Poll: How do you wash your clothes?

[cransplash]

I know we did this back on TN, but thought I'd love to get some opinions again.

1. What detergent do you use to wash your dark/delicate clothes?
2. What detergent do you use to wash other clothes?
3. Do you use mesh bags for your underwear? Bras?
4. Do you put them in the same bag together, and how do you think this helps your delicates?
5. Workout gear- Do you use any specific extra detergent?
6. Do you wash your towels separately from your clothes?
7. Do you use fabric softener, and if so, on what clothes/towels?
8. Your best laundry tip

[cransplash]

I'll start

1. What detergent do you use to wash your dark/delicate clothes? Woolite Dark
2. What detergent do you use to wash other clothes? Tide + Scoop of Oxiclean for whites (clothes & towels), though not sure if Oxiclean really works
3. Do you use mesh bags for your underwear? Bras? Yes to both
4. Do you put them in the same bag together, and how do you think this helps your delicates? No, I put my underwear and bras in separate mesh bags. Not sure if this helps prolong the wear of the bags, but I do it anyways. I am careful not to overfill the mesh bags with underwear for fear it won't get laundered well enough
5. Workout gear- Do you use any specific extra detergent? No
6. Do you wash your towels separately from your clothes? Absolutely
7. Do you use fabric softener, and if so, on what clothes/towels? I used to use fabric softener until I heard it reduces absorbency for towels, and I know you can't use it on LLL and other workout gear b/c it reduces the wickaway abilities. Now my Dwony just sits in my laundry room, and I don't know what to do with it I love the smell though and wish I knew what I could use it on
8. Your best laundry tip
1. Don't wash towels with your regular clothes
2. I wash all my dark delicates (this includes LLL/workout gear) inside out in cold water in shortest timer setting, and then hang dry everything. Big pain, but I think it is worth it

[anaps28]

1& 2 I use Mrs Meyers for whites /darks and delicates, pretty much everything in the house. I use The Laundress for cashmere
3. I put my bras in mesh bags, it keeps them in one piece. otherwise the straps get killed in the washer I have
4. no specific detergent, just no dryer sheets for my Lulu stuff
5. Towels are seperate

[marylou]

Why is it so important to wash towels separately? I've never heard that before.

[FormerCityGirl]

1. What detergent do you use to wash your dark/delicate clothes?
Just regular detergent.

2. What detergent do you use to wash other clothes?
Same stuff as above.

3. Do you use mesh bags for your underwear? Bras?
Only bras and the bags are shaped with metal stays to help the T-shirt ones keep their shape.

4. Do you put them in the same bag together, and how do you think this helps your delicates?
No, 1 item per bag.

5. Workout gear- Do you use any specific extra detergent?
No, but I don't use fabric softener and I hang them to dry. All my stuff is LLL and I plan to keep it nice. Nothink goes in the load with it.

6. Do you wash your towels separately from your clothes?
Yep, we have way too many towels to use them to fill out loads when we do them. Pool+Summer=Washing lots of towels

7. Do you use fabric softener, and if so, on what clothes/towels?
I use white vinegar on regular clothes and fabric softener on towels.

8. Your best laundry tip
A cup of white vinegar in the was with new clothes that are dark helps set the color to keep them hfrom fading and Shout Color Catchers really do keep clothes from getting damaged by bleeding.

[Deleted]

1. What detergent do you use to wash your dark/delicate clothes? Use the same for all clothes-TJ's detergent

2. What detergent do you use to wash other clothes?

3. Do you use mesh bags for your underwear? Bras? no mesh bag for undies, bras are hand washed

4. Do you put them in the same bag together, and how do you think this helps your delicates? N/A

5. Workout gear- Do you use any specific extra detergent? Hah. I don't work out.

6. Do you wash your towels separately from your clothes? Yes

7. Do you use fabric softener, and if so, on what clothes/towels? No softener. We use dryer balls.

8. Your best laundry tip. Spray n wash stain stick...it will get out anything. Get it, use it, love it.

[315bride]

I use Kirkland detergent for everything, the environmentally-friendly, good-for-people-with-sensitive-skin kind.

I use mesh bags for bras and other delicate items.

I wash workout stuff the same as my other clothes.

Towels make it in wherever they can fit.

I don't use fabric softener, but I do add white vinegar to the rinse (especially for towels and linens).

Best laundry tip: don't machine-dry clothing. It's killer on fabric. The only things that get machine-dried in my household are towels, linens, cotton underthings, and pajamas.

