Laundry Advice

[Michelle789]

I wanted to ask everyone here how do you do your laundry for your women's clothes. Normally, with my male clothes, I just throw in the washer, add detergent, and wash red clothes separately (which I don't really own many red male shirts or pants).

With my female clothes, I tend to be a bit more careful, since my female wardrobe consists of a wider variety of colors and types of garments. Normally, if I'm not sure about an item, I test it by washing it separately with something else that I don't care if it gets ruined, to see whether or not it ruins the other item, and then I determine if it's safe to mix with other clothes. So my questions for you are this.

1. Do you follow the instructions as said on each garment?

2. Do you machine wash, or hand wash, or a mix of both?

3. Are there any other colors, or color combinations aside from red, that you would wash separately?

4. What about jeans, leggings, or jeggings? I have seen labels on some of these garments say that they need to be washed separately since they're made of a thicker dye?

5. Are there any particular garments you would only take to a professional dry cleaner?

6. Do you have any other laundry advice or tips? (Aside from don't out yourself by washing machine hahaha)

7. If an item says machine wash, is it still okay to wash by hand?

Edit. Added new question #7

[Chari]

Michelle, Still do both machine and hand washings according to directions, and delicates (lingerie, lacy items) absolutely by hand! Wash whites alone - not taking any chances of ruining those items with any kind of other colors! As for advice/tips - do your laundry often, so it won't become too much to do all at once! Enjoy.

[DonnaCD68]

I always read the labels and follow them pretty closely. For my undergarments and lingerie I always use a laundry garment bag (mesh bag). In fact "TIDE" makes one that has a extremely tight mesh in a double ended tube design (zippers on each end) that is perfect for bras and panties. For dresses, jeans, yoga pants, tops that are machine washable, I ALWAYS wash them inside out and only with like colors.

Washing by hand does take significant more work...but when it calls for it....Just Do It!! Same goes for ironing. I usually iron the dress inside out and that works perfectly.

I have a couple dresses that require Dry Cleaning.....so that where they go. Especially when make up on the dress happens...ugh!! But I now have a fix for that....look for my post about it (Setting Spray for Make Up).

[Erica Marie]

My advice. The dry cloths go in the washer and the wet cloths go in the drier.
I dont fuss too much. Most all my cloths are casual, I just separate colors.

[bridget thronton]

Follow garment directions - plus cold water for everything and line drying anything that might be harmed by the dryer

[ReineD]

I wash darks with darks and lights with lights, all in cold water.

I have a few suits that I send to the cleaners. I send pure silk to the cleaners as well, unless the tag specifically says it is washable. I either wash my wool and cashmere sweaters by hand or in the gentle cycle of the washing machine (unless it is pure wool in which case it goes to the cleaners), and then I place them to air dry on a drying rack or on a thick towel on the floor. I don't put my undies in the dryer ... after I take them out of the washing machine, I lay them down flat on top of the dryer while it is drying the rest of the clothes. The warmth from the dryer is enough to dry my undies.

Yes, it's perfectly OK to hand wash items that are machine washable. But why would you want to?

I try to get out of ironing as much as I can, so if it requires ironing I usually take it out of the dryer when it is still damp and hang it up. Can't do that with pure cotton shirts though.

[Jules Spirit]

I wash darks together, lights together, and whites together. They get washed on cold and dried on low. I wash jeans and sweats separately on warm and dry on medium. I usually follow the clothings' directions on the tags. Most of the time I hang dry underwear and bras. Sweaters get layed flat to dry on a sweater drier.

If you are not sure what to do, just follow the directions on the garment's tag.

[BLUE ORCHID]

Hi Michelle, As I do all the laundry whatever needs washed gets washed and dryed according to plan.

[Beverley Sims]

When I was twenty.

I threw all my jeans, tennis dress, underwear, nice pink wooly jumper, and a red dress into the washing machine.
They were nice new blue jeans and it was a red velvet dress.

Threw in the soap powder, hot water and turned on the cement mixer.

Viola! When I finished I had matching colors all round a jumper to fit a two year old and the neatest red oil rag for the car that you could ever wish for.

Then I learned to read.

[Mollyanne]

The best advice that I can offer is >>>>>>>> FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE LABEL!!!!! The one thing that I do follow is to use Woolite for ALL my lingerie and I hand wash all of it.

If you use a washing machine, use the cold/cold setting for washing and when drying NEVER, NEVER, NEVER use the HOT setting unless you want your clothes to shrink.

Molly

[Maxi]

I usually wash according to fabric weights. Slips, panties, bras, (use mesh bag for bras and stockings), and light weight fabrics together. It keep your full slips from getting the straps ripped out if they get tangled. Then dresses, skirts, and blouses together. Red fabrics need to be soaked in saltwater to set the die. this will prevent the bleeding. Then you can wash normally. Always use cold water to keep colors bright and avoid shrink.

Hint to help prevent under arm stains: Shave the under arms. It will greatly extend the life of your deodorant stick, and reduce the under arm stains, Keeping your fabrics looking nice longer.

[Erica Anne]

It really depends on the garment you are washing. I typically wash panties, bras and slips by hand. Leather does not go in the wash. Some satins are washable and some are not. That is where dryel comes into play. I used to use woolite but that seems to strip colors on delicates. Not bad for whites. Rinse and either roll in a towel and hang to dry. Nothing worse than trying to untangle your stockings from a laundry bag, best to wash by hand and hang to dry. For panties and such, soak in sink for a few hours, I may add some hydrogen peroxide to the was to remove stains in the hand washing. Most of the other stuff goes in the washer with everything else.

