How do you deal with your washing?!

[mollysmum82]

I'm just curious what other people's laundry habits are. I never seem to see wet washing hanging at anyone else's house so I wondered what I was missing! Obviously when it's a glorious day you can hang it outside but if you don't have a utility room and its peeing it down what do you do? Do you tumble dry everything? (If I try this everything seems creased beyond repair) or do you just iron everything from wet? What other options are there? How often and when do you do your washing? I feel like such a novice at this house keeping malarkey! Thanks so much for any tips!

@Want2bSupermum - of course I wouldn't dream of using a normal dry cleaner! Just posted the article as didn't have time to write more myself. Tumble dryers are an environmental nightmare, but dry cleaners are an environmental disaster! Perchloroethylene is unbelievably damaging to the environment and to the humans exposed to it and highly carcinogenic. I take my husband's suits to a green dry cleaner that uses a silicone-based solvent a couple of times a year, which is better but not ideal. I am desperate for someone to open a liquid carbon dry cleaner in the UK. Everything else apart from suits gets hand washed or gentle cycle- it's not that difficult or time consuming!

@kitsmummy - I'm sorry you think I'm uppity, but I am just shocked that people can talk about their washing habits without thinking about the environmental impact of their behaviour - and to think of ways that they can improve. I am constantly trying to do better on all fronts! Some stuff needs 24 hours to dry - but that doesn't bother me as I usually do the clothes once a week - and that is highly preferable to the environmental impact of a tumble dryer IMO.

Don't even get me started on washing powder. Typical ones contain ingredients such sodium lauryl sulfate, dioxane, benzene, napthas, phenols, optical brighterers, artificial fragrance, phosphates, EDTA, bleach etc - all things I really don't want near my skin!

I cant wait to get a dryer,i dont care about the enviroment tbh.

1789 I think you make your comments without knowing what else many families do for the environment. Yes, I use the tumbler daily, but we also have photovoltaic panels and an electric car. People have to do what suits their lives and like others I don't want a home full of wet washing and am out at work all day and pegging out doesn't work - rain and stuff. Happy for folk to try to dictate about stuff that is illegal less so about stuff that is legal.

I couldn't give a toss if someone judges me for my environmental impact. Not even for a second.

It amuses and bafflese when people with children say they don't care about the environment, as though to try and prove they are refreshingly honest, when actually it proves they are a selfish, short sighted nob.

I do loads of washing but with clothes hanging over bannisters, on door knobs etc. Doesnt it make it difficult to move around the house (and all the wooden bannisters wet and liable to rotting?)

If you're talking about me, HesterShaw, you should probably read what I said again.

If you're not, carry on name-calling!

I wasn't talking about you.

Regardless of how much or little people care about the environmental impact of tumble driers, I just don't see why some people seem to think it's so difficult to do a machine load of washing, then hang it all on an airer and leave it there for a few days to dry. Then do another load. Rather than drying it all in a TD. If the problem is that you need to do more washing than that, why not cut down on how frequently you wash things such as sheets and towels?

I dont have a tumble drier and try to use the line but washing left in the house on the airer for days will prob smell funny. Ime if it hasnt dried by the end of 24/ 36 hours it will need rewashing. Also all the bits I have read on here about mold/ condensation etc make me think it might be a false econmy to use radiators/ airers instead of condensor TD. My windows have gone black round the edges and will need repainting - in itself costly to the environment. Having washing hanging around a terrace house for days on end is depressing.

Kits mummy is correct. For people who dont have a spare room and who look down on people using a tumble dryer. Do you really think hanging things off bannisters and door handles is any better, let alone kids knocking over the clothes airers etc.

I have a spare room so use it for drying with the window open if possible.

I did use the tumble dryer a lot and have dramatically cut down (to 1-2 a week). My DH hates seeing soggy washing everywhere.....

And of course outside if at all possible.

If the problem is that you need to do more washing than that, why not cut down on how frequently you wash things such as sheets and towels?