[karebear304]

1. What detergent do you use to wash your dark/delicate clothes?
We use Gain or 7th Generation for HE for all clothes

2. What detergent do you use to wash other clothes?
Same stuff as above.

3. Do you use mesh bags for your underwear? Bras?
No, but I should. I do hook the bras together so the hooks don't snag on other clothes

4. Do you put them in the same bag together, and how do you think this helps your delicates?
N/A

5. Workout gear- Do you use any specific extra detergent?
I don't really have workout clothes, but H washes his clothes separately and hangs a lot of them. We call that load the "stank clothes"

6. Do you wash your towels separately from your clothes?
Nope - we're sort of laundry lazy

7. Do you use fabric softener, and if so, on what clothes/towels?
Yep - just the snuggle dryer sheets on pretty much everything.

8. Your best laundry tip
Separate your darks from lights. I thought this was pointless when using cold water until I ended up with pink sheets instead of while.

[Deleted]

Jun 9, 2012 6:15:32 GMT -5 cransplash said:

I know we did this back on TN, but thought I'd love to get some opinions again.

1. What detergent do you use to wash your dark/delicate clothes? Dark and delicate: Woollite dark, delicate: Woollite, dark: cheer dark
2. What detergent do you use to wash other clothes? Kirkland signature free and clear (Costco)
3. Do you use mesh bags for your underwear? No, those go in their own load Bras? yes
4. Do you put them in the same bag together, and how do you think this helps your delicates? Underwear goes in its own load, bras go in with socks and work out gear
5. Workout gear- Do you use any specific extra detergent? Kirkland signature free And clear
6. Do you wash your towels separately from your clothes? Yes
7. Do you use fabric softener, and if so, on what clothes/towels? Yes, fabric softener on everything except my quick dry hair towels. I use the liquid Kirkland signature fabric softener.
8. Your best laundry tip I have 4 separate laundry baskets and everything gets separated as we take it off, it makes it really easy to grab a basket and do laundry. I don't have to waste time sorting out clothes.

[fashionx]

1. What detergent do you use to wash your dark/delicate clothes?
same as the regular
2. What detergent do you use to wash other clothes?
I'm not really loyal to a brand but I think we've been using Tide lately.
3. Do you use mesh bags for your underwear? Bras?
Not for underwear but I use them for bras.
4. Do you put them in the same bag together, and how do you think this helps your delicates?
The bags are for just one bra at a time. I think it helps because the bras don't get twisted up and bent out of shape.
5. Workout gear- Do you use any specific extra detergent?
I don't work out very much but when I do I just wash those clothes with my other clothes, nothing special.
6. Do you wash your towels separately from your clothes?
Yes, separate.
7. Do you use fabric softener, and if so, on what clothes/towels?
No softener, just dryer sheets are fine.
8. Your best laundry tip
No special tips.

[mrsacornblue]

1. Tide Free and Clear with Clorox 2 free bleach alt. for darks, Nordstrom bra wash for bras
2. Tide Free and Clear
3. 95% of my undies are cotton so they get thrown in with the rest of the wash. My few lace/thong pairs I wash in a mesh bag with bras in a separate load.
4. I wash bras and delicate undies in a mesh bag since we don't have a top loader. I think it helps them keep their shape and not get tangled. I also drip dry. The separate load for these is key, I think.
5. Same detergent. Both H and I have sensitive skin and this is what works for us. If a load is really gross, I throw in some Borax or vinegar.
6. I wash sheets and towels together.
7. I use vinegar as a fabric softener for everything.
8. Vinegar. It's cheap, hypoallergenic and my towels are always soft and don't get musty. Plus, I think it really helps keep darks from fading. I wear navy blue scrubs to work and I swear they stay darker longer this way. I also try to separate into lights and darks.

[Deleted]

1. What detergent do you use to wash your dark/delicate clothes? Arm & Hammer liquid

2. What detergent do you use to wash other clothes? Arm & Hammer liquid

3. Do you use mesh bags for your underwear? Bras? Yes for bras, I just throw undies in loose

4. Do you put them in the same bag together, and how do you think this helps your delicates? I use the round Tide bra bags that hold 2 bras, one on each side. It keeps hooks from snagging on stuff, and keeps the wires from getting twisted.

5. Workout gear- Do you use any specific extra detergent? Nope

6. Do you wash your towels separately from your clothes? Yes

7. Do you use fabric softener, and if so, on what clothes/towels? No, I use vinegar instead, and I put it in in every load

8. Your best laundry tip - drip dry all delicates, and wash and dry towels on the hottest setting to keep from mildewing.