[2B Natasha]

Follow garment directions - plus cold water for everything and line drying anything that might be harmed by the dryer

Ditto. The only thing I would add is that dry clean items that REALLY most be dry cleaned go to the dry cleaner.

[Lillyasia]

I hand wash most of my womens clothes with the exception of pants/jeans. Lingerie all gets hand washed in luke warm water. I do bras first beginning with whites and continuing on through to darker colors. I only wash one or two at a time. After all the bras are washed, I do the panties. If any color bleeds in to the soap water, it gets dumped and a new wash begins.

[Robin777]

Here is how I wash my female clothes and my wife's clothes. I usually do the laundry since we divide up the household chores. She does the cooking so I do laundry. I look at the tags. A lot of items say wash gentle cycle and dry on delicate setting. Pay attention to the tags. If it says line dry,line dry. If it is a top put it on a plastic hanger and hang it up to dry. Use a detergent made for gentle items. We use Woolite. I usually don't separate the colors after the first wash. first wash light one load dark the other load. hook the back of a bra together. then the little hooks will not snag other things. If you have a front loader I see no need to hand wash. A front loader is very gentle on clothing. Dry on the lowest temperature setting. Standard practice for me is to turn a patterned top inside out. You will notice on some tags it will tell you to do this. Panties go in with other delicate items. Just watch some bras that are see through and are made with thin material,don't put into the dryer. line dry.

[Vickie_CDTV]

Yes, it's perfectly OK to hand wash items that are machine washable. But why would you want to?

If you don't have a washer at home and want to wash something without taking a trip to the laundromat for one item, or if you have a washer but it is down.

[5150 Girl]

I usually wash in cold water, with like colors. Hand wash items I put in a hosiery/lingerie bag

[sometimes_miss]

First, a big hint: You can avoid nearly all ironing by putting in a bypass switch to keep the drum of your dryer tumbling after you open the door, and pull the tumbling items out one at a time to put on hangers, as it seems the wrinkles nearly all come from the clothes collapsing into a heap when you open the dryer door and the drum stops. I haven't had to iron my work clothes for decades using this trick. You'll need a switch rated for whatever amps your dryer motor pulls (I used a kill a watt device to measure my electrical usage: http://www.amazon.com/P3-Internation...ds=kill+a+watt it's paid for itself many times over.

Of course, you have to separate whites, light colors, and dark colors. Beyond that, I don't follow any directions. Sorry, manufacturers. Most of them want their products delicately dry cleaned. Screw em. Sis washed really delicate things in woolite. I'm lazier, I put woolite in the washing machine and run on delicate. Bras and panties machine washed delicate in separate lingerie bags, bras hung over shower rod on the thick part of the band between the cups, cups shaped before hanging; never hang from the slender straps. Panties hung inside out, on the plastic arms of my kitchen chairs to dry so it doesn't kill the elastic, on the widest part of middle strap, not side strap or it will eventually stretch uneven (hard to find panties and bras that fit me, so I have to get the most mileage out of them as possible). Full briefer/girdle machine washed in lingerie bag, and hung with clothes pins by the main part of the material just below the back straps. Regular washable dresses, tops and skirts delicate wash cool water. If elastic waist, I may air dry or air tumble in dryer for a long timeDelicate dresses in large lingerie bag, tumble dry on cool. Stockings washed in small lingerie bag in the washing machine, then over the doors on a towel to dry if the shower rod is full. Oh, I put a second shower rod across the top of the shower in the middle for extra hanging space, also a small fan to circulate air in the bathroom to help dry stuff. Wool skirts, hand washed in cold water, woolite. All wool block dried on flat surface on a towel, just the way sis did it (learned a lot from watching that bitch). I carefully look over all clothes, and spot with tide any spots that look dirty, let stand half an hour, then wash, and don't add any extra detergent. The amount in on all the spots is enough to wash the smell out of the clothes (tide is expensive, but will take spots out of almost anything, including blood, grape juice, tomato sauce, grease, etc. just spot with tide and let sit. I once cleaned a pink short and top set of my gf/s that had been almost covered with grape juice. half cup tide, gallon of water, soaked overnight, good as new after washing. If anything has spots, DO NOT USE ANY HEAT, NO HOT WATER, NO DRYER. You can wash it over and over until the spot comes out as long as you don't set it in with heat in any way. White stuff gets tide with bleach alternative. I've never needed to use real bleach for years. Oh, and anything with any type of elastic shouldn't go in dryers, if you must, on the least warm setting. Underwear lasts almost forever this way. Also, a second rinse helps too, as leftover detergent on the elastic seems to damage that too.

[Jane P]

My advice. When the laundry is done , don't forget to put it away.

[Chickhe]

1. Wash colors the first and second time in hot water. This takes the extra color out. Then you can wash them with other darks in the future,
2. Wash with warm and cold water...saves on energy.
3. Do not dry until completely dry. You want some humidity to prevent wrinkles and static charge. Take some lighter items out eatly as they dry faster.
4. You can wash almost anything even delicates, its the heat that destroys elastic stuff, so dry them on low heat.
5. Clean the lint often...its a fire hazzard otherwise. Never leave a dryer running when you leave home.

[Vanessa5]

I always seperate clothes, lingerie, and pantyhose. My bras, panties and hose all have seperate mesh bags. I always use cold water. I do enjoy the Downey unstoppables. They really seem to work at keeping that just laundered smell.

[MeganDay]

I try to buy clothes that are cute, yet easy to maintain.

[Erica William]

Like with like clothing, but fem and male clothing all together.

[Aylineira]

Follow the instructions on the tag of the garment.

....or make your wife do it with her clothes like I do

[Michelle789]

I don't have a wife.