what is the right/proper way to do washing?

[Oorki Galoorki]

i guess what im after is the martha stewart versionof doing the washing....
not so much how YOU do it but how SHOULD it be done

[Nelle]

If I manage to ever do it at all, I think I should be nominated for sainthood for performing a miracle.

[Tinks]

LOL

I wash whites seperately from colours, DH's work uniforms all together, towels and sheets on their own.

Bras are washed with the back clasped together so they dont hook on anyhting else

Use Omo or Radiant powder and cold water

All underwear goes on the inside of the washing line so hte neighbours don't see my granny knickers and huge bras. :P

Tops hung by the armpits

Share pegs with towels and Sheets which are hung on the outside...again, to hide granny knickers and massive bras.

I also fold as I'm taking htem off the line, saves heaps of time...and i DON'T iron, DH irons his own uniform

[OceanPrincess]

I don't think there is a "Martha Stewart" of washing! I'd say do it however you want!

ETA - there are probably some good guidelines, like using washing power/liquid suitable to your machine (eg front loaders need different stuff to top loaders I think), using cold water so colours don't run (and you get less of those horrible black balloons in the energy saving ads), separating whites and colours so your whites stay whiter.

I'm also very specific about separating delicates/special items (eg nice tops, work shirts that are pricey) so they don't go in with DH's work shorts (he's an electrician) and washing towels by themselves as they shed everywhere!

[Oorki Galoorki]

yeah but i want my clothes to last longer and to stay looking nice.. thats why im asking if there is a proper way

[*star*]

Sort out your dirty clothes into five piles, each of which will be washed separately:
Reds (especially non-fast)
Dark colored clothes
White clothes
Towels
Linens
Additional piles for light colored clothes, bright colored clothes, denim, or delicate apparel (whatever is appropriate).
Choose which pile you want to wash first.
Prepare all of your clothes. Empty all of your pockets of any pens, money, or important papers (although money can survive a wash). Close zippers to prevent snagging. Also, turn decorated t-shirts inside out, to eliminate peeling of decor.
Treat any heavy stains with stain remover before washing.
Add an appropriate amount of detergent into washing machine. Your detergent bottle should have a chart that tells what amount should be used for your wash load. If using a High Efficiency or front loading washing machine with soft water, use minimum recommended amount of detergent. Add liquid softener if desired. If you need to add bleach, put it in appropriate dispenser. Always handle bleach carefully as it can cause harm to skin, eyes and clothing if it splashes.
Select the appropriate water temperature. Colors are washed in cold water. Whites, under most circumstances, can be washed in warm water without problem. To kill mites, bed linens (especially pillow-cases) need hot water.
When in doubt, go with cold water, as hot water can shrink clothes.
Add clothes to the washer but do not over stuff the washer as the clothes will not get very clean if there is too much laundry in it.
After the clothes are washed, shake them out so they will dry easier and with less wrinkles.
Check the tags on your clothing to see how they should be dried. Note that some clothes may require hang drying, whereas others can be tossed in the dryer. Some samples of clothes that need to be hang dried are: bras, swim suits, delicate apparel, quick drying material like work-out wear.
Choose which drying cycle you want, whether for colors or whites. Add a dryer sheet, if desired, to soften your fabrics.
Fold, iron, or hang your clothes immediately after drying to prevent wrinkles.
Take your clothes from the laundry room and put them in the closet or drawer where they belong.

According to WikiHow, the above is what you "should" do. I don't bother separating whites and colours, because I would never get a full load of whites. Also, it doesn't offer tips on hanging out, etc.

And yes, I am one of those "peg crazies"! I find it keeps my mind active whilst doing a mundane task! So I set little rules, which have no effect on whether my washing turns out better. Clothes to be ironed at the back, using the bigger blue pegs. Always have to use two matching pegs for an item, and sometimes I'm so anal that I have to match the peg colour to the item. I also have "favourite" colour pegs, that I use for my clothes!!! And the same colour for all undies and the same colour for all socks!

But that's enough about what you didn't want to hear about!!!

DH usually puts his t-shirts inside out- I'm not sure why - either to stop fading on the line, or so that the print doesn't stick to the iron when I iron them- I then turn back right side in. I never share pegs. I only use one peg for undies and just peg the side, although my friend uses two and pegs both sides (aah, the interesting conversations you can have about washing!!)

That's all I can think of now! I will pay attention to my next load and may add some more!

[LucaJack'sMum]

OK so this thread initially made me ROFL but when I stopped and thought about it I have my little rituals too...
Whites always at the front of the line so they get most sunshine to bleach stains, 'good' clothes atay inside out to prevent fading... and I have a favourite kind of peg...

TOO FUNNY!!!!

[Amaunet]

Hmmm...i wash when the hamper is full (its HUGE) or I run out of comfy undies LOL

I do seperate into darks, lights/whites and colours - I have heaps by the time I bother to wash so this works well. I REALLY want a sorting hamper so we sort as we go - think this may help - but can't find a good one!

[Glamourcide]

Okaay

DH's work clothes (including his singlets and socks) all go in together, I don't worry too much about whether they're inside out or not. Warm wash (on 'extra dirty', he gets filthy).