[ralphlauren]

I must be a rebel or something. I have one detergent that I use for everything. No mesh bags for me either. I wash mostly everything on cold and I love fabric softener so my clothes smell good

[emyinpink]

1. What detergent do you use to wash your dark/delicate clothes?
All of my clothes are washed with Mrs Meyers

2. What detergent do you use to wash other clothes?
See above

3. Do you use mesh bags for your underwear? Bras?
Nope. But I do line dry my bras.

4. Do you put them in the same bag together, and how do you think this helps your delicates?
I wash on delicate. No bags.

5. Workout gear- Do you use any specific extra detergent?
I don't use fabric softener, and I don't wash my lulu stuff with cotton.

6. Do you wash your towels separately from your clothes? Yep, towels get their own load

7. Do you use fabric softener, and if so, on what clothes/towels?
Yes, Mrs Meyers, on everything but workout clothes.

8. Your best laundry tip
Pre-sorting makes laundry so so much easier. We have a hamper with four sections, workout clothes, my clothes/delicates, DH's clothes, denim (both of ours), and then I wash towels on their own load, and sheets on their own load.

[marylou]

Jun 10, 2012 20:20:13 GMT -5 ralphlauren said:

I must be a rebel or something. I have one detergent that I use for everything. No mesh bags for me either. I wash mostly everything on cold and I love fabric softener so my clothes smell good

Same here. And I really hate doing laundry, so I can't imagine adding more steps.

[sporky]

Jun 9, 2012 6:15:32 GMT -5 cransplash said:

I know we did this back on TN, but thought I'd love to get some opinions again.

1. What detergent do you use to wash your dark/delicate clothes? method
2. What detergent do you use to wash other clothes? i use the same detergent for all laundry
3. Do you use mesh bags for your underwear? Bras? no, just run them by themselves in the delicate cycle
4. Do you put them in the same bag together, and how do you think this helps your delicates?n/a
5. Workout gear- Do you use any specific extra detergent? nope, same
6. Do you wash your towels separately from your clothes? usually, bc i tend to wash all the towels at the same time as one big load
7. Do you use fabric softener, and if so, on what clothes/towels? just a squirt or two in every load, an extra couple of squirts for towels
8. Your best laundry tip

i don't think i do anything fancy, so i don't really have any tips

[mrssavy42112]

Well, I'm REALLY boring in comparison to others because we drop our laundry off at the laundromat...so I have no answers. The machines are so expensive & small in our building that we wouldn't save any money doing it ourselves. The few times we did, we wash it all together & use whatever's on sale.

[kris356]

1. What detergent do you use to wash your dark/delicate clothes? Dark: Cheer for Dark clothes and everything else in Cheer or Tide

2. What detergent do you use to wash other clothes? Cheer or Tide depending on what is on sale and I have a coupon for. I also add Borax and vinegar to most loads

3. Do you use mesh bags for your underwear? Bras? Just my bras

4. Do you put them in the same bag together, and how do you think this helps your delicates?I put a couple together, we have an old school washer with agitator so I really do it so they don't get wrapped around it.

5. Workout gear- Do you use any specific extra detergent? No, but I do add a borax and vinegar because it helps get any smells out

6. Do you wash your towels separately from your clothes? Yes, because I use bleach on them. Especially in the summer: old house, no central air=musty towels.

7. Do you use fabric softener, and if so, on what clothes/towels? Never on towels, they won't absorb water as well. I use it mostly on our bedding and dog comforters since I love the way it makes the room smell.

8. Your best laundry tip

• Zout is the best stain remover ever
  
• Shampoo will remover ring around the collar
  
• a mixture of baking soda and vinegar will remover odors from armpits or just soak clothing in washer with 1/2 c of vinegar, 1/2 c of borax and laundry soap for at least 1/2 hr or overnight
  and it will remove all odor.
  
• Vinegar is a great substitute for fabric softener on towels.
  
• Don't use the dryer, we hang dry everything but pj, underwear, socks, towels, bedding
  
• wash like fabrics and colors together: jeans with jeans (all inside out), cottons, towels, jackets. It saves wear and tear on softer fabrics
  

.

[mrst2]

1. What detergent do you use to wash your dark/delicate clothes? Tide Free he
2. What detergent do you use to wash other clothes? same for everything
3. Do you use mesh bags for your underwear? Bras? no
4. Do you put them in the same bag together, and how do you think this helps your delicates? n/a
5. Workout gear- Do you use any specific extra detergent? I don't workout.
6. Do you wash your towels separately from your clothes? yes always- I wash towels on hot and clothes on a cold gentle cycle.
7. Do you use fabric softener, and if so, on what clothes/towels? not often
8. Your best laundry tip- even cheaper clothes stay nice if you wash them on a delicate cycle.