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.

On a timer to wash or dry through the night. Then we have piles and piles that (eventually) I put away once a week.

I actually love doing laundry but I HATE the folding and sorting after 🫠

Lights and darks. Wash every day. Dry outside as much as possible. Towels one week, bedding the next. Family of 5. It’s hard enough without considering enzymes and drum capacity 🤯

When we were on holidays years ago you could pay a tenner and leave a bag of washing at the reception desk, collect it washed and neatly pressed and folded. It was AMAZING. AMAZING!!!!! I sent a twenty euro tip and a message to tell them receiving that washing was the best thing that ever happened to me!!!

My top tip is to check that the clothes kids put into the washing basket are actually dirty. Half of it isn't in my house.

I use a little washing up liquid on stains which usually gets them out. Separate into darks and whites and use a colour catcher with darks in case of runs.

Do a load a day and the key is to put it all way immediately, never leave the basket hanging around.

I have the largest drum machine possible so literally everything gets thrown in once or twice a week, I don’t separate colours (but I do use one of those colour catcher-y type things), use the economy setting and it all comes out great. Ditto towels/bedding. For me, it’s the faff of getting it all on (and off!) the drying rack and distributed back around the family that’s the pain!

Dry outside where possible

Hang shirts/sweaters anything that creases easily directly onto hangers, rather than the clothing rack

If using tumble dryer, fold immediately once dry

I do not iron anything

Reported

1. Use the most eco friendly powder or liquid possible in a reusable container. Definitely don’t buy Persil or from any other evil multinational.
2. Don’t use fabric conditioner or any other unnecessary additives.
3. Wear things several times (only underwear and socks need to be washed after one wear), towels once a week, bedding once a fortnight except when really hot.
4. Hang clothes outside or on a clothes airer to dry - try to avoid tumble driers.
5. Try not to consider washing clothes frequently a mark of good character. Everyone spends far too much of their life doing it. It’s not healthy to be as obsessive as companies like Persil encourage you to be.
6. Don’t forget that many laundry products are derived from petrochemicals so the less we use the better.

We keep it as simple as possible. We wash clothes/towels, white and colored.
DHs shirts for work go to the dry cleaner. We do minimal ironing. I do most laudry on my weekly day off.

Line in summer and dryer in winter. We have some stain remover but rarely use it.
We use unscented powder. No fabric softener. We never buy branded expensive products for laundry - really no need.

Everyone in the family has a laundry basket. Isn't laundry in it - no service.
Everyone helps folding and putting away.

I religiously put a wash on everyday, and that way im always on top of the washing!

My game changer was investing in a self-dosing washer-dryer. Every few weeks I need to top up the detergent, but aside from that I simply roughly separate colours/delicates, then just chuck the washing in and press go. Overnight I use the timer to wash and dry the sheets or towels, while energy is cheap.

For drying the clothes, I agree that a dehumidifier is brilliant - especially during winter. When there's lots to do or particularly cold/wet weather, I also break out the heated drying rack.

If you have sensitive skin in the family, be careful using washing powder. We always have to use liquid, as the powder causes eczema flare ups.

Separate loads , what is best is if you have one of those laundry baskets with sections ( I don’t have one so I’m usually sat on the bathroom floor sorting it into fabric bags that came with my nice Laundry bins )
Towels and tea towels and those reusable face cleansing pads get done on at least 40c with a cap full of Dettol laundry add in , this is because I have no idea what DH does with his towels but they smell fusty and one of my DDs gets makeup on towels .
sheets get done on 40c too .
For whites I often add Oxy to the washing machine .
i treat stains asap .
I wash woollens with Woolite and silk with a delicates wash liquid on the gentle cycle .
I line dry outside as often as possible , use a wall mounted airer if I need to dry indoors and switch on a dehumidifier.
i do have an energy efficient tumble dryer but use it as little as possible , sometimes finish towels and things off in the drier to soften them up

I reckon we should all sue washing powders companies for duping us all these years. Back in the ‘70s we were getting adverts boasting that their product would get our clothes clean and yet years later, new formulas are being advertised. So did the earlier ones not work then? Were they lying to us?

My biggest bugbear is how long modern washing machine cycles take to complete. I recently purchased a Bosch 10kg machine and the standard cotton cycle takes almost 4 hours. There is a 'speed perfect' button that reduces the length of the cycle, but it halves the capacity to 5kg.

Who wants this? Why can't we have a full capacity quicker wash - e.g. 90 minutes?

People are clearly going to overload the machine if a cycle takes 4 hours and when the capacity is only 5kg. It also makes evening laundry into a real pain. If I put the machine on at 7.30pm after the kids go to bed, I would be hanging laundry at almost midnight.

Insanity.

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
And please tell me why it is almost impossible to get detergent tablets anymore ?
Which the consumer magazine has said that detergent powder and detergent powder tablets are better at washing than detergent pods.
Yet in my local supermarkets there are an infinite variety of detergent pods and no detergent tablets available at all 😡
Are those plastic pods doing untold damage to our water - lakes, givers and seas ?
Do they become microplastics ?