Help me make my laundry lovely

[thinkfast]

Please help. We seem to be in a constant cycle of laundry and yet it never seems to be that nice

Currently I wash clothes in either sainsburys basic laundry or fairy non bio then white fabric conditioner. Then either hang on the line in the garden or, more usually, dry on an airer indoors. We don't have a tumble dryer. I rarely iron - work full time and just don't have time.

It never seems to smell that fresh, my clothes fade quickly and just don't seem to stay nice/ new looking for long.

What am I doing wrong?

Maybe fading if your washing on a hot wash all the time?

You might not smell your washing as your used to it now, maybe try another comfort for a new smell

Always wash on 40. Maybe I need to start ironing everything. But I'm useless at ironing and don't have the time or the patience - one top can take me 20 mins...

Yellow Lenor is what you need

Have you run a maintenance wash on your washing machine lately and cleaned it out?

I always use aerial and the its worth paying the extra of good quality detergent. The capsules that go in the dum, not powder.

Also use a colour catcher in every single wash. Cloths look great

No conditioner.

Vinegar for sweaty smells and stains.

Random maintenance washes with soda crystals

Clean the filter in the machine.
Whenever I find that the laundry looks a bit meh, it's time to clean the filter.

I've found if I clean it out after dark washes the next whites are brilliant.
I use aldi bio and no conditioner and wash at 30, so I don't think it's the cycle you're using, rather the machine's filter. I clean mine very fifth wash or so.

How old is your machine?

Good recommendations here - a vinegar wash is v good for cleaning. Put it on nice and hot.

You need decent washing powder/liquid imo, is there any reason you use non bio?

I like the liquids that are designed to save the colour. For whites I use a different one, Daz or something, whatever decent brand is on offer.

What sort of iron and board have you got? if you have a rubbish iron it will take you ages to get anything done, ditto if your board is rubbish.

How do you do:

Maintenance wash with or without soda crystals?

A vinegar wash?

Clean the filter? Not sure I know where mine is! (In my defence, it's a relatively new machine)

It's an old machine but a good one - Miele

Time to do a maintenance wash and invest in some new gel detergent I think.

Loads of people don't use fabric conditioner hmmmmm food for thought

Thanks for the tips

CleN your machine - put a cupful of soda crystals in the drum and out it on a 90 degree wash. I do one maintenance wash a month.

Use bio powder - liquid clogs the machine up. I use Ariel - lovely smell and shifts all marks

Agree re the filter also - must do mine !

Comfort pure and bio persil are my current reserves at the mo, they make the washing smell amazing, clean and fresh. Not like a flower bed or a pack of sweets!
I love yellow or blue or gold Lenor though

Don't have any tips for stoping fading in other issues but about the lack of nice smell....I saw an advert on tv about some small pearl type things, lenor scent boosters that are supposed to make your laundry smell nice. I haven't tried them as I dont like strong fragrance smell but I'm tempted as I saw them in The supermarket the other day and looked quite cool- reminds me a giant hundreds and thousands shaker!