how do you do yours?

[mrshyde27]

Well I'm on one this last week or so with household chores..how do you sort your washing? Christ I need to get out more (been housebound with flu)
DH says I'm ridiculous as I use the following categories (he just bungs everything in together, like Widow Twankys wash service). All our stuff is also washed with dettol laundry cleanser (another thing that irritates him no end)..

colours - eg tops, trousers on a 30 wash
pants - 70 wash
socks - 70 wash
bath towels - 70 wash
tea towels and dish cloths - 90 wash

I do everything together at 40 degrees.

Heavily stained things would be soaked before hand in vanish otherwise I don't do any of this separation malarkey

Towels 60 ( no softener) tea towels also go in here
Bedding 60
Fleece bedding 40
Work shirts 40
All other clothes 40
If I've got a lot I will do whites / coloureds but only if I've missed a couple of days . Sometimes I do undies in with towels .
I use Bold , comfort softener , dettol laundry cleanser , lenor balls and a calgon tablet , plus I spray the underarms of shirts / t shirts with Ariel or vanish spray before washing .

Bedding all together at 40 cotton plus softener.
Towels all together at 60 cotton plus a short tumble to make them fluffy, no fabric softener as it's not good for towels
Childrens' "tough" clothes (trackies, pants, uniform etc) plus adult undies 40 cotton plus tumble
Adult clothes (work shirts etc) 40 synthetic plus natural dry
Occasional cold wool wash for jumpers.

8-10 washes a week for a family of 4

I'd love to know the comparative cost of all those separate washes (electricity and water meter) as against my 'bung it all in at 40c' approach ?

everything mixed together at 40! (most stuff these days is colour fast so no need to separate)
bedding/towels/sheets etc on hot washes
dishcloths/tea towels v hot wash

I figure if washing hands with soap and warm water is the best way to keep D&V bugs at bay then a warm wash with laundry powder is enough to clean our clothes. They pretty much all get hung outside on the line or put through the dryer - so disinfectant from the Sun and/or heat from the dryer - and I iron all of my tea towels as their final clean.

everything in together - 30

Bedding towels - 40

we are all fine!

All bedding at 90.

All dog bedding at 90.

Everything else at 40 or 60 depending on how soiled things are. I only separate things that need washing cold (hand) or at 30 - my nice bras, jumpers that kind of thing.

Can't be arsed to seperate colours, I've been lucky so far winging it

DHs white shirts /towels 60
Bedding 60
Everything else 30/40 depending how mucky stuff is

Towels 90 on their own
Bedding 60
Football kits 40 on their own without fabric conditioner as it makes the transfers crack and peel.

Then just whites and darks separate at 40

What are scented beads?? ignorant

Quick wash I'm not too sure what all the other buttons do...

Everything at 40 unless it specifically says hand-wash. Or its something dark and new that I suspect may leak colour. Otherwise, whites, coloureds, towels, bedding - makes no difference. All goes in together.

The only other proviso is that anything hairy (dog or horse) doesn't get washed with anything that matters.

Life's too short to sort washing.

Everything goes in together at 40 unless it specifically needs a cooler or hotter temperature, or there is a real risk of dye running. With colour-fast clothes there is absolutely no need to separate out darks from lights.

All clothes washed at 40 but separated out into
Whites
Pastels
Darks
Woollens washed at 30

Towels and bedding washed at 60

End up doing 2 dark washes a week (uniforms) plus a bedding/towels wash everything else is washed when there is a full load.

For those who don't sort their washing: me and my best friend, who live hundreds of miles apart, once discovered we had bought a few identical outfits for our young daughters (both hate shopping so had hit the Next directory). I sort washing religiously, she bungs it all in together. When we met up six months later the difference in her daughter's clothes to mine was really noticeable: hers were muddy and mine were still bright.

Tbf, OP, PJs get a separate wash as I have to have a clean set every night (night sweats) so they're a full load on their own!

I do:
Whites 60-90
Towels 60
Brights 30-40
Darks 30-40

But no matter what I do, what machine I use or what powder I use, the white and brights never look truly clean unless line dried. Drives me around the bend. To be fair, the most I do is bung it in the machine with powder and stain remover - no scrubbing or soaking.

Lights
Darks
Delicates
Bedding and towels

Towels - 60
Sheets - 60
Lights 40
Darks 40

That's it and occasionally it's just lights and darks.

Usual

Whites, darks, colours on a 30 or 40 wash (40 is for socks and underwear)

Bedding and towels on a 60 or 90

Whites 40
Light colours (pale pinks, pastels, whites with patterns etc) 40
Bright colours (reds, greens, blues, yellows etc) 40
Darks 40
Specials (Lycra/wicking sports kit, woollens, anything that might shrink) 30 or delicate cycle

Whites= cold
Cloths and towels = 30
Bedding = 40
Clothes = cold.

I wouldn't touch dettoll with a barge pole. It's tested on animals which is disgusting.

Lights 40
Darks 40
Bedding 60
Towels 90.
Scented beads in bedding and towels just wash gel for the rest. Stain removal powder as needed.
If I have a large load of pants alone they are done at 60. If not I iron the gusset post wash, I had thrush once and was told to do this so still do.