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

don't let it pile up, dry outside whenever possible and teach little ones to put items that need washing in the laundry basket

Don't panic! If anything gets a bad spill on it I've got a bucket on hand in the kitchen and just chuck it in with a powder stain remover until I can get round to a wash. Try not to develop a particular liking for clothes made of "delicate fabrics". Instead of the new-fangled washing machine sanitisers, occasionally fill the powder drawer with everyday disinfectant (I use capsules in the drum) and put in tea towels, wash cloths, etc. And never let washing get darked on - you can tell, it smells of it . . .

Everyone in my house has to help do all the laundry

Get kids involved helping with laundry from an early age. From matching socks and pressing the buttons when that are little to putting on a wash theirselves once they are a bit bigger. Not only does it give you a help around the house but helps establish good self help skills for children and gives them a bit of independence.

I was fed up with trying to get pen mark off my sons white shirt and nothing was shifting them. I used the stain pen that came with my leather sofa years ago and voila the stains were gone.
I just chucked it in the wash afterwards and the shirt was perfect afterwards. My son does the same thing weekly leaving the top of the pen in his shirt pocket.

Read the care labels! I have shrunk and otherwise ruined various garments over the years by chucking it in and hoping for the best and ended up destroying some nice items of clothing. Now I read the instructions

shout up the stairs what "wash" is going on tonight and tell everyone to bring anything they need if its white or colour.
the machine automatically put temp to 60 for cottons.absolutely no need!40 is fine.
set the timer so its starts after 1.30am th cheaper by half costwise.and try to make all be finshed by 7am which is when the prices hike again

I have put a shelf up in the garage for my bargain price washing products. Whenever I am out and about and I spot a bargain, I purchase and store. Makes a bid difference over the course of a year, I have been buying extra large washing liquid for £7 as opposed to £12.

Washing up liquid on greasy stains before they go in always helps
Always separate lights from darks & whites!
& hang out to dry.

Hang out on washing line ! The sun will bleach out those stubborn stains!

I put everything in together and hope for the best. Due to improved washing capsules, there is a lot less colour transfer than there used to be in the past

Do it as quickly as possible, I hate seeing a full laundry basket. I make sure that I always do it as everyone else mixes the colours and whites!!!!

At least a load a day here.
Separate whites and colours.
Vanish in the wash if stained.
Sun bleaching is great for whites & freshness.
Lakeland heated indoor drier for when it rains!

My tip is to only buy clothes that can be machine washed. Saves a lot of time and nobody enjoys handwashing or paying for drycleaners.

I also always only wash full loads to save money.

Once a month we soak our Grandchildrens white school shirts overnight in a bucket of hot water and we throw in a couple of those cleaner tablets that you use to clean your dishwasher. The shirts always come out clean as a whistle.

The only ironing we ever do is mine & DH's cotton shirts. Everything else just gets folded & aired.

Only do full loads.

For environmental reasons, never, ever use a tumble drier unless you need to dry a double duvet cover quickly & it's raining outside.

Stains (especially grease) are removed effectively using hand soap and putting straight into drum.
Make use of your outside washing line as the washing always smells so much better when dry.

I always turn clothing inside out before washing this helps the clothes from fading during washing and drying in the sunlight

Buy a laudry basket which has separate sections for colours/whites/delicates

To remove pen (including sharpie marker) spray with hairspray, blot with clean cloth and wash as normal..saved a few school uniforms this way!

On stains I immediately squirt fairy liquid before putting in thwash seems to help

Just as a time saver, once washed we just go through the pile and make sure we pull out anything that really doesn't need ironing as otherwise my wife will do it anyway. Stuff I wear for the gym etc... doesn't need to be ironed so hopefully helps out.

Put a washing on everyday, teach your kids to iron.

I separate whites. If there are a lot of coloured items to be washed, I separate into light & darks, but I don't really know why, as if there is only enough for 1 load then I put them all in together!

If I get a stain myself, I immediately take the item & put either stain remover, or just washing machine liquid on it & put the wash straight on.

If the stain is dried in, I treat the stain as above, but don't was it for a couple of hours or overnight

Don't over fill the washing machine & use fairy liquid for stains, it's fab! :)