Teach me how to wash clothes!

[SillyBlueHat]

I'm so sick of all my laundry coming out of the machine looking as dirty as they went in. Everything gets washed on 40 degree cycle except wool which I do on 30 - it comes out shrunk and still dirty on a 40.
I use non bio capsules. I did try bio tablets but it didn't seem to make a difference.
Is there a stain remover I can add to every wash? I can't imagine soaking clothes as that would take forever. With 2 small kids everything they wear gets covered in food and muck (then they cover us).

I find a cup of bicarb of soda in the lights wash helps and is cheaper (if you buy a bulk bag) than stain removers.

For persistent stains my first line of attack is dilute sterilising solution that I keep ready diluted in a labeled spray bottle. I leave it on for fifteen minutes give a gentle scrub with a nail brush then rinse and repeat as necessary. It can strip the colour from things so sometimes i put a generous capful in a small bowl and immerse the whole garment so it all stays the same colour even if its not quite the original shade.

Tomato based sauces like on pizza or in spag bol stain everything and young children (well mine in particular) always spill a bit somewhere.

I separate into lights and darks. Don't overfill the drum - it isn't an economy if you have to rewash. If heavily stained i use the prewash setting so it sort of soaks and washes.

Put less in the machine.

Have you got a longer cycle at the same temperature (e.g. 40 deg cottons rather than 40 synthetic)? Or a prewash setting to add a little more detergent?

Have you tried some powder, rather than the tablets / capsules?

Tomato and banana are a nightmare. If there are obvious deposits on the clothes, scrape them off before throwing in the laundry basket.

How often are you washing? If your stashing it all up for the weekend, some of the stains will have set.

Wash on a longer setting.

Also wash anything with stains ASAP. Even a day makes a difference.

YY to less in the machine.

Less in the machine, hotter wash and bio for whites. Separate whites and colours. Wool on a specific wool wash with a wool detergent.

As soon as you see a stain rub fairy liquid on it and leave it until you wash it. Vanish liquid is good too.

I use soda crystals with my whites. People have commented on how white the shirts still are at the end of the year.

I've also found some own brand washing stuff just doesn't work.

Give your machine a service wash on the hottest setting with nothing in it apart from soda crystals. Gets the muck out the pipes!

Agree with addictedtosugar that you should check you are not overloading the machine, Detergents vary greatly in how well they wash but none leaves everything coming out as dirty as it went in. The latest Which tests on detergents rated Morrisons Lavender and cotton flower liquid as top. It is also very cheap. I follow the Which ratings and everything always comes out my machine clean doing nothing more than not overloading and using one of the better rated detergents. Ariel liquid gets everything clean for me too, I do have a lot of manky washing.

That's interesting Dinah because that's the liquid I bought recently and nothing was coming out clean. I mean it all smelt ok but none of the marks were shifting.

Ariel acti lift( or Aldi's version of it ) is incredible, gets everything out.

Have they reformulated perhaps? I bought it up at bargain prices after reading the Which Report quite recently and it has worked for me. I will check Which and revert.

Marks and stains need to be spot-cleaned as soon as possible after they've happened. If you leave them to dry in you'll have a devil of a job removing them.

A Vanish stain-remover bar, cold water and a nail-brush works wonders. I've managed to get both tomato and Ribena stains from whites with it.

I also second giving your machine an empty hottest cycle your machine has wash with half a bag of sofa crystals in the drum-do it once a month ideally.

Ah, washing is my area of expertise. My own mother sends me off with washing that she can't get stains out of. So here's my advice.

• make sure you separate into darks, lights and whites. We have 3 washing baskets at home, 1 for each, so they're always seperate
• darks and lights on 40 degrees. Whites, bedding and towels on 60.
• don't use quick wash for big loads. I know it's tempting, but 90% of modern washers can't handle a full load on quick as it's not long enough for the detergent to work
• don't overload the machine. Make sure you can still get your hand in the top of the drum with every load to make sure the clothes have enough room to tumble about
• use a good biological powder. Persil or Ariel would be good. Unlike liquid, bio powder contains oxygen based bleaching agents which help keep everything looking bright and stain free. Follow dosing instructions on the box. There's usually a contact number on the box that you can call for a free measuring scroop.

Worth a try, maybe? Hope this helps :)

My top tip for tomato stains is to dry in sunlight (not necessarily outside) - the light activates the optical brighteners and the stains fade and eventually go. Ta daa!

I always do my washing on a 40*c cottons wash with an extra rinse using Ariel, Daz, Fairy, persil or Waitrose/Morrisons/Sainsbury's bio or non bio powders, the best stain remover I can find is the Ariel one, comes in a green tub and I found it to be really good with the stains if they really need a good deep wash, otherwise normally stains come out no problems here, if you like stashing like I do, dab stains with a moist cloth which would help get the worst of the stain out :) HTH

Persil non bio, add vanish to your wash. Key thing is not to wear clothes that get stained easily. Ur darker colours or patterns is good. My children aged 6 wear an apron at teatime and wiped hands and faces straight after tea, no problems.

Definitely Morrisons Cotton flower and lavender Bio Gel.I got it half price following the Which results in July. It was beaten by persil Small and Mighty Bio liquid on tea,curry and ink. Also highly rated Ariel Actilift Bio liquid and capsules,Almat (Aldi)Bio liquid capsules;Asda Bio capsules,Ariel Actilift Bio powder and Persil Bio powder.Overall those 2 powders work better than anything else. Annoyingly there isn't one product that works best on all types of stains. e.g. powders are not good at make up stains. Even more annoyingly there isn't continuity of excellence of brands although Ariel products usually come out near the top.

Ah ok. I had the Morrisons liquid. I can't remember which scent but assume it wasn't as good as the gel.

I just tend to buy whatever is on offer. I currently have ariel gel because it was 3 for £10. Seems to work well.

I have never heard of soda crystals..where do you get these?

Any super market

Sunshine is like some kind of tomato stain miracle remover.

Wow, so many tips. Thanks all x

I am the laundry queen and I always use washing powder in the big boxes. A washing machine engineer told me to do this, rather than use liquid or capsules. Also, it's cheap: I bought a large box of Sainsbury's colour powder this week and the price per wash they put on the shelf label said it was 10p per wash.

I do soak really stained clothes for 4 hours.

I do rub small spots with cold water and fairy liquid.

I do dry whites in direct sunlight when possible, but dry colours and darks inside out and in a shaded part of the garden to reduce fading.

I don't wash anything on lower than 40 degrees apart from woollens.

Towels, and bedding on 60 degrees.

I tend not to use the short cycles or easy care cycles either, give everything the most robust wash it can take.

Minty, yes an engineer told us that too, it's best for the pipes.