Basic question : Teach me to do laundry please

[Bisquick]

I'm sick of always messing up the laundry and clothes coming out looking tired and faded. I've always been lazy and just chuck in whites along with colours that I don't think run. I wear mostly jeans / tshirts and it doesn't matter too much and DH gets his workwear laundered outside (shirts which all need ironing and suits). But with a baby on the way I'd like to get better at it. Please help!

• Should I be soaking stuff before washing? Soaking in what?
  
• If I do a separate load of whites how do I get them to be bright and sparkling? Detergent? Bleach? What is safe for baby clothes?
  

I run the quick 35-40 min cycle on my washer/dryer at 30 degrees. And run the drying cycle during winter or when I can't air dry.

[TollgateDebs]

Do up zips and fasteners and turn some items inside out to protect trimmings etc. Protects them and other items. Elbow Grease, which is a brilliant product for household cleaning (and only a £) is good on some hard to deal with stains, like curry, as it breaks it down. It is not for laundry, but when all else fails, I have given it a go and it works. At your own risk though! I don't like tumble drying as a rule, as I find it too harsh on many clothes. Powder all the way, plus only light usage of fabric conditioner, on items that really need to have their static controlled. Good advice on this post and I appreciate learning much of this from Mum (whites and only whites was her rule) and through experience (like the time I shrunk a jumper to doll's size).

[Butterymuffin]

Surprised people are so down on fabric conditioner / softener. You do need some IMO. I know someone who never uses it and has laundry that comes out like cardboard.

[OlennasWimple]

Can I hijack this thread to ask a laundry question please, given how many knowledgable posters are on it?

When I wash sports kit (football shirts and shorts in the main) the white / light ones often come out with stains on them that weren't there when they went in the machine.

I think sometimes it's sun cream that has reacted badly to being washed (eg around the necks) but often they are random brownish splots, almost as if the water in the machine has got grubby with all the dirty washing in it and the fabrics - designed to wick sweat away from the skin - have soaked it up.

I can usually get rid of the stains by soaking in Vanish then using soap and a god scrub on them, but it's a PITA to have to wash stuff twice, nevermind them picking up stains from being washed.

Apart from handwashing everything in the first place, what options can I try? I'm a big fan of colour catcher sheets, but even these don't seem to help

[dementedpixie]

I do most things at 40 degrees using bio powder. I do bedding and towels at 60 degrees mostly. I use fabric softener. Whites go on their own with a scoop of whitening powder.

[PickAChew]

It's not necessary to use anything like as much as it says on the fabric conditioner bottle, though. I have very hard water and a quarter of a capful does the job as well as a whole capful. And none at all for towels. They come out of the dryer perfectly fluffy.

[birchandrowan]

The 35-minute cycle may not be rinsing enough, which won't help itchy skin.

I use a lot less powder than it says on the box too, I mean about a third of the quantity. (I'm in a soft water area, so that probably helps).

Whites on their own with some Vanish Gold powder in with the washing powder keeps them really bright.

[Anatidae]

@oleannaswimple

Bubble mix does that, as does some types of soap and sun cream.

Dunk it all in a bucket of cool water with a squirt of detergent in first, then wash

[OlennasWimple]

Detergent meaning something like washing up liquid...?

[ArcheryAnnie]

Try to air-dry when possible, as the tumble-dryer will contribute to your clothes looking tired and worn.

[Anatidae]

Yeah just a drop of two.

[Bisquick]

Yeah, the itching was from ages ago when I used to run the full 1 hour 15 min cycle in my old flat. Might give it another go.
We have a water softener so don't bother with fabric conditioner - not sure it's much use unless you have hard water? I don't tumble dry any of our "outside clothes" - always air dry them. Mostly the tumble dryer is used for the incredible amount of socks and underwear that two people generate. And things we wear at home like teeshirts, shorts, pyjamas etc.

I think I get away with a lot because adult "outside clothes" all get laundered professionally for now, but don't want to ruin the little one's clothes with my poor laundering hence trying to learn what I should be doing

Thanks again for all the useful advice on here!

[EcoCleaner]

Whites, bedding and towels all should go on 60 degrees minimum

[Anatidae]

Use conditioner - it does make a difference

[dementedpixie]

I don't do whites above 40 as that's more than the label says and some of the whites are bras and they would go grey.

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

Bras I put through in one of those special bags and they go through on 30 degrees.

[ftw]

Can I ask my own question too? We use liquid tabs because when I've tried using powder our (almost entirely black) clothes have come out with some white powder or powdery residue on them. If I was to try powder again, how can I avoid that?

Thx

[EcoCleaner]

ftw sounds like you might be overdosing. Or using quick wash? Powders take a bit longer to dissolve but they do wash better.

I use a colour liquid for darks and a powder for whites, bedding and light colours.

[ArcheryAnnie]

ftw and EcoCleaner agree re overdosing. I use powder on my clothes - also almost entirely black! - and it's fine. I get this one called "bioD concentrated non-bio" that Oxfam sells (it's in the shelf with their loo paper and soaps). It's sold in very depressing packaging (basically a brown paper bag, fancied up a bit) but it works very well, dissolves well, and you don't need to use much.

I find using powder (non-bio) rather than tabs also stops my washing machine from getting smelly.

[DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen]

Half the amount of powder and see if that helps.

[mando12345]

I have an aqua plus button on my machine which uses slightly more water and adds an extra rinse, I use this as my son used to get eczma and I found using this stopped him getting the itchy dry skin. It also meant I could continue to use biological powder as I find the non bio does not get stains out or keep whites white.

[ftw]

Thanks everyone who answered. I may shake up my entire washing thing too because my whites aren't white either.

[Bisquick]

Thank you you lovely MNers. I've done 4 loads of laundry between yesterday and today having first done a plain hot wash with a capful of vinegar and wiping out all the lint.

I used Dax powder for both whites and coloureds since I didn't want to shell out for massive boxes of bio detergent in case it turns out I can't tolerate it at all! Used vanish on the whites load, and a colour catcher on the pale and bright coloured loads. And dried/drying them all on the airer.

It definitely looks miles better than my usual loads, no greying, the whites are bright, no grey bits of lint on everything!

Very happy!