AIBU to think some families have cracked laundry and the rest of us are doing it the hard way? (AD)

[LibbyMumsnet]

This thread has been created in partnership with Persil

We did a quick straw poll at MNHQ about laundry (STICK WITH US, WE PROMISE) and expected the usual answers of separate your whites, don’t leave wet washing in the machine for an entire weekend and try not to shrink anything expensive.

Instead, it turns out some people are operating on an entirely different plane. There was talk of enzyme soaking, specific stain strategies, strict rules about towels and alarmingly strong views on drum capacity. Frankly, it was a lot to take in.

So now we want to know what are your genuinely next-level and achievable laundry tips? The things that actually work on food, mud, paint, grass, school uniform marks and the general evidence of family life. Do you pre-treat? Soak? Separate with military precision? Have a drying system? Know exactly when something is salvageable and when it should be quietly retired? We also want to hear from you if your laundry basket is an overflowing, accusing presence in the corner of the room - what would make life easier for you?

We’re working with *Persil Ultimate Non-Bio Capsules on this thread, so we’re especially interested in tips that help with busy family laundry and everyday mess, while still being gentle next to sensitive skin.

We will also be picking one Mumsnetter at random to receive a £200 VEX voucher as a thank you for taking part (T&Cs apply). To enter the prize draw, simply post on this thread by Friday 31st July 2026.

AIBU to think some families have properly cracked laundry - and if so, can they please tell the rest of us what they’re doing?

*Keep out of reach of children. LEARN MORE www.keepcapsfromkids.eu ©A.I.S.E.

Only buy dark colours that can be washed in the same 40° cycle. No sorting required

Make dc do their own when they are old enough. Gives them responsibilities

This. I also go the extra step of not having linen baskets; gel detergent added to empty drum and whenever anything is dirty it gets thrown straight into drum. When drum full, turn on. That's it. It was a lightbulb moment for me when I realised that laundry is just a continuous cycle, as long as clothes/linens are either in wardrobes/drawers, on people/beds or in the washing or dryer drum (even if not switched on yet) then in my mind laundry is up to date.

Weather watching to make sure a load goes on so it can be dried outside.
It gets put away as soon as it's dry. Nothing clean stays in a backet for more than 5 minutes.

Nothing works on some stains. I've soaked overnight with vanish powder, washed immediately etc, and some things are just ruined. My advice: continue to wear it around the house, cover it with a sew on patch, and eventually use it for rags, because an old cotton top polishes a mirror so much better than a microplastic-filled microfibre cloth.

I like to keep it simple. One load a day (put in washer night before and turn on first thing).

my wash rules are: separate into following:,
delicates / handwashing cycle
towels
bedding
gym gear
whites
1 mixed colours / Darks
1x work gear.

each washed weekly whether it’s a full load or not - dried and put away each evening.

keeps it simple, no stress and leaves most of the weekend laundry free.

@TemporarilyCantDoMyself I do the exact same. Started as a child

I use an EcoEgg for almost all my washing. Cheaper, greener, much easier & no gunk in the machine drawer.

https://www.peacewiththewild.co.uk/product-brands/ecoegg/

I throw everything in except delicates, wash at 30 degrees. Bedding and towels 60 degrees, Underwear in the little bags. That's it. I must say i tried the method laundry products, I love their cleaning sprays. Terrible we are all itching. Our machine has a dosing thing you fill every 30 washes or so, so no idea how to get it out. Will just dilute with our normal liquids as the level goes down. Ooops

Use the timer on the washing machine to start a load early in the morning so it’s ready to hang out when you get up - gets me ahead of the game when there’s a backlog.
Get a really good mini peg rack for socks and smalls - I find metal/chrome lasts longer than plastic, which tends to go brittle over time and snap.
I don’t do any fancy pants stain removal - nothing ever seems to work! Just separate lights from darks and add Napisan for any of the more biologically stained items.

"Which?" magazine highly rates Aldi 'Almat' non-bio powder, and I agree.

