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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

how do you do yours?

178 replies

mrshyde27 · 26/01/2016 20:24

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

OP posts:
gamerwidow · 26/01/2016 21:55

Lights
Darks
Reds/Pinks
Blue/Green

All at 40, underwear bedding and towels go in with which ever colour they belong.

Most laundry detergents work at any temperature over 30 seems wasteful heating to 60/70

TheExMotherInLaw · 26/01/2016 21:57

oh, and the hazmat experience which is dh sailing kit
40degrees and lots of vinegar

WhyCantIuseTheNameIWant · 26/01/2016 21:58

Towels, no softener
Fleece, no softener and non-bio
Red/pinks
Whites
Blues
Blacks
Sometimes a mixed colours if not enough for full red/blue.
Bedding

All at 40 with comfort pure.

Shelby1981 · 26/01/2016 22:02

my categories are:

whites
light colours
bright colours
darks
all at 30

pants and socks
white pants and socks
bedding
all at 40

towels, tea towels & dishcloths 60 with white vinegar instead of softener

hmmm I have a lot of categories! I just do washing when there's enough of a category to make a load though (or do a half load) so it's not like I'm doing lots of loads per week

patterkiller · 26/01/2016 22:19

My new uber planet saving washing machine doesn't do anything above 60 and the normal wash takes nearly four feckin hours. I used to love boiling DHs work trousers.

Stripyhoglets · 26/01/2016 22:20

Lights and darks separate at 40, this includes all panes and socks in with their respective colours. Towels, flannels and tea towels on 60. Bedding usually separate on 40 or 60.

Purplehonesty · 26/01/2016 22:22

Darks 40
Lights 60
Occasionally a whites wash at 90 if towels are a bit yuck

Try to keep it easy for dh but he still washes everything at 60....

BillSykesDog · 26/01/2016 22:37

Lights 40
Darks 40
Wool & some tops 30 (all darks, lights only done once in a blue moon).

Birdsgottafly · 26/01/2016 22:42

Towels and bedding at 90. My bedding sometimes 60, if it's too delicate for 90. I like good bedding.

Blacks at 40 (Goth DD), with 'darks' washing liquid.

Hand wash/wool cycle if needed.

The rest at 40, I'll do whites separately.

Jeans/heavy stuff, always in a separate wash to protect the other clothes.

My DD spends a lot on her stuff and I've started buying 'better clothes', but less.

jevoudrais · 26/01/2016 22:55

40 washes here. I do use dettol laundry liquid if that redeems it.

Pedestriana · 26/01/2016 22:58

Everything is washed at 40. Similar colours together, and keep out anything that runs.
Stuff that runs is washed with things of the same colour or dark/black items that didn't fit in the last wash.

No special anti-bac stuff.

JessieMcJessie · 26/01/2016 23:56

Everything at 40. We don't really wear whites except as occasional underwear so not bothered if they go grey. I do have a special net bag for tights and bras though.

However we do indulge ourselves a little with a laundry service in our building that takes away our bedding and DH's shirts and delivers them back clean and ironed. No idea how hot they wash them.

Bluecarrot · 27/01/2016 00:03

Fairy non-bio in all washes. No softener. Thinking of switching to something more Eco... But not sure what yet
Whites 30
Coloured 30
Dark 30
Bedding 30 with miofresh antibac stuff
Towels 30 with Miofresh
Tea towels 30 with miofresh
Cloth Nappies 40 fast wash then 60 with Miofresh

clippityclop · 27/01/2016 00:05

Everything at 40. Separate washes for towels, black/navy stuff, lights and whites. Quick wash with extra rinse 48 mins.

whois · 27/01/2016 00:06

Lights 40
Darks 40
Towels 60

liz70 · 27/01/2016 00:11

Whites and pales together

Coloureds and brights together

Blacks and darks together

Everything at 60° with varying spin speeds.

steff13 · 27/01/2016 04:29

My washer doesn't do temperatures; it has settings for cold, cool, warm, and hot.

I wash underwear, towels, and bedsheets in hot, whites in warm (with bleach), and everything else in cold.

iPaid · 27/01/2016 07:13

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

Dear God, Tinkly, you sound like something out of a 1970s commercial! I hope you gave your friend a head tilt and advice on how to be less slovenly Grin

liz70 · 27/01/2016 07:42

I sort laundry because I resent spending good money on clothes only for them to end up ruined by ending up grey, pink or similarly colour run. It looks shite - I'd rather they stayed the colour they were when I bought them.

MewlingQuim · 27/01/2016 07:50

Gosh, some of you make washing a complicated business Grin

I separate lights and darks but everything goes on the same temperature. Job doneSmile

Frazzled2207 · 27/01/2016 07:56

Lights - 40 or 50
Bright colours - 40
Darks - 40
Delicates - 30

40 is almost always hot enoughHmm

BendydickCuminsnatch · 27/01/2016 08:04

I just chuck everything in all together, except stuff from the laundry bag in the kitchen (aprons, teatowels etc) which I put on at 90 along with towels.

Krampus · 27/01/2016 08:15

The vast majority goes in at 30 or 40, for either a quick or full wash, depending on how dirty it is. Roughly divided into darks or brighter colours but we're not a stickler for that. If we have a full basket and it's all going in at a full cycle 40 wash we're more likely to divide it.

White school shirts in at 60 / 40 depending on how they're looking. There's only one person in the house who wears white shirts now so we save them up and chuck in any white pilow cases at the same time.

Towels and bedding in at 60.

T towels and dish cloths go in at 90. When dirty they get put in a badket in the kitchen and a bit smely by the time they get washed, so I boil the life out of them. No iea if I am doing them too hot but it makes me feel better.

Any of my woolens and delicates don't hit the wash basket and I put in a seperate small basket.

Reading that back it sounds much more complicated than it is. There really isn't any sorting or extra work to be done.

GlitteryFluff · 27/01/2016 09:34

Darks 40
Lights 40

That's it.

MyNewBearTotoro · 27/01/2016 09:47

Whites and light/ pastel colours go in one laundry basket, bright/ dark colours and black go in another (some items are a colour (eg: grey, lilac) which means they can be washed in either load.). I do a wash whenever a basket is full and the only time I separate specific items is if a DC has had a poo explosion/ vomited on something and I need to do a wash on a high temperature. Oh, and woollen/ hand wash only items which tend to sit in the bottom of the laundry basket for most of their life waiting for me to get round to doing a delicates wash...