Washing Clothes!

[Charlie]

Being a student and living away from home for the first time, I'm not really 'up' on the whole washing stuff thing.

I'm just about to put on a white wash (yeah, I know that much at least) and I'm wondering if a green towel could be put in with it without making everything else turn green? :heh:

[Jordan]

Okay.
What you need to do is, make sure you only run it at 30C and on coloured cottons mode.

This means it'll clean everything propperly, but at a low temperature so that the colours wouldn't run.

[Bren]

Okay.
What you need to do is, make sure you only run it at 30C and on coloured cottons mode.

And u help save the polar bears

[Letty]

Okay.
What you need to do is, make sure you only run it at 30C and on coloured cottons mode.

This means it'll clean everything propperly, but at a low temperature so that the colours wouldn't run.

Wonder who showed you that :p

[Ellmeister]

Come to my house and my mummy will do it for you :p

Works for me.

[Mr_Odwin]

I do everything on a 40 degree wash and separate colours from whites. But some light colours can go in with whites. (Actually the wife does all of this and I just earn the pennies.)

[weeyellowbloke]

I find that on any washing machine setting 3 or 4 seems to get the job done pretty well. Then just bung in some washing powder or if your feeling environmentally loving, then get some of this stuff.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31fwC-Q1RdL._SS500_.jpg
I live in a house of eco warriors so they buy it all the time and it seems to do a pretty nice job.

[Jordan]

Wonder who showed you that :p

A goat called Bob.

[Shorty]

I was everything on 40. I never put a colour thing in with whites (too risky, why lose all your whites?) but sometimes put a white in with colours if I think everything's quite old and unlikely to run. I use... whatever powder/etc is on offer and can't afford teh luxury of softener.

[LazyBoy]

They don't have washing machines where I am so I wash everthing by hand. Yes, I'm that hardcore.

[KKOB]

I lump everything in together, my whites are white, my colours are clean, and i'm a happy boy who doesn't have to save up 3 weeks of whites to do a wash load.

[dynastygal]

I find that on any washing machine setting 3 or 4 seems to get the job done pretty well. Then just bung in some washing powder or if your feeling environmentally loving, then get some of this stuff.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31fwC-Q1RdL._SS500_.jpg
I live in a house of eco warriors so they buy it all the time and it seems to do a pretty nice job.

We use the ecover tablets, or tescos green or wtv they're called.

I usually just bung anything in apart from reds with whites. Too many a time have I had white socks become pink etc.

[Supergrunch]

I have no idea how the thing works, I just put £1.40 in, add in one of those Ariel fish eggy things and press the button. It's not like I have any whites to worry about, anyway...

[My Buttons are Magic!]

i dont do washing :(
i take it home to daddy (daddy does the clothes in our house :D)
have to learn sometime tho!

[Shino]

They don't have washing machines where I am so I wash everthing by hand. Yes, I'm that hardcore.

I bet they have a kung fu style for that.

[Charlie]

I have the added fun of only having about 3 buttons to choose from....

Colours, Whites or Delicates. :heh:

Guess I'll just save up some more whites (I've been saving for absolutely ages now, don't really have enough to justify £3 to wash/dry them). Got a decent-ish bundle together already...

[Shorty]

You could just yknow... bundle your stuff with your housemates. Depends how comfortable you are around bras and tighty whiteys.

[Jordan]

I'm sure Moria would love having his soiled underwear with hot girl panties :p

[Jimbob]

I wash my stuff in the machine half the time, the other half is usually washed in the machine when the parents wash their clothes as well.

[Iun]

£ 3 to wash? Jeez... for me it was £1.20 and that was only 2 years ago! Are your washing machines made of gold?

[Charlie]

£ 3 to wash? Jeez... for me it was £1.20 and that was only 2 years ago! Are your washing machines made of gold?

Yeah, it's bloody expensive, but that is to dry them as well. They're absolutely massive, you can fit loads of stuff in it.

