What laundry rules do you follow or ignore? Share with Fairy Non Bio for a chance to win a £300 voucher! NOW CLOSED

[JustineBMumsnet]

With laundry stacked high and always increasing, it can be tempting to break even the most basic of laundry rules in order to keep on top of the task. Fairy Non Bio would like to hear about the rules you implement (or ignore!) when you’re doing the laundry.

Here’s what Fairy has to say: “We want to know what’s important to you. Have you found a way to save time? A way to get the best stain removal? A way to keep clothes huggably soft? Or even just a way to not lose matching socks! We would love to hear your tricks of the trade.”

What’s your perspective on laundry rules? Either way, Fairy Non Bio wants to know. Do you obey temperature regulations or simply stick everything in at 40? Perhaps you’re the kind of person who avoids overfilling and never fails to air-dry fine fabrics. Or, maybe you fill the machine to the brim and adopt a one size fits all approach to drying that would make manufacturers weep. Whatever they may be, divulge your laundry indiscretions.

Share the rules that you follow and those you ignore on the thread below and you will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

The one I most commonly ignore is putting all the smalls ie. socks in a small bag together to stop them getting lost in the wash - with predictable results!

I sometimes ignore hand wash only, I do them on a low setting & put them in a mesh bag. I've never had any problems with anything that I've washed like that. I also wash everything on a 40 degree wash, both lights & darks, unless it's something brand new which has never been washed before in case it runs. I don't put whites in with them though, they always go separate

hand wash only never been followed and never, touch wood, had any disasters!

I don't wash anything seperately and avoid buying clothes that require any extra care, life is just too short to be creating extra work for myself!

I always seperate light and dark colours, I never bother with a white wash though just chuck them in with lights.
I always wash at 30 degrees, I don't want my clothes shrinking!
I never use a tumble dryer...because I don't have one haha!

Don't waste my life ironing unless there is a special event to attend. saved myself days worth of hours over the nearly six years of having little people.

do seperate washes for white and colours.

temperature. I always go for the lowest (safest?) temperature. I basically wash everything on the same cycle no matter what - it's worked so far!

Rule 1 - Get someone else to do the laundry
Rule 2 - See rule 1.

Lights washed at 60° and darks washed at 40°. I always leave space to fit my hand in the top of the washing machine. Kids blazers, trousers and skirts go on a mini wash at 40° and always just 4 or 5 items at a time as it preserves the pleats in dds skirts. Anything that looks a bit delicate or may run is also done on a mini wash.

I do a whites wash and a mixed fabric wash. Never read labels. Try not to buy hand wash only. Throw everything in tumble dryer except shirts and big towels.
Guess how much detergent to use. Just put 'quite a but in the container provided.
Washing often stay in machine for hours and hours before being dried...I smell it to check it doesn't smell horrible.

I always wash darks and lights seperately and bedding and towls get washed at 60

Everything in on a 30 degree 30 minute quick wash, roughly sorted into darks and lights. Sheets and towels get the same treatment with a hot wash about every third wash. The only thing I really do to prevent disaster is wash new, very dark clothes on their own for the first time or with the exact same colour clothes.

Everything goes on a 30, on a 30 minute wash, unless it is particularly soiled, then it goes on a 45 minute wash.

Generally we split whites and coloureds, and then have a separate wash for dedicates.
Other than that, anything goes.

I keep lights and darks separate. Follow hand wash rules too!

We don't work in a coal mine so 20 minutes for everything is more than enough with warm water.
Delicates by hand with enough soap to work up a little foam.

I always do a separate white wash, it makes such a difference. Sometimes these days, I leave out the fabric conditioner and I don't notice much change.

always keep whites separate, but don't always listen to handwash only...

we always hand wash garments that are meant to be hand washed and only use the tumble dryer for bedding.

I always follow the label when it says not to tumble dry an item but to my mums horror i always mix my washes, i have never separated my colours and whites and in about 12 years i haven't had any colours mixing! I also only iron what i have to most things are ok after tumbled :D

Just the usual colours/whites rule, and one for my lazy teenage daughter, if it's not in the dirty clothes basket it doesn't get washed!

Whites separately. ALWAYS!!!
Towels separately. ALWAYS!!!
Sheets separately. ALWAYS!!!
Other than that, I'm pretty chilled. I use a Gu ramekin dish full of washing powder... non bio... and whatever softener is on offer at Tesco.
I try to do 6 loads over two days when I'm off work (mon and tues). Keeps on top of things. We are a family of me, DH, DD7 and DS11.
Hope that helps!!!!

I ignore dry clean only on suit trousers. They're OK on a delicates wash with no spin.

I always do a light wash and a dark wash, plus I separate any hand wash items although I do them on a delicate cycle in the washing machine.