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 do at least one load a day to stop it from getting out of hand - luckily I work from home so can sit in PJs all day so my wash load usually takes a backseat behind little one's, hubby's and bedding

Fairy washing-up liquid (green original) is superb for removing grease marks from fabrics. (Obviously test a bit first)

I've used it on dry clean only fabrics and then stuck them in the washing machine (on the premise that the grease stain is so awful I'd be throwing it out anyway so nothing lost) and things have come out great.

Obviously, this would not work for clothes that have been darked on.

Sunlight is great for bleaching slight stains on white clothes.

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 indoors.

Train your children from a young age to put clothes in the laundry basket and to separate coloureds/whites/darks while they do so. Saves so much time and effort when you actually do a load of laundry.

I just throw it all in together on a mixed wash usually. Anything that needs a really good wash goes on the baby and toddler clothes cycle, although that takes over 2 hours to complete.
If all else fails, i give it to my mother in law, who can work miracles with badly stained things!

I read on a blog about using washing up liquid on greasy stains before washing to remove them and I am obsessed because it works so well. It has to be a good quality one like Fairy though otherwise it isn't so good.

Buying pants and socks all the same, so no more spending hours trying to match ones you'll never find again!

I use the Vanish bar this gets even oil out of clothing, I also soak my children's school polos in Ace Laundry bleach and I was told not to wash them with fabric conditioner to prevent them going grey. I never wash jeans in with light colours as the colour is prone to bleeding.

We have a laundry basket with different compartments so the kids know to put whites in one bit, darks in another and coloured clothes in the last one. I get palpitations at the thought of people mixing washing!!! I'm very obsessed over it.

Darks get washed at 30 degrees, often just on a quick wash as they need more freshening up than actual washing. Whites and coloureds go on 40, except for bed sheets which get done at 60. It's all very regimented, but it has to be as we get through at least 20 loads of washing a week!

I try to get our laundry out of the way during the week so I don't have to do it at the weekend.

Soak all stained clothes in cold water for at least an hour. Especially muddy clothes.

Clean the bit between the rubber seals regularly - it's amazing how much yucky black gunge can develop and accumulate there.

To keep on top of washing and do it all on one day, make use of quick/speed wash. Most items (apart from towels) don't need a full wash and it actually helps keep the fabric nice. It also uses less water and energy.

Make sure you don't have a random red sock in your white wash.

I use vanish bar and always colour catchers to stop any runs

I put in a scoop of baking soda in with my whites to keep them nice and bright and hang them in the sunshine.

I keep my machine really clean and use calgon once a month.Check pockets and turn all socks, tights right way round. Wash dark jeans inside out so they don't fade so quick. I squirt vanish on any stains and dry in the sun as much as possible.

I have a divided washing basket and the DC are really good at separating their own washing and bringing it to the basket and this really cuts down how much I need to worry on all the lovely whites going grey.
I add a little Napisan to white boil washes and it brings them up beautiful, all other washing I add washing disinfectant to with my Fairy and get away with a 30degree wash, perfect.

I was each person's things in a laundry bag and then tumble dry. Much quicker to sort once dry as each person's clothes are all together. Particularly useful for school socks where my kids have the same styles but different sizes.

Another vote for Napisan in white washes.

My washing tip; check pockets for tissues!

Also, dark stuff dries quicker that pale colours on the line!

I've washed money, (coins and notes), tissues, which spread white over all the dark clothing in the wash, and sticky toffees. All because I forgot to check jacket and jeans pockets. So my first tip is to check all pockets carefully!

A teaspoon of salt in the washer drum helps reduce colour fading. It also helps if you wash inside out. It really makes a difference.

I also find those washer mesh bags useful, and pile all the socks, underwear, and smaller items in. They never get lost.

Dr Beckmann's is also great for cleaning the machine itself. My old Bosch Maxx is over 10 years old, and never let me down yet.

I thought everyone did this until my friend looked at me like I was Prometheus when I casually mentioned it:

When you have loaded the machine and forgot/decided after loading to put in a colour catcher or stain remover pouch and the instructions say to put in the drum before loading, just push it onto the top or side of the drum and rotate the drum until your hand is at the bottom. This will make the washing fall all around you arm and the colour catcher/stain remover will be at the bottom of the machine under the washing.

This would also work for those of you who will insist on using capsules. Presumably because you wash at 60 degrees or like a snotty residue on your clean washing

I just do my washing every saturday. Thankfully my daughter only makes a moderate amount of mess so don't need any crazy methods to clean up :)

I get fed up of turning everything the right way out so I try and do that with the children's stuff before bunging in the machine so I don't get cross when putting away.

always try to shake out creases to make ironing easier

I always try to hang out the washing as soon as the cycle finishes. I'll use the timer button so that the end of the cycle coincides with when I can take it out. It means the clothes are less creased and don't get that musty smell.

Unless clothes are quite new, I will mix light and darks with no problems (usually!). New jeans are the worst offender for staining other clothes.

SUN!!! I cannot believe how effective it is on stains!! With bad stains, i try and soak them, then put them through on a hot wash with stain remover then the stain is still there so i pop them on the line and after a day of sunshine- the stain is completely gone!!! Its amazing!

Check pockets thoroughly - between make up sponges, little alien things and other random stuff I have nearly killed many a machine. A must is to know where your machines filter is just in case of disasters

Vanish in with the whites and pretty much anything the diddy weaning one has worn.

Teach your older kids to sort their laundry and how to use the machine.

Only iron what really needs it - you don't need pressed smalls