Washing

[whoisbruno]

AIBU to ask how you all do your washing?

I see people on social media saying that they've done 5 loads of washing since they got back from holiday that morning.

HOW?

I can do one load per day max due to airer space and that's with a tumble dryer too so how do they do it? Do they not read the labels and shove everything in the tumble dryer?

Tips welcome!

I'm really surprised at the number of people who don't peg outside even now it's almost April. I appreciate not everyone has a garden but assuming most people describing large utilities and space for multiple airers probably do.

I live in North Scotland so not the warmest of climates and day length is only just starting to tip in our favour but it really dries quite well. There are surprisingly few days you can't get anything out

I have two 10kg washing machines and 7 airers! Plus a tumble drier and a lot of outdoor line space.

I would rather do several loads on each of two days per week rather than wash every day.

I live in a particularly wet part of the uk. It has rained today. I wfh - in meetings etc and I can't be going in and out to bring the washing in if the rain comes on (I'm also disabled). So I dry indoors. Unless it is guaranteed to be a dry day.

I have a five line washing retractable line that is about 6m long. I can get several loads of washing on it. The brand is called Hills.

I have an old fashioned pulley in the utility room, in poor weather, I can do three loads: I put one on the pulley; one on an airer; then put a third load in to tumble dryer and shut the utility room door. The heat from the dryer and the dehumidifier means the hung up washing dries very quickly.

I got past the "everything shrinks in the tumble drier" by trying stuff on in shops so I know what fits, and then buying one size up. I've been doing that for 20 years and it's been fine, up until this year and I've been outfoxed by a pair of jeans from Matalan. They just won't shrink so I'm walking round with them pulled up to my armpits looking like Simon Cowell.

I use my tumble dryer only for bathroom towels and for my grandson's jammies and undies when he stays over, all the rest I hang. I use hangers for shirts, dresses and the good Tshirts, I have over-the-door airing racks for underwear and socks, a large (foldable!) standing rack for kitchentowels, napkins etc., a long washing line outside for bedlinen or tablecloth, a shorter line inside I use when it's impossible to dry outside, and then all the hanging from kitchenrails and the sort. I can easily do one load after the other a full day and still hang everything that doesn't go in the tumble dryer. Of course by evening the house looks and smells like a laundromat 😅 but the next morning a lot is already dry and I can start folding away, putting aside the ironing. With a bit of improvising you can get all of your holiday-washing and -drying done in one or two days top 😊

If the place I'm staying on my summer holiday has a washer I do most of it the day before I come home. Shove it in the machine while having breakfast, hang out before going out for the day. Come back at end of day and pack away into the case.

I can easily do 5+ loads a day.
I have a drier ABOVE my tumble dryer and a dehumidifier if it gets a bit clammy!
I plan the washes as to what tumbles and what hangs, alternating them, so the heat from the tumble dryer also helps dry the hanging load above.
move a 9kg capacity machine and a 10kg capacity tumble dryer.
I can do hour or 30 minute washes on my machine.
mid it’s something small and specialist (like a dance costume!) I do it on its own on a 14 minute wash. ….. so could technically do 4 washes an hour!
most likely I do 30 minute washes. & churn it through.
i also often give everything an extra spin for 15 minutes in the machine (pull wet washing out, put it back in different and put in a spin only cycle) tends to halve drying time.

Have a garden, not allowed. Wish it was

Honestly? Don’t believe everything you see on social media! Life’s too short to be worrying how many clothes other people can wash!! Move on!

Many people still sort coloureds from whites, it’s really not necessary anymore, back in the older days clothes were washed by being boiled in a big copper vat , dyes ran & whites got stains from colour transfer because clothes were made from cotton, wool etc. modern fabrics are synthetic, they don’t shrink or run.

things can be washed in cold water now so dye run isn’t a problem.

the only things I separate are bed linens & bath towels. l wash tea towels & cleaning cloths in very hot water.

I have 4 adult children, when the youngest was a baby I had a toddler & 2 primary school aged kids. I used to sometimes do up to 14 loads of washing a week.

In the USofA they have Home Owners Associations, HOAs, they are like Shire Councils except they are privately run by residents , like a body corporate & some of them have insane rules like, No Washing hung outside because it’s unattractive & neighbours with delicate sensibilities may catch a glimpse of your “unmentionables” .
they measure the height of your grass, can dictate what colour & type of plants you can have in your garden, the colour your House, Roof, Front Door even your curtains can be & what sort of furniture, Christmas decorations & lights you can have on your front porch And they can fine you for ridiculous breaches of bylaws And their court system will support them if you challenge their crazy BS in court.

Only if you are home all day to chase around after the dry spells.

@LindorDoubleChoc , of course, but nobody is out 7/7. I peg when I know I'll be there for the next few hours 😊

@Rebel2 you have a garden and are not allowed to hang your laundry? That's weird, ánd un-ecological! Why are you not allowed?

Washing machine goes on three times a week. We don’t have a tumble dryer. It gets hung on the line outside or inside on a rack in dining room.

It's ridiculous I know
I own a flat, and the rules cover our block (of 4) and the bigger block (24 flats)
None of them have a garden except me. The rules are no washing on view to stop people hanging stuff over balconies, but that also means no hanging washing in my garden

My flat has a house on both sides. They can hang washing out because they're not a flat
So I can lift my airer 6 inches into the house garden and that's fine
I also can't bang a rug outside

@Rebel2 indeed that ís ridiculous. Hanging your laundry should be a right, especially now with the rise in energy prices. it's plain stupid to nót dry outside.

I'd be a rebel and take my chances

I have washed 10 loads in a day before and dried it all on the line.
I have a big brabantia 4 sided whirligig and live in a windy area. I hang one load on one side and then the next load goes on the next side etc. by the time the 4th load is out, the 1st load is dried and ready to bring in. Sadly I now have a 1hr25 minute cycle on my machine rather than a 1hr 04min cycle.
When it’s wet I obviously can’t do that amount though!
I have 2 airers and they will take a load each. I have a sock hanger which I hang at the top of the stairs. Do vet covers get hung over the bannisters and sheets get hung over bedroom doors. Dog blankets get hung over downstairs doors.
Washing dries much faster upstairs and I realised the other day that DDs bedroom is the fastest room to dry washing in when a load of towels dried overnight on an airer.
I also have dehumidifier upstairs and downstairs but need them for the damp in the house even without drying washing.
Another trick I do when it’s not cold but is wet is to open upstairs windows at front and back of house and leave washing on landing and bannisters.

@Cosyblankets sadly I have a pain in the arse neighbour who reports everything. He even tried to tell someone in a house they couldn't have their washing on view
However he is 87 so he won't be here forever

89% of our stuff goes in the dryer. I don't really read the labels, all the kids stuff goes in there for a start

If you don’t have any extra space for another airer then make sure the clothes have an extra spin in the washing machine at the end of the wash.
This has been a game changer for us, as the clothes are already so much drier when they come out of the wash and therefore take less time to dry.

@LindorDoubleChoc if it gets wet it just stays out. It soon dries again.
But I don't have the Mumsnet obsession for not leaving it overnight. In fact sometimes I peg it at night so it's dry by first thing on the light summer mornings.
There's a couple of things out there now as it was rubbish today. The lightweight stuff aired after 3pm when it brightened up a little so came in 90% dry. The heavier bits will dry tomorrow with a better forecast.

I hate drying indoors so if I know the forecast is reasonable I peg before work (even when it's dark)

Thank you for not making me feel alone with my slapdash laundry ways.