Laundry

[Chevbowlyn]

Okay, who here actually follows the care instructions on their clothes and do you think it actually helps your clothes to last longer?

[blackbetty]

I wash everything in cold including diapers per my microbiologist friend's suggestion. Less wear and tear on fabric, less energy to heat water ($$$), and the soap is what damages the cell walls of the bacteria and kills it anyway, having the hot water up high enough to kill bacteria with heat is extremely dangerous. I dry everything in the dryer except hand knits. For some things I use a dry cycle with no heat. And I use a tablespoon of mrs Meyers fabric softener in every load

[strawberries]

I usually do everything like I do babies: cold water on gentle cycle, although if there are specified instructions I will follow them. If there's a stain I pretreat & use normal cycle. I tumble dry low everything.

[briannaspeaks]

I wash everything in cold water except towels and my boyfriends work clothes. My grandmother, mother and myself have always done this and never had any problems. I rarely use my dryer. I hang dry all my clothes and then usually dry them (in the dryer)for 10 mins just to soften them up. I personally think by not using a dryer, your clothes can last longer.

[subject99]

My dad is a little OCD and follows everything to a T so if I can I normally hand the laundry off to him. But if I Do it. I always wash the kids clothes in Ivory Snow,cold water, normal cycle and water the drying instructions are. My clothes are just cold water normal cycle and normal dry or hang dry. I don't separate my clothes. I never have a big enough load for towels or colours so I just throw everything togther.

[fossilfinger]

I wash everything in cold water, hang dry a select few sweaters, and hand wash my bras in the sink. I have ruined many clothes. Oh well. Less effort.

[subject99]

I wash everything in cold water, hang dry a select few sweaters, and hand wash my bras in the sink. I have ruined many clothes. Oh well. Less effort.

Ah yes. Hand wash all bras too. Hang dry bras too.

[kingoflove21vher]

I dom't bother hand washing my bras because I seem to manage to grow out of them within two months.

[thegooseiscooked]

I'm a very lazy washer. I don't follow instructions, I don't separate colours and I even wash my son's uniform in the machine despite the fact it clearly says dry clean only. Ha ha.

I have a front loader and the coldest setting is 30 C, but it's only cold water coming out of the tap. The machine heats it. I do a hot wash every week because the machine can get scale and mould if not. (I think that is to do with our water supply). I don't use fabric softener, sometimes I will add a cap of vinegar as a rinse aid.

I rarely use the dryer, I am a huge fan of line drying and we have the climate here to accommodate that all year round. Sometimes in winter, I have to finish things off in the dryer because they don't quite get fully dry. I have had my dryer for 15 years and it's probably been used for 20 hours total.

That's another of my NY resolutions, be better about following instructions and keep up with the washing.

[kingoflove21vher]

86 degrees is your lowest setting? I thought cold averaged between 60-80 or something.

I suck at doing laundry (at least the one time I tried - I thought I was supposed to pour the soap on the clothes), and my mom won't let me do it.

[thegooseiscooked]

Ooh huh...whoops. I just went and looked at it and there is a cold setting that I've never used. I just assumed that 30 was the coldest because that's the lowest temperature to choose from but I suppose if you just select cold, it won't heat the water at all.

See how bad I am?

[Shameless]

We do all of ours on cold, normal quick cycle. Clothes, towels, sheets, everything. We use Omo laundry powder, not sure if they have this in other coutnries. No fabric softener as I don't believe it does anything. Everything is dried on the clothes line outside, things that you are worried will fade get hung inside-out. Only ever use the drier if it is raining and you really need stuff washed.

Bras and other stuff that stretches/damages easily goes into a mesh bag thing which stops them getting tangled up and stretched from one side of the washer to the other.