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

I deal with blood stains by using a cold wash and a small scoop of salt to breakdown the stains (I sometimes do a pre-soak if the stain has dried in or is quite large).

I wash the kids trainers in pillowcases having taken off the laces and putting in separate. Nothing more satisfying than seeing dirty trainers go in and lovely clean ones come out.

Everything can be washed in the machine even trainers and football boots. Always hand rinse muddy sports kit before putting in the machine or it will smell like a bin and block up with grass. Separate whites but all other colours can go together. Add vanish to the whites wash. Clean machine every month with a super hot wash on empty with bleach. Never leave wet washing in the machine for more than an hour.

whites and colours on alternate days. oh and vanish on a tap

Just whack it all in the machine and bung some laundry liquid in, that's all I do haha

Washing utopia is 2 x washer dryers, side by side. Half as many trips up and down the stairs. You can easily split the pile into wash and tumble / just wash whilst stood in front of them. Do a dark load and a whites load simultaneously and then put all the drying into one machine and fish out the stuff that needs hanging out. Save one for mainly greasy / muddy / dye loads. Do all the bedding at once on a wash and dry whilst you're at work or out for a few hours, ready to make the beds up again on your return. It saves so much time and effort. It truly is the future.

I do a wash every day or every other day. It keeps on top of it, otherwise i have an overflowing laundry basket or no where to dry things.

I tend to put everything in the machine - no sorting. Unless its something really nice or pristine white. In that case it probably sits at the bottom of the laundry basket for a month, until i decide to wash by hand.

I put washing out on the line whenever possible and do a full load to save on electricity.

I take out the whites, or just the very darks whichever there is more of for a separate load and line dry whenever possible. I hang everything up straight away to avoid ironing. Also use vinegar to clean the washing machine every so often.

Each person has their own laundry basket, they are different colours and each owner is responsible for putting their washing in it or clean clothes away

Wash poo stained baby things immediately if possible. No extra chemicals needed and a 30 wash brings out stains if they are not set. Saves soaking.
Buy all the same pegs so no faffing.
I often put washing on the line at night because I don't have time before work and I don't want to miss good drying days. I don't care if it gets darked on.

And bags for life to fold clean washing into. 1 per person.

I have always found Persil and even Tescos own versions of bio, colour and non-bio to be fine for me and i've had many allergies for years. I don't like the smell of the new Fairy, it is a bit weird, like it contains celery or something. I loved the original Fairy smell and think they should keep to that.

With regard to washing, I used to prefer powder until it clogged the machine and pipes, so then used liquids, until one white one seemed to bleach coloured washing in parts. So now use liquid tablets at the moment although these are all expensive, so buy when offers on.

I sort my washing in to 40 degree darks, 40 degree whites 40 degree lights/brights i.e. tee-shirts and put a non-run sheet in as i have reds and oranges and lighter together, then separate washes on 60 for towels dark and 60 for towels white and 60 for towels reds/oranges. I would prefer a 50 degree wash for most of my washes but the machine will only now wash at 20, 30, 40 or 60 and 90! Rarely use the 90 unless it's something like the oven gloves and tea towels with heavy grease stains on. I hand wash anything I don't want getting spoit or out of shape. The dogs blankets go on 60 degrees washes and I try and remember to clear the lint out of the bottom of the machine drain else it gets clogged and messes the electrical board up as the water doesn't drain away properly. And that's not fun to sort out if it doesn't drain!

Do a load every day or the washing pile will win.

I do treat things that are stained before i was them properly and then just hope any stains come out.

Don't bother with washing in separate colours....chuck it all in!!

Wash everything together, then put whites in a basin and whiten them after a couple of months!

Oh, and use sunlight soap when the sun comes out! Onto the breakfast table in the sun.

I just chuck everything in together. Unless it is a new red thing, which case I'll separate it out into a dark wash.

When mine were little I went with one outfit a day... if they got dirty, tough! With twins and a toddler, I had enough to do without worrying about that... my 17 year old washing machine and fairy were my friends!

I put a good slug of cheapie liquid disinfectant into the wash when the clothes have got particularly minging! An extra rinse cycle protects their skin.

With such a large family I need to do at least a load everyday! I split everything into colours - cannot mix colours - I would have a meltdown at this! If the items are not that dirty I try to wash on a 30 / quick wash. Heavily soiled items go on a more intense wash.
I also have a timer on my machine so I can set it to be washed for when I wake up ready to go straight on the line.
When the children were babies I had a bucket and a box of nappisan ready for those horrific nappy explosions!

Rubbing a little bit of washing up liquid on stains before washing them really works! Also, as long as you do this to the stains straight away, you do not have to soak them or put them in the washing machine at that moment.

I have found it useful to use an antibacterial solution like the dettol laundry cleanser also for peace of mind and to get rid of any lingering smells caused by bacteria.

Not sure if these are the kind of laundry rules you are looking for, but since becoming a mum to a daughter, my rule is to not give a shit about the washing. Specifically, to never let her see me giving a shit about the washing. Women who have a whole lot of 'rules' and self-imposed overly-high standards about a really basic household task are setting an awful example for their daughters. A company like yours would never dream of posting this question on an internet community made up of mainly men. We have to live the change we want to see in the world. I do washing. My DH does washing. The clothes get washed and nobody owns the task or cares about the task or understands the process any better than the other members of the family.

give your washing machine a deep clean, a clean machine will give a better wash

I do dark wash, light wash, wool wash, jeans wash and towel wash. I run the machine on hottest wash (empty) once a month to keep it clean.