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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

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Original poster

Washing colours and whites together....

25 replies

Markb123 · 11/10/2016 12:10

Hi, I'm after general opinions, my other half washes everything together in the same load on a 20 degrees wash. I'm talking bright bright red and sparklingly new whites together....

Does everyone do this? I always used to separate them into whites, very darks and colours...

OP posts:

TheScottishPlay · 11/10/2016 12:13

Separate or your whites will not be 'sparkling'.
Does he use a colourcatcher?

Original poster

Markb123 · 11/10/2016 12:16

No colour catcher in the slightest!! And it's my girlfriend doing the washing....

OP posts:

sleepyhead · 11/10/2016 12:20

Well, on the upside the low temp minimises the chance that colours will run (eg stuff that's colourfast at 40c may not be at 60c).

But no, that's a good way to end up with a load of whites with a hint of sludge. If it's just her clothes then it's up to her, if it's yours too I'd tell her to leave them alone and you'll do them yourself.

Original poster

Markb123 · 11/10/2016 12:27

Ah you see that could be her devious plan to get me to wash my own stuff.... Not that I'd object to doing it of course

OP posts:

SoMuchRoomForActivities · 11/10/2016 12:50

It's a bit off and a waste of money if you have to do your own laundry just because she is doing it wrong. Have you shown her how to do it and she is just being dim or...? It's not rocket science.

SoMuchRoomForActivities · 11/10/2016 12:53

Meaning that, I'm sure you would continue to wash both yours and hers as you know what you're doing, before anyone jumps down my throat about feminism!

TheScottishPlay · 11/10/2016 13:00

Apologies, I was making assumptions based on DH's cavalier attitude to our washing basket!

Davros · 11/10/2016 13:01

I never separate colours and whites, just load it all in when there's enough. Don't have a problem with colours running at all, wash on 40•. DD's school shirts go a bit grey but they would need replacing by then anyway. Towels and sheets separate of course. Life's too short to do sorting and numerous washes, possibly not filling up the machine

sleepyhead · 11/10/2016 13:01

It depends if she's bothered though. Some people deliberately don't own a lot of white clothes because they can't be bothered to sort, or they don't mind grey.

You might just have hit an example of "woman not seeing the dirt" or "your standards are higher than mine. Why should it be up to me to raise my standards rather than you lowering yours?"

It would drive me nuts though, and I'd be really annoyed if they wrecked something of mine because they couldn't be bothered sorting. I'd prefer them to leave my stuff alone in that situation.

sleepyhead · 11/10/2016 13:03

You wouldn't wash a pair of new black jeans with a white shirt though would you Davos? So I doubt you don't think about it at all, just have experience of what you can get away with.

Now of course, op's gf may also be a washing expert and know what fabrics are colour safe at 20c.

notinagreatplace · 11/10/2016 13:15

I mix everything together and wash at 40. It all looks fine to me. I have barely any whites anyway but the few I have still look white.

I don't get this fascination with sorting clothing..

dementedpixie · 11/10/2016 13:17

I separate whites and darks. My dc's get a full school year out of school shirts and they stay white. I wouldn't wash at 20 degrees either and the minimum I use is 40 degrees.

GinAndOnIt · 11/10/2016 13:24

I separate whites and wash everything else together. The only reason for separating is because DP is a farmer so sheets/tshirts etc that are white are very soiled so I like to do a hot wash with stain remover. I don't know if I'd bother to separate if the whites weren't soiled, just needed freshening, but equally it would feel very very wrong to put dark blue clothes in with whites...

Bexta147 · 11/10/2016 18:33

I never ever separate my washing. The only things that get separated to wash are my white towels because I stick some bleach in with them on a 90 degree wash and my white work polo shirts because I need to put stain remover in with them.
You can't tell the difference between how white my work tops are and any other white items people have when they are next to each other. Complete waste of time separating washing in my opinion.

Squidgems · 11/10/2016 18:35

Those that wash everything together and saying the whites look fine would see that they weren't when placed next to a new white item. Others will notice even if you don't!

Randytortoise · 11/10/2016 18:39

I separate things that matter, tops etc. But towels and my granny pants all go in together as I don't care what colour they end up.

Mcchickenbb41 · 11/10/2016 19:29

Another separator here sometimes to an extreme if I'm honest. However dd school shirts have made it through for another year ( she's a very slow grower my girl ) and still look brand new. Iv always really taken care of clothes. It all started when I got a Saturday job at a young age and started to buy my own clothes then my step mum would wash them. They would either have shrunk or colour run or both. So I go to great pains to make clothes look new for longer. Oh and colour catchers are brilliant

ErrolTheDragon · 11/10/2016 19:39

I've been a meticulous separator since the time one red cotton sock got left stuck to the drum and the next load included nearly all of DHs blue and white striped work shirts.

PacificDogwod · 11/10/2016 19:43

I wash everything together (never enough whites to fill a machine) at 30 degrees, but will keep new jeans/red stuff/anything I don't know and trust separate.
It's a risk I am prepared to take

Davros · 11/10/2016 20:22

Maybe a new pair of jeans I would separate out for the first couple of washes then - no more. DD's school shirts usually last the year or almost and they are cheap. I won't be changing my ways! I can't remember having a disaster

GColdtimer · 11/10/2016 20:27

You can really tell who separates whites and who doesn't IMO. They have a hint of grey about them.

Icapturethecast1e · 11/10/2016 20:29

Usually do a mix wash at 50 degrees with a colour catcher & no probs so far.

dannyglick · 12/10/2016 09:09

Just a point RE Colour Catchers: a washing machine repair man who came out to ours a while ago said that Colour Catchers were keeping him in business.
I think you just need to make sure that they're always taken out and accounted for at the end of the programme- a bit like an OR swab count.

ErrolTheDragon · 12/10/2016 10:43

You can really tell who separates whites and who doesn't IMO. They have a hint of grey about them.

or pink if you include reds. Maybe the OPs OH is fond of 'ashes of roses' (I think that's the hue I mean, the favourite of the heroine of The Thorn Birds) - a pinky greyish colour?

Snowwhitequeen · 12/10/2016 17:35

Separating whites out is a must ....just compare your 'whites' to a new white shirt if you don't and you'll find its distinctly less white! I used to be less bothered about it but but then I bought white bedding and so do a white wash every week and save up the other whites for that. On a 60 degree wash with a scoop of vanish gold gives me sparkling whites.

I may be a teensy bit obsessive about my white bedding, it was quite expensive

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