Bedding every 2 weeksish and towels once a weekish and I still do at least a load every day. If I washed my bedding and towels any less I'd have to move to Skanky Land

My clothes airer is in the dining room next to the dining room table and it's a terraced house. The washing tends to be part dry in about 12 hours and would never be still wet in a few days. It never smells or needs rewashing. I've never had a problem with mould. Some houses also have an airing cupboard which will speed up drying.

I think some people create imaginary problems as an excuse to use a tumble drier. The dc who could knock over a clothes airer presumably could also knock over washing up drying on the sink or pans of hot food, so you'd better eat nothing but takeaways just in case.

Jan bad example, washing up and pans are not kept in the middle of the floor are they? They are kept on worktops where you are physically blocked from getting to them as there is a kitchen cupboard in the way. In my house yes, clothes airers would get knocked over on a daily basis I expect.

Jeans, sweatshirts etc will take a couple of days to dry in a dining room or similar, unless you put the heating on for it especially, which then kind of loses the environmental savings.

And besides, i want to use a bloody dryer instead of having a house permanently covered in damp washing!

I have to admit that hoodies, large duvets, wel towels take ages to dry and I really dont like looking at airers constantly over the winter. I agree again with Kitsmummy. Our airers (and I do have one!) would get knocked over time and time again and seriously do people really dry their clothes on the bannisters and the door handles. Thats another thing that would last 5 mins. A door is opened, the washing falls off endlessly during the day. Surely the wood wouldnt last..

Hoodies dry fairly quickly if you hang them on hangers over doorframes.

@ marriedinwhiteisback - I am not making my comments without thinking about what you're doing for the environment. I think it's amazing that you have an electric car. I just think environmental impact should be a consideration in all of our daily activities and people like TobyLerone make me despair at the state of humanity - I really just don't understand that mindset at all, especially with something like tumble drying. Besides the environmental issues, it's bad for your clothes and it's more expensive!

I like being reminded of my environmental impact - in fact, a friend just pointed out that we used liquid hand soap in our house which is much more environmentally damaging that bar soap (all those plastic bottles going to landfill) - I can't believe I hadn't thought about that before and I have now changed to bar soap in all the bathrooms and kitchen!

I am really glad my friends don't point out things like that to me.

The evenings must fly past in your house, 1789.

My airer has been knocked over quite a few times and the children often play houses under the airers - I dont use a Tumble Dryer out of choice so my excuses are not made up. Part dry clothes after 12 hours, but we dont have an airing cupboard so part dry is not sufficient and means I have to iron them dry or put them on a radiator. Maybe my house is damper than yours jan . When the heating is on things will dry on the airer but at the moment I am trying to be kind to the environment by keeping the heating off!

1789 did you read the telegraph article about the effects of mold - family health is an important consideration too

What do you use to wash your clothes in 1789 ?

Do you use those wash balls?

I use Ecover but am keen to see what else is available ,that is financially viable,reasonably easy to get hold of,and,of course,good for the environment and my family's health.

Thanks (and sorry for bit of a derail....)

What do you use to wash your clothes in 1789 ?

If the answer to that is not "the river (with sulphate-free soap, naturally), a washboard and a mangle" I will be most disappointed.

Electric cars are greenwash.

Just run your normal one sensibly.

1979, you could always put the plastic bottles in the recycling?

Or refill bottles from a larger container.

can I ask people who wash at 30 degrees- do you get good results from that?

I have tried it and I was shocked to see how horrible my whites looked after a 30 degree wash. I had to rewash them at 60. I also now wash everything at 60 because if 30 wasn't getting my whites clean then it's not getting anything else clean either except it's harder to tell on colours.

also- on my machine- (BOSCH Logixx8) you can only do lower temperature washes on smaller wash loads- so even though it's an 8kg machine I can only do 40 or 30 degrees on 5kg washloads or less and 15 degree or cold wash on a 3 kg load. is there any way round that if I do manage to sort out the 30degree not washing stuff issue?