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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

Laundry Masterclass

11 replies

2aminthemorning · 20/02/2013 15:15

I'm 32 with a baby and am sick of shrinking clothes/turning them different colours/making whites look grubby. I want a formula that works. Please comment on my new regime.

Laundry Bin One - 'whites'. Washed at 40 degrees.
Work shirts, white clothes, pink socks and vests (provided it's not the first wash), good quality clothes with white stripes or a white background (also provided it's not first wash). Obviously nothing delicate or woollen.

Laundry Bin Two - 'dark coloureds'. Washed at 30 degrees.
Dark underwear, jeans and other dark clothes (mostly belonging to DH). No tops belonging to DD or me. Nothing delicate or woollen.

Laundry Bin Three - 'delicates'. Washed at 30 degrees on the delicate setting.
My tops and DD's tops. Woollens and nylons. Do I need to sort this into dark and light, and run two different washes here? For example, what if a top is a delicate fabric and has a white background? Surely I shouldn't be putting it through with a dark woollen?.

It's all so complicated! And this is before I tackle my DH's suddenly gluten free diet or DD's refusal to eat anything but chocolate spread on toast. And there are rats under the floorboards, some of which are dead but apparently lost, so the house is full of bluebottles. If I could just feel in control of the washing, it would be one thing going right.

OP posts:
e1y1 · 20/02/2013 21:48

Hi,

It seems mostly correct.

But this is what I recommend;

Seperating the load:

. White load only (and this means exactly that - nothing but pure whites = shirts towels etc)

. Light colours (the whites with stripes in (better to run the risk of ruining the one white top with stripe/motif than entire load of pure white) pinks, yellows, light blues, light greys etc, always check if the fabric runs though)

. Bright colours (reds, dark greens, deep colours)

. Darks (blacks, navys, dark browns etc)

. Delicates and ones that you would do on their own.

Washing the clothes:

Whites - Use a laundry POWDER/POWDER Tab and NOT liquid as it doesnt contain bleach so will not get whites as white as powder will. Also wash at the hottest temperature that you can get away with (hotter than 40 if you can, I don't believe in this cold wash nonsense - you wouldn't wash your dishes in cold water so why your clothes? Yes its a slight bit more on electric/energy, but a lot more economical than replacing ruined clothes and washing machines (as they have been known to breakdown/smell because of cold water not removing detergent/grease)

Granny had perfect whites for a reason - because she boil washed.

One last thing, if you have a especially dirty white item dont put it with the rest of the load, wash seperately, as the excess dirt will transfer to the rest of the load; one wash cycle and washing detergent can only do so much.

Lights - Same as Whites

Bright colours - Use a liquid/colour care detergent here and you can come down on the temperature 30 degrees or even cold wash, as hotter water will fade colours quicker than cold, even with a colour care detergent.

Dark colours - Same as Brights

Delicates - Yes unfortunately you will need to follow the system as above seperating by colour (unless I'm wrong though, you wont be wearing delicates all the time? so this would be rarely)

Same rule applies with excessively dirty items for all loads dont put excessively dirty items in with lightly soiled clothes as it WILL transfer.

One final note, the biggest cause of shrinking clothes is the tumble dryer; even cotton will shrink a little. Use a low temperature in the dryer/or rack dry, it can be an inconvenience waiting for it to dry, but at least it will still be wearable.

Sorry if it sounds I'm teaching you to suck eggs but this is how I mainly do it and I have got clothes between 5 and 8 years old that people mistake me for wearing something new :) I'm not perfect, I have had laundry mistakes (ironically my biggest mistake is shrinking clothes in the dryer) but this is experience and luckily the exception.

Hope this helps

2aminthemorning · 22/02/2013 14:07

e1y1 thank you very much indeed for such a staggeringly helpful post. I'll refine my technique along these lines and see what happens :)

OP posts:
DeafLeopard · 22/02/2013 14:12

Came on here to reply but the laundry goddess that is e1y1 has imparted way more wisdom than I could have

GrandPoohBah · 22/02/2013 16:47

Also, I chuck a bit of napisan in with my whites, it keeps them whiter. If they're going a bit greyish, dry them outside - even on a grey day the uv rays will help bleach them.

Wash bed linen and towels HOT - they get the most grease/dead skin cells etc, so they need more cleaning, plus a frequent hot wash will help keep your washing machine from smelling.

e1y1 · 24/02/2013 21:32
Blush

Thanks 2am and deaf.

I like to be helpful also need a life, so won't learn so much about laundry Grin

blondieminx · 24/02/2013 21:51

Just to add to the wisdom:

Squirt any dark coloured food marks on clothes with washing up liquid straight away, then wash as normal ASAP.

Napisan is marvellous stuff, wilko's and some supermarkets sell it. Great for stains but don't use it on delicates.

Use non-bio liquid on woollens/fine fabrics - gentler than powder. M&S do a lovely wools and silks wash liquid.

Aldi do fantastic fabric softeners but I found their powder which got good marks in Which/GH tests faded colours quickly and a few things looked a bit bobbly. I really rate Daz powder (Home Bargains currently have a huuuuuge 72 wash box for just £9.99 - got mine in the week!).

Line dry whenever you can.

Always tumble towels so they are fluffy.

Do a maintenance wash every so often, I aim for once a month. This means running the machine empty (no detergent) on the hottest setting to clear any detergent residue in the machine. If you live in a hard water area consider using Calgon or similar to remove limescale.

Once you've done a wash get it hung up ASAP. Leave the machine door open and the detergent drawer open for a bit so it can "air". Assume that you have a stair gate across kitchen door if baby is now on the move, to prevent access to the machine!

BelindaCarlisle · 24/02/2013 21:53

i find it hilarious that people DONT do this already OP

its easy to get the clothes out of the basket that are similar.

I do differnet temsp AND spin speeds - dont do shirts on 1200rpm for eg

Bluestocking · 24/02/2013 21:58

I like Colour Catcher sheets in coloured washes - seems to help keep colours bright.

blondieminx · 24/02/2013 22:47

Belinda your post comes across as sneery. The OP asked for a master class, not snippy comments. Wind your neck in.

AlisonMoyet · 24/02/2013 22:53

weirdo
thats in your head

chippy much? Grin

blondieminx · 24/02/2013 22:55

Not chippy, just not a fan of unnecessary attitude on MN.

Peace and love, and all that!

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