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've trained my two to put their clothes in the basket and to sort clean clothes into the right piles to be folded. Saves loads of time

I chuck any clothes with stains in a bucket of cold water, then remove and spray with stain remover before putting in the washing machine with the normal load, be it whites/darks/colours. I have dh who works in a hot factory, a (sweaty) teenage ds, a messy ds(9) and a poonami causing just weaning ds (5 months) it seems to work!!!

I find the most important thing with laundry is getting it into the washing basket in the first place. We have strict rules about dirty washing left in other places (towels on the bathroom floor, socks under the bed, t-shirts balled up in corners) and infractions are dealt with harshly!

Also, washing all the sheets on a Monday and getting as many hung out to dry as possible in rotation. Mondays always seem to be sunny.

Jeans go in a seperate jeans wash, they do occasionally get washed with other stuff once they reach the faded beyond repair stage.

Whites get done separately.

Reds and pinks get done together.

Everything else gets done together.

A vaguely light wash and a dark wash and there have been very few problems- except for the pink towel which ran for loads of washes. Only put it on the line if it isn't going to rain before it is dry - means it is often dried inside using mumsnet recommended Lakeland dryer.

My husband laughs at me and says I make the washing too complicated but it works for me, I have the following load
-whites

• lights
• light coloureds
• dark coloureds
• darks
• jeans and other heavy material
• towels
• sheets
• hand washing

Sunshine! Leaving a stained top on the line for a few days with rain and sunshine always seems to shift stubborn marks.

Strict separation of whites, washed at 60 in biological powder and line dried whenever possible.
White towels and bedding so there's always enough for a load.
Rub with fairy platinum and then soak in hot water with bio powder to get out whiteboard marker.
Washing machine set with timer to be ready at 7am every day.

My tip is to put the last load of washing away before you start the next eyes enormous pile of crumpled clean washing now merging into the dirty stuff thanks to DH's over enthuiasm

I put washing up liquid on most stains. If it doesn't come out in the wash I go for a sprinkle of lemon juice and hang it on the washing line (and hope for sun!)

A large capacity machine is a must - fewer loads seems like less work even if it's the same quantity of washing. And definitely a good quality washing liquid or powder.

To remove stains use an oxy spray (supermarkets own is fine) immediately before washing the garment, then line dry in full sunshine.

I have seven different washes - bedding, towels, darks 40, colours 40, colours 30, lights 40, lights 30. If it says hand wash it goes in at 30.

And yes, I only use fairy. My mum does the same.

I couldn't believe it when my son dragged his WHITE taekwondo sleeve into his dads curry! It was ruined (So I THOUGHT)

I rushed upstairs, ran a hot bath, put the uniform into the bath and added LUSH's " BIG" Shampoo - Luckily my best friend gives me so much of it as its so expensive!
It got EVERY stain out after scrubbing it into the fabric!

Please try this at home!

I love summer for the simple reason that on a sunny day drying whites outside means the stains are bleached out of them naturally! Love it!

I'm a believer in the sun when it comes to stains! I put anything with a stain on in full view of the sun and it will nearly always disappear. Obviously in the winter it's tricky so I do have some vanish pre-wash spray in the cupboard too!

I always wash whites separately and add a glow white sachet to the wash which keeps them white for longer. It works really well on my sons white school shirts and means they last all year without looking shabby.

Washing stays out until it's dry! I check the weather the night before and if it's gonna be nice I put the washing machine on timer for early morning.
Tips, get everyone to put laundry in baskets. We also have a really big washing machine which takes really big loads. I also tumble dry all underwear (socks pants) in all seasons, there's not enough space on washing line for (minimum) 42 socks and 21pants. This saves s lot of time and is one weekly load in the tumble dryer.

My only rule for laundry is that once it's in the washing machine, I HAVE to get it dried, ironed and put away within 24 hours. If I don't it just piles up and I hate that so I'm strict with it.

Im a bit lackadaisical when it comes to washing. Sort of hope for the best. Whites and colours are vaguely separated, but there's often a stray sock that creeps in. Use sunlight to help bleach stains if you have outdoor space!

1. Never let your partner do the laundry. He will shrink your vintage wool jumpers and trash your silk shirts. (This is despite being a senior technological manager who manages fabrics for a leading department store).
2. Sort laundry into colours. I have whites, light colours, bright colours, reds/pinks, and blacks/denims.
3. Never wash a red with any other colour (apart from at a push, pink), it will bleed colour for many more years than you think possible.
4. Always use Fairy if your kids have allergies
5. Always use the extra rinse function if your kids have allergies
6. Do a load a day to keep your sanity
7. Use your timer function so the load finishes just before you hang it out to avoid creasing
8. Don't buy clothes in fabrics which aren't washable
9. Wash new clothing items separately for the first few washes to avoid colour runs

10. For stained whites, give a hot wash and hang out on the line on a sunny day, they will disappear 11. Avoid liquid detergent, it makes the inside of your machine gunky especially on low temperature washes and this WILL transfer to your clothes eventually. Powder is abrasive so you don't have this issue 12. Get a machine with a child lock and always use it 13. Buy the biggest drum that you can. We have an 8kg which is just about ok for a family of 5. An overstuffed machine doesn't clean properly. 14. Buy the best machine that you can. I've killed two £200 quid machines in less than two years a piece. I got 9 years out of my £500 Siemens and am now in love with my new AEG 15. Never talk laundry with friends, they will think you are NUTS!

If there are any stains, I rub in washing liquid and leave for a few minutes before putting in the wash

1. Don't buy things that need ironing
2. Lots of things which say they are dry clean only can actually be hand washed carefully
3. Don't buy things which say dry clean only unless you really really want them

I try to stick to a rule of doing all the clothes during the week, then that leaves the line/dryer free to do all the bedding and towels at the weekend.

I need to have a read through for everyone's stain removal tips; DS starts school in a month so he'll be wearing whites for the first time really (why can't school uniform be a dark shirt???) and we use Ecover due to ezcema so I reckon within a week he'll be looking like some bloody street urchin if I don't try something else.

Add eucalyptus oil or solution to the rinse. It's divine!