Towels, bedhseets, undies, DD's clothes and warm wash stuff (usually just 'around-the-house' clothes that I wear to bed etc) is all turned inside out and goes for a 'regular' warm wash cycle (I throw all that stuff in together, saves me doing separate loads with towels, then DD's stuff etc).

All my decent clothes and DH's casual clothes are black (I'm not kidding, I have like *one* white sundress and absolutely everything else I own is black, with the exception of a couple of pairs of jeans) so they get turned inside out, set on cold wash 'fast and light' cycle with a special laundry detergent for black clothing (instead of the regular powder I use for everything else). Some of the more delicate items (chiffon dresses etc) I pop in a lingerie bag to stop them getting treated too roughly in the machine (I'm far too lazy to handwash lol).

When hanging things out, towels or larger clothing items (shirts etc) go at the back to block the neighbours' view of my underwear (there's a church behind our fence haha, wouldn't want to offend anybody with the sight of my lacy lingerie!!), then DD's clothes and underwear in front. Large items get two pegs each, DD's little shirts and shorts get on peg in the middle. My underwear is turned right side out, and each pair gets a peg hanging it from one side (like at the hip, if that makes sense). Bras get pegged from just beside one cup to help stop them stretching (most of my bras are heavily padded so I try to even out the weight).
DH's casual shirts get hung from the bottom, jeans pegged at the waistband. My shirts and dresses get pegged at the shoulders or taken straight inside and hung on hangers to dry indoors (haaattteeee fading!!).
DH's work shirts get hung right-way-out, pegged at the shoulders, and again pants at the waistband.
I only share pegs between items if I'm doing another load of laundry and have run out of pegs, and then I'll only share them between things like towels and DD's 'spitrags' (cloth nappies I use for changemats and bibs), otherwise I leave the newly-washed laundry in the machine until the last load is dry and can come down


It's funny how we all have little quirks when it comes to doing the housework 'perfectly'!! DH taught me that you never fill up the second basin in the sink with hot water for rinsing, he just puts soapy dishes in the drainer and then pours hot water over everything until they're properly rinsed hahaha, something about hygiene and water going cold and getting filthy but yeah, now it's just habit and I hate seeing anybody rinse their dishes in a sink full of water!!

[AngelPunks]

ok I'm a weird peg fetish girl

All clothes inside out

Dark
all my suit pants in one load - put on hangers and hung on the clothes line in my garage so they don't fade (even though I hang them inside out)
dark tops for work - all hung on hangers inside

Coloured
tops on hangers, pants on pants hangers unless they're jeans and then they get pants pegs and put on the line

White
tops on hangers, pants on pants hangers, t-shirts & gym clothes on line

Underwear
one light load & one dark load - dried on the clothes horse inside

Towels in one load - I have king sized bath sheets so I get 1 towel & bathmat in one load - hot water - use pants pegs for these on the line, brought inside before they are 100% dry and put on the clothes horse

Sheets - bed per load - done in hot water - pegs colour coordinated to sheet
Tea-towels are done in one load and then once every 6-8 weeks I boil them on the stove

[~CrazyMumOf3~]

my clothes, df's casual clothes, kids clothes all get washed together (unless denim or darker colours which will either be washed on their own or with DF's work clothes - depends how dirty they are)
DF's work clothes(his undies, singlets and socks)
sheets
towels/tea towels

~ Towels are always put in the dryer

~ clothes get sorted into who owns what before going into basket to be hung out.
i use 1/4 of the line at a time and start with DD#2's clothes, then DD#1's, my undies then my clothes, Df's casual clothes, Df's underwear, singlets and socks, then work clothes. clothes get hung inside out to prevent fading, pants by the feet with 4pegs, shirts by the bottom with 2. socks get paired up and pegged together. Everything is folded as its being taken off the line and turned in the right way(unless raining). from there i go room to room and put away DD#2, DD#1, ours

~ Sheets are never washed on a day i do clothes but because of small line they get folded before hanging.

i only peg share(not including socks) if im running out of pegs.

[Oorki Galoorki]

how do you wash things that are black and white??
in whites or blacks?

[Indadhanu]

I do clothes as one wash. Nappies as one wash. Towels, tea towels, and sheets as one wash. But only when its a full load. I'm pretty anal about full loads LOL! I don't separate colours... sometimes I do soak whites in nappysan with Jazzy's stuff (we soak a lot of Jazzy's bibs and suits after an unfortunate banana staining incident!).
Powder. Just chuck it with the clothes. Underneath or on top doesn't matter to me, the swirling dissolves everything. I also do fabric softener.
I cold wash everything unless its a super dooper delicate item that MUST be washed warm.
I couldn't be bother turning things inside out, then I'd just have to turn them back around again when I fold! They go in the machine the way they are in the basket, I just tip the basket into the machine!
Pants are pegged by the waist. Shirts are pegged by the bottom. Jazzy's rompers, and our undies, socks and bras are pegged two to a peg. Everything else gets one or two depending on how it stays on LOL and if i run out of pegs I peg share.

[Cupcake]

LOL
All underwear goes on the inside of the washing line so hte neighbours don't see my granny knickers and huge bras. :P

Bahaha i do the same!!

[AngelPunks]

My knickers don't go on the line - g-strings are REALLY hard to peg up so they go on the clothes horse inside