Laundry for mucky kids

[DitaVonCheese]

I am not very good at doing laundry. My mum never taught me so I'm turning to you, Mumsnet. How do you do it? You'd think it was just a case of throwing everything in the machine and turning it on, but a lot of DC's clothes come out with stains and food stuck to them so perhaps it's more complicated than that?

I have started spraying particularly messy bits with Shout/Vanish (and obviously flick/peel off big bits of food from BLWing DS), then put in the machine with Sainsbury's own-band non-bio liquid and wash at 40 degrees. Is there more to it than that? Should I be prewashing or soaking or something?

• don't over fill the mashine (one hand needs to be able on top of the load karate style)
• stain remover: wet the stain and rub on a bar of soap (any cheap bar would do)
• peel off all hard bits of food, they would only land on other items of clothing in the wash
• bio powder washes much better than non bio
• hang the washing out in daylight which bleaches the stains
• use the longest cycle for really dirty stuff

I put vanish (the powder kind) in with my whites.

My categories are
Whites
Darks
Light colours
Bright colours

See, I don't have categories

Thanks, will try bio instead though I fear it without really knowing what it is (it has enzymes in? but not sure why this is bad).

I do tend to use the shortest cycle too, I fear wasting water

My friend does a person at a time as get categories. Utter madness.

You should separate your washing by colours or the coloured stuff will make the light stuff murky.

I sort into whites, darks and other mixed colours - I use bio powder for every wash and for whites I also add 'vanish oxi action crystal white' (dont know if it helps or not!). I do a proper long wash for everything unless I am in a hurry and the wash load is small and not very dirty. I rub washing up liquid into stains that may be hard to remove e.g. tomato, curry, etc and then wash them as usual afterwards

p.s. bio does have enzymes and they help to break down food stains

I also have the following categories:
Pink (I have had some pink stuff go a horrid grey colour before)
Blue
Handwash/woolens- dark colours
Handwash woolens - light colours

I have 3 small DC's so loads so washing...

Don't pick the shortest wash cycle, you'll waste even more water if you have to wash again.

I wash bras and some wool things in those net bags that you can buy in lakeland.

Never wash ketchup/sauce off with warm water, always cold and then spay with vanish as soon as possible after the event.

long cycles often use less water than short cycles.
the clothes get clean by the clothes rubbing against each other in the drum for longer.

Soak clothes that have nasty stains. I always put all clothes in baskets and do 1 set of washing her week. I have a basket for hubbys dirty workwear, the boys have their own and we have one.

I generally sort into piles before washing into heaps.

Forget non-bio pointless. I have one box bio and wool/delicate wash.

Stains are a nightmare and in many instances you cant remove them.

Amonia is good for soaking - you can buy bottle from Boots.

I usually put clothes on pre-wash and intense wash.