My washing is dirtier than when it went in??

Why do they make football and rugby kits white? My grandson plays in green and white hoops, plain white shorts and white socks with a green band . Grrrrrrr

One of those old washboards would be ideal Solitaire but you are right they are hard to come by. I am after an old mangle and I can't get one for love nor money .

Hi Gillybob, I think I've washed the kit in too high a temperature this time. Now I have 3 seperate kits to wash several times a week as he's now playing club, school and County rugby. All with WHITE ? I need one of those old washboards....I expect the skiffle groups (remember them?) have done with them now...eBay here I come.

My lazy lovely DDiL sends the scruffy and tricky stuff for me to wash. She would hate for me to be bored.

I don't have any Rugby Sock experience Solitaire but have plenty filthy Football Sock knowledge !

Depending on how many I have got to do (and thankfully i am still dealing with 6,7,8 year olds) I put a sock on each hand and rub hard with biological soap powder or liquid (or if they are particularly bad I use vanish). Its pointless putting them straight in the wash like that as the dirt will just set and it will never come out. The other thing I do is to lay the foot of the sock out on an old chopping board and scrub with an old nail brush. My cleaning kit is overflowing!

My poor hands. Thank god for Atrixo !

Teddy 123 my grandson lives with me ? and I wash his kit 3 times each week. This has never happened to my washing before and now I feel ashamed about his grey kit. I'll be off to rugby with a paper bag on my head...with 2 holes cut out so that I can watch the game.?

Hollycat MIL wouldn't entertain anything other than a glass one! The wood disintegrated a few years ago and DH managed to make a new frame which delighted her. It is still in her kitchen and given half a chance she would use it. However at 92 and very unsteady on her feet, her daughters insist on taking her washing home with them. This is referred to as a 'dirty wash' in one of those new fangled automatic things. Apparently if you don't work up a sweat the washing won't be clean!

lujaha: baking soda is bicarbonate of soda, and it's useful for so many things, including washing hair (one teaspoon to a cup of warm water) - a tip I got from Gransnet!

Does anyone know if baking soda is either bicarbonate of soda, or, baking powder ? I am confused! And is it possible to still buy Lux soap flakes ? Thank you in advance.

Hi Funnygran your post stirred a memory. When I was a child the old lady next door used to take in washing. She had a big copper she lit a fire under, a huge mangle, a small zinc baby bath for the bluebag and THREE rubbing boards. One was wooden, very soft and splintery, one was metal in a wooden frame, and her "best" board was glass. I still can't get my head around anyone having a BEST rubbing board!

MIL used to use a glass rubbing board for all her whites. She was taught how to use it in domestic science lessons at school in the 20's. Any whites came up beautifully and the grandchildren used to bring her their sports socks to wash. I don't think they lasted as long as if they went in a machine though as she was very vigorous with them!

Yes it is....Long ago it was used to brush teeth

Fairy Godmother may be buying him some new rugby socks

Bbnan - is "bread soda" what I call baking soda?

I'm more curious as to why your washing grandson's kit.

You must be the Fairy Godmother ........

I should give the washing machine a good de-gunge and a run-through with a proprietary cleaner (no washing) before you use it again. Consult the manual for how to dismount the filter for cleaning out. If it's an older model, the gasket, the rubber edging round the door, might need replacing.

My brother's rugby club strip was black and red. Because of laundry ravages they became known as the team who play in grey and pink!

Lots of people do wash trainers in the washing machine, Blinko!

Towels not white again, not trainers, of course. what was I thinking!

Just completed a wash after three chaps from the Tough Guy challenge came back to our b&b totally covered in mud. White towels had been used to clean their trainers, by the looks of it. We thought they'd never be white again (the trainers, not the chaps). Amazingly though, once soaked for an hour or so in Vanish then set the machine on 'pre wash', then 'wash', again in Vanish, they came up snowy! Like I say, we were gobsmacked. Worth a try, I'd have thought.

I think the pre soak in Napisan could be the culprit or my not usual use of Ariel and on too high a temperature...apparently affects any polyester type fabric, which is what his kit is made from.

Forgot to add that it deals with grass stains nicely too - I must test it on thick mud sometimes but our football days are over thank goodness. I can still remember the smell of my son's kitbag when he had left it at school over the weekend instead of bringing it home!

You can buy Liquid soapflakes for washing machines which are very good. I always use them for my husbands socks, pants and T-shirts as anything else makes him itch like fury. I also wash my white tennis gear in this liquid and it is still sparkling white although donkeys years old.

????? It's done it again!

Why did predictive texting remove my * from P* ?

Thank you for all of the support. It's also affected the white flashes on the kit. I think you're right Tanith that the temperature was too high. I had accidentally changed the setting this time. I've tried the suggestion about soda but no luck so far...I haven't tried washing them in p* though JALIMA ??