The Mumsnet Laundry Rules - £300 voucher to be won NOW CLOSED

[JustineBMumsnet]

Fairy Non Bio is sponsoring the Mumsnet Talk app, so we’d like you to talk about your top laundry tips for families.

Do you have tips for removing the plethora of stains your DC somehow produce? Maybe you’re skilled in mixing wash loads with zero colour transfer? Or perhaps you’ve got a cast-iron system for laundry that keeps the job from overwhelming you (and your machine).

Whatever they are, share your laundry tips for families below. Everyone who posts on the thread will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 Love2Shop voucher.

If you're an avid Mumsnet talk boards user, you should download the app for yourself. It's free, and allows you to be part of the conversation wherever you are!

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

stained whites need sunshine

I know it's an extra cost, but I put colour run sheets in every wash unless it's all darks - that way I can do mixed washes without stressing. Life's too short to wash whites separately!

Put a wash on every day or it builds up to a massive mountain of horror!

Use fairy liquid to remove stains before washing in machine. Works well on butter but also on tough stains like school paint too.

Haven't had stained clothes since I started using it!

rub a little neat bio gel into the stain and work into a paste before you put in wash, 99 % successrate of getting stains out

get a little net laundry bag for babies sock, scratch mits etc because they always go missing , but this way stay together.
Also vanish soap is great for pre scrubbing usual baby stains

An odd sock drawer/box for socks to go in until it's other half appears, then your own sock drawers aren't full of odd ones!

Sunshine on stains..
If the path is dry, washing will dry..
Rain is nature's fabric conditioner! 😁

i have no luck getting stains out, my son's white shirts are a nightmare so loving all the tips

I actually enjoy washing. Do at least one load a day, more if the weathers good. Love a line full of washing!
My tips would be sorting washing first. Whites, colours and darks. Stain remover spray before wash and good fabric softener.
Toothpaste has got grass stains out in the past.

I always make sure any new clothes are washed separately so that any colour that may run, runs on itself rather than on everything else.
Also cooler washes with stain remover in the load with a smaller load always works best for me when removing stains in the washing machine

Baking soda & vinegar brings old towels up a treat

Less is more.

Less powder, less fabric conditioner,
Less powerful spin and less clothes in each load is my top tip!

I tend to use the "bung it all in and hope for the best" method, although I do do a separate whites wash.

Sunshine is great for bleaching out stubborn stains that haven't quite come out in the wash.

everyone has their own basket - and helps with the washing

how have i only just found out about sunlight getting rid of poop stains?! 4 kids and i did not know.

my tip would be- bag up socks in a net bag to avoid the sock monster

Marry a man who is borderline OCD and he'll do it all! I've probably done maybe one load a month whereas he always does it!

Rule number 1- never let dh near washbasket or expect delicates to be washed at 90 degrees then put in the tumble drier for a couple of hours.

Rule number 2- when this happens charge said husband for damage to clothes. It's cost him £200+ this year (don't feel sorry for him I've insisted on doing all the laundry. He only puts stuff in because he wants to prove he can do it

Rule number 3- sending all tricky stains to my mum. She can get anything out.

I'm not sure how recommendable this is but I never seperate whites and coloureds, I just stick it all in and it comes out fine. The only exception to this is dark jeans which I wash seperately (after an incident last year where my denim shorts coloured everything in the wash which sadly was a number of my favourite dresses) and anything very delicate and pale.

30 degree wash is fine for things that aren't white cotton sheets, if you have good bio powder.

Dry outdoors unless it is foggy or wet. Cold winter days will dry laundry if there's a breeze and even if you have to finish in the drier you have still saved ££££.

Always wash whites separately and always use colour catchers.

Leave whites out in the sunshine for several days - naturally bleaches stains including tomato sauce.

I'm not sure how recommendable this is but I never seperate whites and coloureds, I just stick it all in and it comes out fine. The only exception to this is dark jeans which I wash seperately (after an incident last year where my denim shorts coloured everything in the wash which sadly was a number of my favourite dresses) and anything very delicate and pale.

try and treat stains as soon as they occur, rather than leaving them to set!

as soon as theyve stained their clothes whip it off them and straight in the machine, i find if you leave until you do your normal wash its harder to remove the stains

Keep the machine clean with a regular service wash, keep the door and the dispenser drawer open after a wash to let it air out, wash the dispenser drawer regularly - all stops build up of muck and prevents machine from smelling bad.

I only use cleaning products that have the leaping bunny. At the moment the seems to be Co op and M&S own brands. I wish the big companies would take steps to gain leaping bunny certification.