I loathe artificial chemical scents. No, it does not make the clothes or air smell "fresh" - quite the opposite, it fills the air with god knows what. Who want to fill the air in their home with chemicals?
Hot washes, absolutely thorough drying, and opening windows, keeps things genuinely fresh.

How very dare you!
<buffs carapace with duster and Mr Sheen>

Both are better than Persil though. Persil makes me itch.

Persil is without a doubt the worst washing powder out there, it's why they have to stoop to advertorials.

I separate lights, dark, colours and towels. I try to wash overnight while the electricity is cheap, my machine has a delay function so I can set it to start in 3/6/9 hours. It's ready to hang out the next morning. On the winter we do tend to tumble dry mostly and towels are always tumble dried. The most common stain i come across is blood cos my cat likes to play flight and my husband is susceptible to nose bleeds, a scoop of vanish in the draw deals with that.

Me too. Plus cats, with their extra sensitive noses, especially don’t like strong artificial scents & I wouldn’t use anything that might distress my cat.

The best scent is of washing dried outside.

Best tip from me for easy putting away is buy clips that go onto your washing line that you can put hangers onto. Then it's an easy grab and straight into the wardrobe. Other stuff, fold it as you take it off the line.

I agree with you. I had to change from Persil when DD1 was born as she reacted badly to it. Her skin settled almost immediately with Daz so we have stayed with it.

PS you look very sparkly now, that extra buffing worked a treat 😎

If Persil cracks laundry as the thread title says, does it also crack carapaces? I’d definitely avoid it, @Boiledbeetle.

Tip 1) don't use persil. It will mess up your skin.
Tip 2) wash as soon as you have a load
Tip 3) sunlight is magical for removing stains. Hang as much as you can outside to dry.

☺️

It might do!

Probably best we all avoid Persil, just in case it's like nuts and the slightest sniff of it causes me to go into anaphylactic shock or my carapace to crack.

After all who wants to be the person responsible for killing of me?

We need to warn them at the Bluestocking.

I've sent Maud with a memo down to Greasestain in the laundry.

Separate whites and colours and wash jumpers and delicates on short 15 wash, low spin then dry flat on airer.
I hang outside as much as possible, always pegging bottoms by the top and tops by the bottom.

I also use a dehumidifier in the winter months which is great at drying washing.

Firstly I have a 11.5kg Washing Machine for a family of 4. Best decision I ever made. 2 family loads on a weekly basis, in Summer washing is dried outside & in Winter my heated airer from Lakeland dries a full family load. No build up of laundry, 1 Pod, 2 scoops of Vanish in every Coloured Load at 40 degrees. 1 half load of black wash every week. Obviously bedding in amongst that but because my washing machine can take a family load I am neither wasting energy or water unlike my neighbour who also is a family of 4 and they do washing every single day. Not a full load but what I would call a half load if that. That is a massive waste of energy etc. Retractable clothes lines are a god send as it allows for a full wash & bedding to dry all at the same time & at the end of the day no one sees any ugly washing lines in the garden as the lines, the line props & pegs all get put away.

Apparently I’m slovenly compared to everyone else 😀

Clothes don’t get separated, it all gets washed on a 40 degree wash so not hot enough to cause dye to run and we use Sainsbury’s non-bio pods because DH and DD have delicate fairy skin that reacts to everything else.

The rule is simple, when you take it off put it in the machine, whoever puts the item in that fills it puts in a pod and turns the machine on. If they’ve fill it at night then they set the delay timer to come on at 5am. In the morning the wet washing gets put on the line and the sun takes care of it. Whoever brings it in, folds it and takes it straight to the relevant room. It does not get ironed and it does not get put anywhere for later, it is one smooth motion of off the line and into the right persons bedroom.

Towels and bedding are done on a 60degree wash when the basket in the bathroom is full. There are several full sets of bedding available at any given time so they don’t need to be washed immediately on changing the bed.