Anyone else sick to death of handwashing?

[WeirderandWeirder]

I love natural fabrics and have lived in them for many years. But anything other than the weight of a tshirt really gets old fast when handwashing. Tonight it was time....had to throw a few linen sweaters into the basin and oh my god the weight! I have pretty much put my chest muscles out wringing the buggers. I don't envy women who had to mess with this shit daily in old times gone by.

Like I say, I am fine with lighter weight items, and cashmere isn't much of a problem but I can get really fed up with not just smashing it all into a mixed wash and forgetting it.

Then, it's June. Colder than usual but we don't have the central heating on, so there's this pile of wet crap all over the house, windows open, dripping on to towels, and that's after a severe handwringing.

I wouldn't risk a linen sweater in the wash, no matter who advised it, but maybe I will be more mindful of what I purchase in the future. I used to love Poetry, but JHChrist I have no idea how people wash that shit and still have a life!

Yes I did about 7 the other day - I will admit some had been lying in the bottom of the wash basket for a while. Wanted them clean and fresh before putting away for " summer". I do spin them though so not sodden.

Wait, how? Can I spin mine? They're 100% linen (ex poetry from ebay, i'm a scrooge), please let me know tonight before our floors melt.

Gentle wash in the machine- sod hand-washing anything

well i am going to give it a go with a lesser loved item. Wish me luck!

I thought you were talking about hand hygiene!

I have a handwash setting on my washing machine. They still come out soaking wet though.

Tbh, I think that washing labels are usually overly cautious. Most things that say 'hand wash' can be put on a regular machine cycle. Things that say 'dry clean' can usually be hand washed.

If you don’t want to risk a machine spin (set at the absolute lowest level usually 400 or 600) then I’d suggest wrapping the rinsed items in a large towel. gently press it all over to blot the excess water
better for the fabric than hanging them drooping and dripping. Or lying flat and taking days to dry making them not so fresh

Agree use hand wash setting on the machine and then the lowest spin cycle. You can even put it on the lowest spin and when you hear the speed increasing just turn it off before it gets too fast. Use Ecover delicate detergent.

I have a hand wash cycle on my machine,it's mean to be less damaging than actually doing it by hand.

Put anything you are going to spin in a mesh bag though!

I use the hand wash setting on my machine plus net bags, use for Brora cashmere and toast linen and had no issues.
I also thought you were complaining about washing your hands 😂

this is great info, thank you!

Be careful tho - “D”H got cocky and decided delicates was the same as hand wash when obvs it isn’t and ruined a linen dress so now I’ve banned him from doing my washing

I use the delicates setting for anything cashmere or linen, also for swimwear and a bunch of other handwash only items. Turn the temp down to 20 (or cold for cashmere) and low spin.

Weird Our washer only offers 30 minimum on a delicate wash. It's admittedly a bit shit though!

My mum did this with my cherished wool ikea blanket years ago. It came out the size of a face cloth with the texture of weetabix.

Yes on mine delicates is 30 or 40, but it has separate hand wash setting and a setting labelled “cold - woolen” - life changing! It’s a Miele, still going strong since 2008!

Oh this is so sad 😭 it’s in fabric heaven with my beautiful linen dress that I wore ONCE before it was ruined.

I can adjust the temperature so use delicates but the temp dialled down. I probably ought to try the woollen cycle…

I just put everything in a mesh bag, use the delicates programme, gentlest spin, lowest temperature.

Then I lay each item flat on its own (old, not for daily use anymore) towel and roll it up like a sausage. Leave for 30 minutes. Unroll and let it dry flat on the floor. No elbow grease required at all.

My washing machine can do a much better wool/handwash than I can. I would never buy a linen sweater!

Even our wool wash only offers 30 at lowest point.

I reall y ought to do the 'big wash' before spring in preparation for next yr really, whilst the radiators are still on.
However, i do wear a few linen cardi's and jumpers in summer, so it's a pain in the arse.

Use the cold or wool setting at the lowest spin - mine is 600, but fasten the garment into a pillowcase to wash. I have washed wedding dresses at 30° in a single duvet cover, & they have come out perfectly well.

I'm puzzled by the delicacy of your linen garments. My linen garments are virtually bombproof - I can wash them on any setting, spin them hard, peg them out (or indoors) and iron them on the hottest setting. But mine are woven. Is 'jersey' linen different to woven linen?

On the rare occasion that I handwash anything heavy, I get in the bathtub with it and use my feet, rather than my hands. Then I get it into a bucket and haul it down to the washing machine for a spin.