How to get clothes clean??

[kalisis]

I know, silly question, right? I mean, I've been doing laundry since I was like 8 or something...I *know* how to do laundry.

But then, when I take a close look, I don't really know how to do laundry. My whites don't come out white and my colors don't get clean - poor DS has so many stained up shirts and pants - he almost has nothing to wear. I just don't know what I'm doing wrong.

I sort, I mean, the whites from everything else - sometimes if I have the time, I sort light and dark colors, but usually not. I pick out all the delicates or handwashes and heavy duty stuff and do them later. I then put in a cup of soap (we use the cheap eXtra stuff from Kmart now, but I have used Tide and the epensive stuff and had no better luck - and besides, my hubby can get the clothes clean with what we're using - I just can't seem to) and bleach if needed.

That's it.

Should I be doing something else? How do YOU get your clothes clean? How do you get all the spots and food and stuff out? I try to stain treat or pretreat anything of mine that I care about, but for DS, I'd have to treat every single piece of clothing he wears. Is that what you do?

Please - I'm dying for some suggestions.

[A&A]

Originally Posted by anniej

I try to stain treat or pretreat anything of mine that I care about, but for DS, I'd have to treat every single piece of clothing he wears. Is that what you do?

Yes, I have to stain-treat almost every shirt of ds.

[baileyandmikey]

i know what a pain, its either inspect each piece, or have them ruined

[Alkenny]

You might be using TOO MUCH soap. A cup? I use VERY little. If it's the cheapy stuff, just 1/4 of a capful or less if it's the name brands stuff. Soap buildup can leave your clothes looking dingy and actually trap in dirt and stains.

Just like when you wash cloth diapers, you have to watch for buildup and find what works for you. Check out the rinse cycle and see if there's any suds, if so...you're using too much soap.

I don't prewash anything, don't soak anything, don't use bleach...and don't have stains.

[kalisis]

Originally Posted by Alkenny

I don't prewash anything, don't soak anything, don't use bleach...and don't have stains.

Yeah, I wish I could get to that spot too. I never thought about buildup in my clothes...hmmm, I'll check it out. Thanks!

[RiverSky]

We always had exorbitant amounts of extremely dirty clothing, too, because DH just attracts it and so do the kids. I found that I could not use the cheapest detergent at all, I always had to use Tide w/ Bleach, I rarely if ever pre-treated and all of our laundry came out clean. Now that I have a High Efficiency washer/dryer, I've been using Tide HE (free) and if for some reason the load is especially dirty, I will use the prewash cycle with more detergent in the appropriate cup.

Another thing I swear by is OxiClean. Even if you have washed an item a couple of times with who-knows-what-kind of stain in there, just get a bowl or tub of warm water, mix in the OxiClean (I follow the directions or add more for tougher stains) and soak the item or items for a few hours or overnight. I also find that actually just putting some dry Oxi Clean on a stain, then pouring a small amount of water on the pile, then leaving the item overnight before throwing it in the wash with other items works wonderfully . I can't even tell you how many dried in stains that have disappeared with that one little step.

I am also diligent about never mixing whites with anything that run, pinks and reds go together in a load of their own and then darks go together (unless it's a newly purchased very dark item, then it gets washed by itself a few times or with dark towels, if i don't care about their colors possibly changing or getting stained from the dark dye).

In high school, white Levi 501s were all the rage and I had a couple of pairs at a time. I remember having friends comment on how white my Levis were and asking me how in the world I kept them that white (at that point we compared and indeed mine were far whiter than my friends') and I said matter of factly that I used a cup of bleach every time I washed a load of white with them in it. It worked! But I don't do that anymore... Finally one day my white levis simply tore apart, major shreds because the fabric was so thin. It was bright white, though! LOL

[RiverSky]

Originally Posted by Alkenny

I don't prewash anything, don't soak anything, don't use bleach...and don't have stains.

I'm guessing it's actually differences in the water you are using that account for the differences in everyone's experiences.

I know where we used to live, washing clothing seemed easy (as long as I used Tide w/ Bleach) but since we moved here (swamp land) I noticed that all the darker towels that I had had for years in the last state, suddenly had bleach stains and loss of color in them. It was from the highly chlorinated swamp water that is distributed through city pipes.

I was amazed that it would do that but one day I opened up a box that I hadn't yet unpacked, found yet more towels (exactly matching the rest that we had been using) and saw that indeed, they had no color change, they were as perfect as new and completely different from the rest that we had been washing and using in the new state.

(it's late, can't sleep, not sure if I'm making sense but hope I am...)

[kathirynne]

Over full loads

If your laundry is not getting clean regardless of what detergent you use (and I have found the cheaper stuff doesn't work as well as the more expensive brands, or, indeed, as well as my home made version ) it's possible you're filling your washing machine too full. The water/detergent needs to be able to circulate through and among the clothes, and if you're filling the machine too full, it can't.

Also, if the detergent is not fully dissolved in the water before you add the clothes to the machine, the majority of the clothes are just being rinsed, not really washed.

I use dish soap to pre-treat stains, especially food stains (which are the majority of the stains my kids get on their clothes!!) Works like a CHARM and doesn't harm the fabric.

[RiverSky]

Originally Posted by kathirynne

it's possible you're filling your washing machine too full.

Very good point. In a regular top-loading washer, I put the detergent in first, then turn on the water and then once a bit of water has loaded, then I stop it and put in all the laundry and restart it again. With an HE pair, there is no need to do that.


So what is your secret special recipe?

[rgarlough]

Our water isn't soft but not super hard either, pretty normal and I prefer to use liquid detergent since it disolves easier for me.

For really soiled loads, my machine has a prewash cycle but I find it easier to just start the machine, add the detergent, then the clothes. Let it aggitate for a bit. Ditto the overfilling! Especially with heavier items like jeans and big towels. The need extra space to get clean. Then I turn the machine off and let it soak for a few hours or overnight. In the morning, I will let the machine finish the cycle.

Also make sure you do not put stained items into the dryer! That will very easily set the stain. You can just keep tossing the stained item in with the next few loads or better yet, try the Oxiclean or dishwashing soap like the PPs mentioned. I had an oily stain on a pair of pants that wasn't coming out with my normal routine. A bit of dish soap took it right out!