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

Whites separately.

The electronic clothes aired suggested by MN years ago is a godsend.

And I never let my washing get darked on.

Always do whites and towels separately. Whites I always try and get on the line as the sun bleached them extra white.
Towels always on 60, never use fabric conditioner and add a capful of zoflora.

My children aged 8,7&4 have been taught to put colours, whites and darks in separate baskets too.

Towels separately.
Whites separately.
Everything else together and hope for the best.
I don't like washing to get darked on, but hey if it happens then it happens!!!

My "rule" is never to put a new load in the washing machine after lunch. "Oh I'll get straight round to putting it on the line/in the dryer" I always think. "I won't end up too busy and leave it all damp and musty somewhere." You can guess how that always ends

Every member of the family has a different coloured tub into which their clean laundry is sorted. Then at least each tub can make it to the right room even if I end up putting it away.
Also, sunlight is great for bleaching slight stains on white clothes.

Oxy powder and a stain catcher in every wash. Seems to sort most of the issues.

I am the laundry fairy and we use Fairy non bio all the time.

Whites get put in with Fairy and a dose of Vanish Whites which always brings them up really bright.

Everything else is launched in together.

I always take ages hanging washing out, making sure it's straight and neat as it's easier to fold and iron afterwards. Always fold it straight out of the drier as well. Makes it much easier to iron. Unlike dp who is a 'launch it into the ironing basket any way you can' type. He does do the ironing though.

Don't put your turquoise wrap sling in with anything else at all otherwise your baby will be wearing slightly blue tinged vests

I try and put everything on the line but I do always tumble dry towels so they stay soft

I bung it all in and hope for the best. I have a bucket that I put stained clothes in, they soak in some Vanish, then get bunged in the next wash too. I peg out my washing, the sun works miracles on stains

I pair socks together before i wash them so the washing machine does not eat them.i seperste the whites and coloureds and try to wash daily to stop the washing overflowing as i have four children at home at the moment.

Wash anything new that's coloured on its own. Especially towels or blue tops. My towels took ages before they stopped leaking blue!

Bleach will get out old blood stains that have set. Just pour on spot leave for 5-10 m and it will disappear before your eyes

always double spin a wash, you think it would be the same max spin and the end of a normal wash but the extra spin makes a huge difference. Especially if you are drying indoor in winter. (YesI know
You not suppesed to but in flat no outside space.)

Again if you are drying inside work out how many outfits can fit on your clothes horse then only wash that amount. My machine can wash more clothes than I have room to hang. They end up taking days if bonroom for air flow and having to be re washed.

If your machine starts making horrendous clunking sound stop
It straight away could well be a bra wire stick in drum and you can rescue it before it breaks it.

This tip is from the Miele man: You never need to use more than 1 tablespoon of washing powder. I've got a tablespoon measure in the powder box.

Every month I run an empty wash on the hottest setting and scrub out the detergent drawer, it's written on the kitchen calendar and ticked off when it's done.

*only bleach white things though!

Used to use Fairy, but it simply doesn't work in DH and DS1s' sweaty shirts, so I switched to a Bio powder.

I also get a bit fussy about my loads - whites, brights, lights, darks, jeans, towels, bed linen. Often do the sports stuff together as DS1 gets through at least a set of sports clothes per day.

Line dry, apart from linen and towels (I am allergic to tree pollen and if it gets on the sheets, I've had it!).

Matching pegs, preferably matching the colour of the item, wooden pegs for anything cotton.

Wash delicates and woollens with baby shampoo.

Fast cold wash new clothes before they go in the general wash to rinse out extra dye. Add a colour catcher to next wash if in any doubt.

For sensitive skin use half or less of the recommended amount of non bio powder and do an extra rinse cycle. For mucky clothes spray stains then set cycle to prewash with lots of non bio powder then regular wash with no powder just conditioner. Water down conditioner to 25% strength, use dryer sheets for freshness.

washing regularly at 30 is a big fat no-no...fair enough for that delicate item you cba to handwash or flog to the drycleaners but regular washing of laundry at 30 never gets them clean and ruins your machine.

ruthless colour segregation, towels and sheets on 60 or 90 means clean fresh laundry that keeps its own colour

and another big Yes! for line drying, sunshine and breeze is the best for laundry.

I try to avoid filing the washing machine drum to its full capacity - things come out cleaner, it's easier on the clothes and they come out of the dryer less creased.

Zoflora in with the wash to make it smell amazing!

Run stains through from the back with cold water (blood) or hot water (grease). Use biological liquid (value is fine) if you can for the stains, and if you're still stuck use napisan.

Shake clothes before drying to reduce ironing. Some of my friends seem to just lib the clothes at the airer...

The best tip I can provide if a lid full of zoflora in the drum with this dcs pe kit. It makes all things smelly really fresh!

Every so often I put all of my blacks (leggings, cardis etc.) in with a black Dylon machine dye. It makes faded clothes look new and my work clothes are the same shade of back.

I put white shirts in with a net curtain whitener to give them the equivalent boost.

Towels and whites separately. 60 degree minimum for towel wash.
If you want it to be clean, never wash at 30 degrees. Always minimum of 40.
Use Daz powder.
Yes to sunshine and fresh air, sunshine good for getting rid of tumeric stains.
Buy short sleeved shirts for school uniform. No filthy cuffs to deal with. Give yourself a break. you will have done enough.

Colour catchers; hand wash what needs to be had washed; clean out the washing machine grunge catcher now and again; line dry; lower the temperature as much as you can; check all pockets.....

I stick a load on every morning whilst the kids have breakfast. My loads are as follows :
*Whites, only white, no pictures, creams, transfers on t-shirts.
*Darks, occasionally a denim wash.
Pink wash, DD's clothes!
*Towels, tea towels and bibs, wash at 60, heard that putting towels in with clothes makes your jumpers bobbly.
*Fasten bras before washing to stop little holes in stuff.
Squirt stains with vanish first.
I do have a question though, which wash do you put the yellow stuff with????It seems to attract dark dye and turns anything white yellow . Have resorted to putting Ds's yellow t-shirt in with the bedding (seemed preferable to buying a whole load of yellow clothes!)

Shake everything really well when it comes out of the machine and sort it into piles for each person. Hang each pile out so that when you bring it in you can fold it and then put it straight away. Might sound obvious but I find sorting it all once I've brought it in is a ball ache.

Never, ever let it get darked on.