Washing clothes advice (washer, colors, stains, lights)

[himain]

Ok so I've been washing clothes for several years here but some of my clothes have turned dingy. I always wash my clothes in cold water. Is this right? Can anyone advise me on how to wash clothes properly so I don't damage anymore?? LOL Thanks

[anifani821]

Originally Posted by himain

Ok so I've been washing clothes for several years here but some of my clothes have turned dingy. I always wash my clothes in cold water. Is this right? Can anyone advise me on how to wash clothes properly so I don't damage anymore?? LOL Thanks

First of all, how do you sort your clothes? Are you being very careful about keeping all dark things w/ only dark items, all light things together, and all white stuff separate?

For white things, such as towels, wash clothes and socks . . . wash those in hot water and occasionally use some bleach. That will keep stuff white and bright. You don't have to use bleach but occasionally - if things start looking dingy.

Also, blends will get dingy faster than cottons. You can use a brightener in your wash - or a detergent that has a brightener in it - (non bleach) such as Gain. Just look on the box and you will find something that designates it contains a brightener that is safe for colored materials.

The other consideration may be your water. If you have "hard" water, then that may be leaving a residue on your clothes.

Despite what others may advise, my personal method is to never use cold water, except for lingerie and delicate items. On everything else, use warm water - except for bed linens and towels/wash clothes. To kill bacteria and dust mites, you really need to wash those things in hot water.

Unfortunately, we are given a lot of differing advice about laundry, but as an inveterate laundry Queen . . . try these suggestions and see how they work for you.

Also - certain man-made fibers seem to get dingy just from being dried in a drier. Don't know if that would apply in your situation but just throwing it out there so you can analyze things overall.

Hope this helps!

[himain]

Ani-I knew you'd answer so I'll tell you what I do and how I'm more than likely doing it wrong. I put darks with darks and lights with lights. Never separate whites (thats probably my problem right there). I've just always heard to wash in cold water so nothing shrinks..Ok we'll have to go over this when we meet at the monthly meeting

[tet tea]

Check the water pipes that lead into the washer if they are old. Sometimes that can lead to a dingy wash and is a sign they need replacing.

[KY Filly]

One more thing.....are you using too much detergent? If too much detergent is used then the excess may not be getting rinsed out in the rinse cycle. Then when you dry you're drying clothes with detergent residue which can lead to dingy clothing. Just a thought. I've read that most of us use way too much detergent - we think if a little is good then a lot must be better (kind of like a little chocolate is good but a lot of chocolate is Great!!) LOL

[Flamingo13]

I wash in cold - every once in awhile, I'll do the whites in hot w/bleach (like every few months) - cold water "supposedly" saves you money, I haven't seen any problem with any of our clothes.

[anifani821]

Originally Posted by himain

Ani-I knew you'd answer so I'll tell you what I do and how I'm more than likely doing it wrong. I put darks with darks and lights with lights. Never separate whites (thats probably my problem right there). I've just always heard to wash in cold water so nothing shrinks..Ok we'll have to go over this when we meet at the monthly meeting

Could be - keep whites w/ whites and if you need to bleach occasionally, it will be fine. I used to use cold water, too, but then I read that if you always use cold, it does not really kill bacteria plus detergent does not dissolve as well in cold water.

Now there are other things we can check out, too . . . such as the cycle you wash things on . . . for your lingerie and silky stuff . . . cold is ok for that . . . and on fine or delicate cycle. But what i do . . . is b/f I put the clothes in . . . I run out a little bit of warm water and let the detergent dissolve in that - then quickly turn it back to cold water . . . let it fill up and then put the clothing in after the detergent has dissolved well.

Oh, Himain, I truly am the Laundry Diva. It is the only "chore" I actually LIKE doing! LOL!!! Stains? I have a solution for everything. Years of practice and desperation - trying to clean up behind BOYS!!! And a H who loves working the yard, building stuff outdoors, etc.

Also - who knows what has been in your water as far as minerals . . .

[FLtoVA]

Another thing that you may want to keep in mind is to keep like fabrics together as well as colors. Don't wash towels with sheets, etc.

[movingtohouston]

They make a special detergent now that is formulated for cold water washing. I think it is supposed to break down better in cold water than standard detergent does. That might help.

[bibit612]

My H says I treat laundry like a science more than an art form.

I even have subsets for the whites/lights/darks rule:

Whites/towels - Hot/cold (wash/rinse) unless meant for cold water wash (such as linens, rayons, delicates)

Lights - warm/cold

Darks - warm/cold unless meant for cold water

Bedsheets/bed linen - all to themselves in hot/cold

Under each, sort by lint givers and lint receivers; for example, towels, sweat pants or anything terry are lint givers. Do not mix with lint receivers (wool sweaters). So, don't even wash the dark towels with H's dark pants or you'll find the lint depositing on the receiving fabric.

Pay special attention to the lint rule in the dryer!