White, Light and Dark

I’ve just put a mixed colours wash in, most of the clothes I wore when away in slightly warmer climes last week.
I always wash whites together on a hot wash, that’s sheets, towels etc.

I’ve always washed whites separately since my mother complained that my clean underwear looked like ‘a heap of grey dust’, when I was 15. I love, love, loved my mother, but she grew up in working-class poverty in days when the whiteness of your whites (and the redness of your cardinal redded doorstep’ was a powerful signifier that though poor, you were respectable.

This reusable colour catcher doesn't seem to contain any chemicals and is big enough not to get stuck in the washing machine.
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07VV58692?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&tag=gransnetforum-21

It doesn't matter if they become more coloured, they still work.

I’m amazed at the multiple washes some are doing with energy price hikes, cutting back here.

Would not occur to me not to. I wash my towels bedding whites at the highest temperature. Imagine that with black knickers or similar!

I use laundry disinfectant in almost all my loads as I wash at a max of 40 degrees and this temperature has been proven not to kill all bugs. The only things I am fussy about washing with coloured things are my nylon bras. I never use conditioner as DD was allergic to it and I never miss it in fact I hated how it made the towels soft but not absorbent . DDIL insisted all baby clothes were washed by themselves for three months .

Penelopebee

Oh no I must be a total freak. I have 4 linen bins: dark, whites, reds, mixed (which will often get sorted to dark and light mixed)
I do bedding and towels on change day separately. Kitchen cloths often have a bleach soak before washing separately.
Now it's written down I'm trying to satisfy myself I'm organised.!?!?!
I have a red bin as Mr grumpy has a red uniform and over the years had many episodes of red things running so it always just worked like that.
I love things hanging on the line outside and hate winter when it's inside. I like ironing too!
Yes ok I'm a freak lolol

* *

A woman after my own heart! I agree on the fine sorting and on the ironing! I won't say how many categories I sort my washing into, but it's a lot. Some cycles are for a 4 kg load so I don't fill the machine up. It takes 7 kg.

My whites are still white. I made some flannels for the DGD at the request of my DiL out of an old white towelling bathrobe. They are now dark grey. I don't think she sorts anything.

womblekelly

Dont bother with colour sorting but do wash sheets and duvet in a separate wash otherwise rverything gets stuck in the duvet cover.

If you close all the fastenings in the duvet cover it is fine .

I sort washing out but have enough clothes etc to collect a full load of whatever I am washing and do it that way. Always put my washing out on the line, it smells so much better and things like towels fluff up and are so much better than things dried inside, cheaper too!. Dont have a tumble dryer, Hand wash precious things such as my cashmere jumpers which I have had for years as I take care of them and never put them in a washer even though they say you can , but I dont believe them and think it only wears things out quicker. I do like red and so things like newish t shirts and tops are washed by hand until the red stops coming out and then they go in with coloured wash.

I wash everything at 30, but do a dark or a light wash, using an egg shaped thing my daughter in law gave me. New things are hand washed a few times first, to test for colour fastness.

I did laugh at JanT8 ‘s friend!

cc* Unfortunately I visit France a lot and I buy it there. The brand is L'abre Vert, an it is based on 'soap of Marseille.

As to whether it whitens well, I have absolutely no idea as whiteness isn't something I notice paticularly, so I never look for it and there are very few items of white clothing in either mine or DH's wardrobe.

I just divide washing into lights and darks and do one load of each a week. If anything does look dull or stained, I bleach it.

M0nica Could you tell me which soap based detergent you use? And does it whiten things well? Thanks.

I'm appalled by the state of my daughter and daughter in law's white washing, they don't sort but just bung everything in together and it all goes pink or grey. They're not alone though, when I do the school run I see how many of the children are in "tinted" white shirts! I should add that I'm not a very domesticated animal but can't understand why they wouldn't bother to spend a couple of minutes sorting.

I sort everything by colour too, but have two dark washes: one for delicates and jumpers, and one for things like socks and T-shirts that need a good long wash.
I do one which is just whites but my underwear sneaks into this too as I need a non-bio (sensitive skin). I don't have much in the ways of coloureds that aren't dark except for towels which go in on their own every couple of weeks when I have enough for a load.
I use a colour liquid detergent for darks and a non-bio powder for whites as powder is supposed to whiten better.

I don't use any of the detergents that are all-in-one or said to soften the washing as I've found that this makes things disintegrate as the softened fabric doesn't wear so well. I don't use fabric softeners for the same reason. Has anybody else noticed this or is it just me?

I have whites (which Inc test towels, towels and dish cloths for a high temp wash) coloureds/darks and lights. Occasionally an odd item pile eg special jumper/something delicate. Can’t wait for better weather and line drying .

Still sort laundry into whites washed at 60, coloureds at 40 and delicates at 30. I have noticed DS and DIL wash everything together and they all come out OK so not quite sure why I bother really, just habit I suppose.

Colour Catchers have changed the way I wash now. It means I can combine colours, which make less loads, therefore I save on energy costs. The only thing I do wash separately now is my white underwear

Why use a colour catcher when sorting is free?

Yes, I sort. In my opinion colour-catchers are just more expense and more chemicals that may be found to do harm, down the line (or indeed trigger allergies).

Glad to see all the interest this got - it’s my favourite household task - I get great satisfaction from a pile of lovely soft, sweet smelling laundry!
Sure someone has said this but put your colour catcher sheet in a little net laundry bag then it won’t get in the workings.
I bought a reusable colour catcher, like a little towel square - but already quite coloured after 2-3 washes. So back to the papery ones - which you can get 2-3 washes out of .

I also had a problem with ColourCatchers some years ago, it got stuck in the drainage pipe. The engineer told me to always pin them onto a garment , and I do using 2 safety pins, and never had a problem since !
On a different note I had a lovely neighbour who asked me a ‘personal’ (her words not mine !) question ‘ do you put Geoff’s underwear and socks in with yours ?’ Yes, of course !
Oh No ! She said I always put H’s in with the dog blankets !!

Everything is pre-sorted into colours/whites here. Dh has some new Levis and the dye comes off on your hands, let alone in the WM! They go in a jeans wash for now. I wear quite a bit of pink and reddish colours so now and then we have a red wash.

Dd lobs everything in together and the white and pastel stuff goes grey very quickly. I feel quite sad to see nice clothes spoilt and made dull. Still, not my circus etc.

I’ve never had a problem with colour catchers if they’re inside a mesh bag. I re-use them if possible, then use them as cleaning cloths before I throw them away.
Our bedding is all light or white, so I put any white clothes in the wash with that, plus laundry cleanser.
In Winter most of our clothes tend to be dark, so they soon add up to a full load.

GrannyGravy13

Mazgg I sort my washing into darks, colours, light colours, whites.

Dusters/cleaning cloths/floor wipe heads get washed separately, as do towels and bedding.

Just how I am…

Me too GrannyGravy. Just get cross if a dark sock gets caught up in the light or white wash and it gets (as my mum would call it) 'ditched'

There's always an odd black sock.

I still sort but still mess up - just washed a navy cashmere jumper with the dark in the machine instead of hand washing - hoping it won't have shrunk or bobbled too much.