clothes they wear and spending silly amounts of money is a waste.
Babies just want to cuddled, fed and happy.
But no one is that busy that they can't wash clothes properly (sort the colours out into piles) and if they are not in great condition you can buy new ones so cheaply now Asda, Tesco -just a couple pounds, so there is no excuse for babies to wear old or dirty clothes.

So gossiping about friends is fine so long as they don't find out?

zukie don't hang them out? Are you mad? But why? Why oh why? You are depriving yourself of the deeply wonderful experience of the smell of that clean laundry when you air it on the radiator. (I never ironed anything even before I was 'tragically crippled', so not hausfrau gestapo) I regard the sorting by colour and pulling creases out before drying as a brilliant ruse to do sod all housework while maintaining remarkably creditable levels of domestic hygiene. It is true. Laundry must be sorted. Sheer madness to suggest otherwise. Madness I tell you.

I wouldn't be a very good faux fifties housewife without a bit of gossip would I?

:o

Good luck with everything zukie. Where do you buy your pegs? Love the sound of matching pegs!