Laundry

[inthethickofit19]

Please help..

We are a family of 4 (dp, toddler and baby) and our laundry has just become a relentless task.

We have a lights and darks laundry sorter.

We mostly do darks, lights and bedding loads. So we've tried to keep that as simple as possible

We wash mostly on cottons cycle because the spin is 1400. If I spin on less then they don't dry for ages (newbuild property). In the winter months I put the dryer on for 15 or 20 mins too.

How do people get away with not ironing? Most of our clothes are cottons (dp has work shirts, toddler and baby have the usual joggers, tops, babygro etc) and being spun on 1400 means they come out creased. Should I do a shirts only load? Kids load?

Any other tips?

I would iron shirts (and do) but dont iron other clothing

Does your machine have a spin and drain setting? If so I'd wash on a lower set spin then do an extra one at the end.
If you can afford it, invest in a decent dehumidifier (meaco is a good brand). Thoroughly shake out and hang laundry in a small room (anything that can go on a hangar, should) and run the dehumidifier for a few hours and you'll have dry clothes much faster and more economically than using a tumbler.

With 3 small kids I’ve given up ironing a lot of stuff although I don’t mind doing it.

Kids clothes I don’t iron, except for some dresses that look awful if creased. I just try to fold ASAP after drying then smooth it out and fold it Kondo style. Given that kids stuff usually gets washed after 1 wear there’s just no point wasting time ironing it.

I don’t have a dryer but use a dehumidifier instead which dries everything really fast.

I usually use a 30deg quick wash which spins at 1200 or a 40deg synthetics wash which spins at 1000. Then I remove anything that will get too creased on an extra, give it a good shake out and hang onto a coat hanger to dry. Then use the 14min spin and drain setting to give everything a bit longer and it comes out much drier. Usually hang things on coat hangers in all the doorways of the house and put the airer in front of a sunny window and it's dry in about 16 hours

I do my washing on a quick load then but it on a drain and spin (1600) once the quick wash has finished.

Everything in the dryer with a dryer sheet unless it’s delicate then it goes on the heated towel rail to dry. We’re not allowed to hang out laundry and don’t have radiators. It’s very rare that things need ‘ironing’ but if they do then I use a steamer instead which is a complete game changer.

Thanks for the dehumidifier tip. I will check them out. Are they really bulky?

Ooo tell me more about the steamer please. I have a steam iron

I sometimes do wash on a shorter cycle with a spin of day 900 and then do the extra drain and spin at the end. But then I thought it resulted in the same thing no? So just started using the cotton cycle with a higher spin.

Is there something about the way the cycles work in that draining and spinning at the end doesn't crease as much?

I shake everything out as soon as it comes out of the machine.

I hang things I don’t want to crease on hangers. I use a Lakeland dry it all laundry heater with a blanket over.

Actually I did that for years but saved up for a Miele heat pump dryer. Now most items go in there. The things I can’t put in go on the Lakeland dryer.

We iron very little but we don’t really have work shirts. My friend takes all his work shirts to the laundrette for a service wash and iron.

I use a lower spin speed (1000) and fold and smooth as much as I can before hanging to dry or immediately out of dryer whilst still warm. I now buy poly cotton bedding as it doesn't crease so much. Also I think about somethings ironing requirements before I buy it these days!

I don't sort into colours nor do I iron. In your situation I would only iron the shirts. We use the tumble dryer a lot though as we don't have space for a washing line and I won't hang wet laundry inside.

I fill the machine, use the 1hr wash, then transfer to the tumble and put another 1hr wash on. Clothes are folded out of the dryer into piles by person. Once the piles get too big they get taken to the right bedrooms. On a good week I can strip clothes off our bodies and put straight into the machine.

Once a week I'll grab any towels and bath mats and work through them. I'll also strip kids bed one week then ours the next.

Can you use the tumble dryer more and choose a shorter wash cycle.

I do a wash every day, so I never have loads of wet washing to try and get dry in one go. I always put it on for an extra spin if I’m drying clothes inside. I only tumble dry sheets and towels.
When you get stuff out of the washing machine, give it a sharp flip to straighten it out and put it across two rungs of a drier - uses up double the space but dries so much faster. Ikea octopus for socks and pants. Put shirts straight on plastic hangers - not wooden ones. When removing washing, fold neatly, do not crush.
Iron what’s needed. By the time my children have had their clothes on for 30+ minutes, you couldn’t tell if it’s been ironed or not anyway. In the winter when boiler / radiator / heaters are on, you can put out clothes the night before on or next two warm source and it helps reduce creases. Or I sometimes put clothes in dryer on a warm air setting for 15 mins before children get dressed which gets rid of creases.