Shorty: I've thought of that, but 3 of them (out of 4) go home at weekends and do it at home and the other is a bit... weird.

[Supergrunch]

Well, like I said, it's only £1.40 here... but the damn machines give no change! I put in two pounds, and it wouldn't give it back. Now whoever uses it next will find they only have to pay 80p, thanks to my forced philanthropy.

Oh, and drying costs 20p for 20 minutes... but my stuff was still a bit damp after I ran it for 40.

[Indigo]

Machines are £2 here for about a 45 minute wash - I usually do it at 40. I then pay £1 for a 50 minute tumble dry, which usually does a good job of drying out the creases (meaning I can avoid ironing). I tend to wash my darks every 10 days or so. Whites less often because I have so few and it seems like such a waste of money for only like five items of clothing.

As for towels, if it's an old towel then it should be fine to wash with either whites or darks. New towels though are likely to run, so it's a risk.

You know you're a student when you sustain a whole conversation about washing. :rolleyes:

[Hem]

Jeans -- If you're washing designer jeans or nice ones you don't want to fade quickly, turn them inside out before you put them in the machine. The blue keeps a little longer. I wash mine in cold water and dry them on medium, permanent press-type cycles.


Dress shirts -- For really good ones just get them dry cleaned. You won't have to worry about them shrinking or getting their colour ruined with other clothes. For casual dress shirts, I stick with the cold water and often don't dry them at all; just hang them in the shower to dry, so they avoid shrinkage.

T-shirts -- Standard warm wash and regular dry, though I've noticed they shrink no matter what you do. I tend to not buy t-shirts that are too snug so that when they wash they won't get too small. Most of them are colour-fast these days, so you can wash them with a variety of colours and not worry about running. If it runs, it was a cheap shirt.


Detergent -- don't skimp on this! Generic-brand detergents suck at keeping colour and can be rougher on the clothes. I prefer liquid to powder always.


Tennis shoes -- Leather shoes can actually be thrown in the washing machine (laces out), but I don't do this. I use dish detergent and a brush, and just clean them off by hand. As for canvas shoes, I think they can be put in a machine too but I'm not sure.


Socks -- If you're not sacrificing one per month to the laundry gods, making uneven matches in your drawer, then you're doing something wrong.


Machines -- If possible, get the water running first, then put the detergent in, then put the clothes in. Some machines won't run water with the lid open, in which case you have to put the detergent in first, then the clothes, then close the lid and start the cycle. If you put the detergent in last, on top of the clothes, it may wash unevenly because the liquid will sit on some of the clothes for a few moments before the water fills in.

[Iun]

Well, like I said, it's only £1.40 here... but the damn machines give no change! I put in two pounds, and it wouldn't give it back. Now whoever uses it next will find they only have to pay 80p, thanks to my forced philanthropy.

Oh, and drying costs 20p for 20 minutes... but my stuff was still a bit damp after I ran it for 40.

Yeah, that cost was the same at Reading. A maximum of about 40 mins was necessary for Tumble Drying. The rest could be strung up in the room.

God, I hated Halls...

[EEVILMURRAY]

Simple solution is, don't have anything white. I can't be doing with white clothes since they seem to get dirty the quickest and shows up for the world to see a whole lot more.

One liquitab is all j00 need also.

[uəʌəsʎɐɾ]

I've never split my whites from my colours personally. None of my clothes melt into each other! All t-shirts end up either looking old and worn-in, or just ignored and discarded. Since I've been to uni (which is probably close to two months now, folks!) I've washed my clothes precisely ONCE! Wahey! Two liquitabs, seeing as they were left for so long to fester... ahem...

Yeah, I've been a skank. But to be honest, washing machines are far too complicated for what they are.

[Hellfire]

There are some little towels that you can put in the washing machine that absorve ink, so that you can mix different colors. Really useful. Use them all the time.
Loads of times, I just pile up, take it home and my mom washes it, depending on the time I stay here in Lisbon.