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Laundry procedures

Dump everything together in there. Add detergent. Wash.

I grew with my mother hounding me to separate by color, turn stuff inside out, etc.
most of my stuff if Fire Retardant.
Everything gets washed together.
Shirts and pants get hung up slightly damp.
Everything else gets dry.
If I do a second load it’s either because one of the kids brought over laundry, or it’s sheets and such.
No fabric softener.
And in a pinch, the dryer makes a pretty good dresser or chest of drawers.

Wash and rinse in cold water for everything . Colors , whites , no issues . Deep Water setting.
Not allowed to wash any of the wife's clothes under penalty of death .

When do you add the Kleenex. That's where things generally go wrong.

I generally sort lights, medium and dark colors and call it good. Then again I got fired from laundry in 2005.

Jack Reacher just buys new stuff when what he's wearing gets dirty.

I have seperate loads: Darks, whites, towels, sheets. I think that's pretty normal, washer has a different setting for 3 of those loads.

The following comes from a bachelor who throws everything together in the same load and warm wash/cold rinse, and has to use a laundromat, a necessary evil chore that I detest and to be gotten over with ASAP (people's behavior in laundromats is worthy of a rant), so take it FWIW.

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socks and underwear are washed inside-out

I don't, but it does make some sense after thinking about it. After all, that's where the "funk" builds up. When I remember to, I like to turn my pant pockets inside out to keep them clean(er) of lint and gritty dirt.

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jiu jitsu wear is washed separately

Is it made of a fabric such as silk that needs special laundering? Also, isn't this wear almost entirely white except for a waistband sash, emblems and such? Whites are normally washed separately and not mixed with colors anyway. So this would make sense.

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regular gym wear is washed with regular clothes

Nothing wrong with that.

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washcloths and towels are washed together, separate from clothing

Maybe a little fussy, but not weird. The thing about towels is that you use them to dry yourself off after you've washed, so they don't get dirty, just damp. When they get crusty from hard water buildup, then you can wash them.

Toss it all in one run, shit stains and all.

1st load: whites - extra bleach, extra rinse cycle
2nd load: socks/underwear - no fabric softener, extra rinse cycle
3rd load: dark colored pants, shirts, etc. - fabric softener, single rinse
4th load: light colored pants, shirts, etc. - color brightener, fabric softener, single rinse
5th load: colored towels - color brightener, no fabric softener, single rinse


Why?

Any “leftover” bleach that may discolor outer wear is irrelevant for socks and underwear extra rinse to try and minimize leftover bleach.
Extra rinse/no softener on underwear/sock to reduce any skin rashes from laundry products
Fabric softener in external clothing cause it smells nice
Color brightener to keep brights bright (not needed on dark clothes)
No softener on colored towels - reduces absorption.

Warm wash. Cold rinse. Everything goes into the wash together and dried together. I use the cheapest detergent $$$ can buy with no issues.

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Originally posted by hudr:
And in a pinch, the dryer makes a pretty good dresser or chest of drawers.

I've taken to doing this. Not sure why I have a dresser anymore.

Separate towels from other clothing, they take longer to dry, you don't want them in the dryer with your other items as it will over run even with sensors.

Jeans, towels heavy stuff goes together in the wash then dryer.

Otherwise it all goes in at one time, the days of needing hot water to clean whites are long gone with todays detergents..

I only separate work clothes from rest, due to how filthy they become.

Everything gets cold wash. Only separate heavy & light items for drying.

Water is hard in my area. A double rinse for heavier items.

The only special care is spot treating with soap before washing.
Turning printed t-shirts inside out to protect the graphics a bit.

I separate colors and fabrics. Different settings, ie... regular, gentle, cold, warm, etc...

On heavy towels, blankets, etc... extra rinse cycle.

Fabric softener on towels and blankets, sheets, etc...

When I was a Freshman in High School, I came home from wrestling practice and told my Mom, I needed my clothes washed for the next day, for practice.. She took me and and introduced me to the washer and dryer.

I have been doing laundry ever since.

Clothes go in washer.

~fin~

Washing different colors & fabrics separate from one another is fine at one's home with one's own machine, but not when one or two people in a laundromat take up half the machines. If enough of them, they'll use all the machines.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: egregore,

Put the days clothes in the washer, wash on normal with cold water. Get in shower. After shower and washer finished, put days clothing in dryer. Next morning, put sleepwear, towels and wash cloths in washer, and start. Remove clothing from dryer and either put it on or fold and put away, and choose a different outfit. Drink coffee. When towels in washer are done, transfer to dryer and start. Leave for breakfast at local beanery. Repeat daily. I have a smallish front load washer and don’t like to let laundry build up, requiring a half day ordeal of babysitting the machines.

I never use bleach, that stuff is a great cleaner and disinfectant, but it destroys clothing.

Years ago at chef school someone told me about using Cascade dishwasher powder to wash whites and other things instead of bleach and it works really well, the enzyme action does the cleaning without the damaging effects of bleach.

Try to remember to remove Kleenex from pockets before washing.