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

Denuture cleaning tablets work very well in white washes to brighten and whiten clothing.
Check pockets before washing!

I alternate with a whites day and a colours day. I always use powder on whites as it seems to be more effective on marks, colours I'll wash with something milder.

I have a darks and a lights basket in my house, it works a treat and the kids are learning too, and I always use washing machine dye sheets just incase that pesky dark item gets into my lights wash by mistake.

I avoid a lot of ironing by tumble drying items for just 5 minutes before hanging on the line.

Only use a really hot wash if absolutely necessary and only on white washing. By using a 30 C wash, I can get away with washing my daughter's red/white school dress alongside my son's jeans without any hiccups.

Wash towels at the beginning of the day, as they take longer to dry
Whites should only every be washed with...... WHITES
30 degrees please
Use the fabric conditioner cap to measure the correct amount, it's amazing how little you need and how long the bottle lasts!

Don't leave a wash on while you are out . I've had two "accidents one flood one fire . At least for the second I was there to react !

Napisan for whites . Washing up liquid sorts grease stains . Treat asap neat.

To be fair I just bang it in, stick it on quick wash and the jobs a good'un.

I try to hang my washing on the line to dry and then pop it in the tumble dryer for 5 minutes to soften it up as I live in a hard water area.

get a pulley drying rack - somewhere to dry your washing whatever the weather

My top tip - never underestimate how much mess an XXL box of Fairy can make when your toddler upends it across the kitchen.

I buy smaller boxes now and decant them into a plastic tub with a tightly fitted lid!

I'm a lazy laundress- I chuck everything in together and hang it out on the line. However, my one laundry house rule is that if you leave a tissue in your pocket, then it's your job to pick all the bits off or to redo the load. :)

I have always bulk bought socks in the sake colour at the start of the school year. It means that it's easier to pair up. We also always use the line when possible as it makes washing smell so much better xx

If you've run out of stain remover, washing up liquid rubbed into stains before the normal wash is very effective

Dry what you canon the washing line. The laundry will be fresher than using the tumble drier.

With small kids, buy fabric dye. When stuff gets irretrievably stained, you can dye it another darker colour!

Sunshine is the secret ingredient here also for stained whites. I always hang them so they face south and get sun all day. I keep on top of washing by chucking a load on whenever I happen to be passing and see a full laundry basket rather than having a laundry day. Also a sock / pant drier peg thing is brill. And the amazing Lakeland heated airer in the winter of course!

I fold while listening to radio 4 to expand my mind. Actually quite therapeutic!

always sort laundry into pile.....colours, whites and darks. I put a scoop of vanish in with every white load too. If you get stains on clothes that don't come out in the wash, still hang them out, especially if it's sunny. The sun bleaches the stains out 99% of the time.

As soon as the weather is nice make the most of it and get as many loads of washing in as you can! Saves a fortune in drying costs and gets rid of some remaining stains! (particularly tomato based, or other red fruits such as strawberries, peppers etc)

we tend to buy a lot of whites so I can bleach them when they're really bad.

I do whites separately and darks separately all others can go in together, normally do a load a day. Clothes that have lots of stains i do add a bit of fairy washing up liquid in the wash gets rid of stains really well.

white work shirts and shaving nicks lead to stains that are hard to shift. Nature's stain remover - saliva - does the job. Spit, rub, then wash as normal. The saliva breaks down the enzymes in the blood to help remove the stain.

Don't worry - this tip can't be used for criminal purposes. You'd need a LOT of saliva to cover anything bad!

For everything else we split whites and darks. The only thing we can't bring ourselves to do is put a poo stained item in with the rest without a solid pre-cleaning on it's own.

Don't be a slave to the advertisers! All too often we use product that just isn't needed - e.g. - you don't need Vanish in every wash.

Also, bring your washing in from the lne whilst still a little damp - much easier to iron - and you don't need to iron everything. When you do iron an item that you are not going to wear straightaway, give it sufficient hanging space in your wardrobe to ensure it doesn't get all creased again.

For grease and stubborn stains I rub with washing up liquid before putting in the machine. The only way I can keep on top of the laundry is wash everyday and pray for good weather, as I don't have a tumble dryer!