Dirty Clothes

High Threshold · Post by **High Threshold** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 9:37 am

It's my job to do the washing. My wife is from Eastern Europe and she's a bit old fashioned about wives/mothers taking responsibility for the well-being of her husband & the children, so I guess I ought to be honoured to be trusted to do this one thing. I might protest and ask to do more but the consequences of treading upon a Slavic woman's cultural â€toesâ€ would be too gruesome to contemplate.

Anyway, having been abroad recently we had a bit more washing in the heap this time. A third load = an extra machine. But I've done this before. I know what I'm doing. One load will go into the 30 degree â€œquick-washâ€ mode and it'll be done in good time. No worries! But when I later explained to the wife how I managed it, she was shocked! How could I expect to get the clothes clean in only 30 degrees?! Not possible! The expression on her face was that of a woman who had just been informed that she'd been living â€œall these yearsâ€ with a serial killer! I had some explaining to do, if I were to avoid and international incident, and this was going to take some dexterous manoeuvring.

So I explained: Towels are not used for washing. That's the job of soap and water. The only thing towels are used for is to remove CLEAN WATER from your body. In other words, towels are not really dirty at all.

I peered into her face for a sign, a clue if I'd got through to her or not, but all I got was a chill. She was certainly thinking - â€œMen! You trust them to do one little chore and this is the thanks you get for it! :yh_sigh

Post by **LarsMac** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 10:17 am

Since our laundry room is downstairs, and my wife has problem getting up and down the stairs, I have taken on the laundry duties for our house.

I run the laundry down, put it through the washer and dryer, and haul it back upstairs, where she folds and puts it away.

Traditionally, she expects the laundry done in a certain order. Whites first, light colors second, dark color last, and any work-related clothing like my jeans and shirts I use when working in the yard, or on the car, and such to be done after all the normal stuff. She gets very indignant when I do the stuff out of order. All the older folks here probably understand the reasoning behind that standard sequence, but I argue that with modern washers, each load is using a brand new, clean batch of water, and it is not necessary to always do the whites first. We have been having this argument ever since I took on this job. She has now declared that I need to figure out a way to mover the laundry room upstairs, so that she can do it herself, since I am obviously so inept.

Snowfire · Post by **Snowfire** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 10:19 am

I can't fault the logic at all. Makes perfect sense to me

Post by **LarsMac** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 10:39 am

Having looked into the time and expense of moving the laundry room upstairs, I have decided I will just do the whites first. [sigh]

Bruv · Post by **Bruv** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 10:45 am

Ah ha ....smart move lads, make yourselves look inept and then they will do it all happily.

That was the idea ....right?

cars · Post by **cars** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 10:46 am

larsmac;1460317 wrote: having looked into the time and expense of moving the laundry room upstairs, i have decided i will just do the whites first. [sigh]

. .

High Threshold · Post by **High Threshold** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 11:02 am

LarsMac;1460315 wrote:

I run the laundry down, put it through the washer and dryer, and haul it back upstairs, where she folds and puts it away.

That's EXACTLY the way we do it.

LarsMac;1460315 wrote: Traditionally, she expects the laundry done in a certain order. Whites first, light colors second, dark color last, and any work-related clothing like my jeans and shirts I use when working in the yard, or on the car, and such to be done after all the normal stuff. She gets very indignant when I do the stuff out of order.

Oh-oh! So you need to do 4 machine-loads? How often do you wash? I do it on average twice a week and I don't segregate them. Everything together at 40 degrees: whites, colours, darks, you name it. Naturally, if (or should I say "when") the whites need an extra good washing, I'll segregate them and put them into a 60 degree wash cycle ..... and if my work/hobby clothes are particularly soiled then they'll be segregated as well. Otherwise 2 machines only (50/50 bulk) - all at 40 degrees.

LarsMac;1460315 wrote: ..... I argue that with modern washers, each load is using a brand new, clean batch of water ...

Of course.

LarsMac;1460315 wrote: ..... We have been having this argument ever since I took on this job. She has now declared that I need to figure out a way to mover the laundry room upstairs, so that she can do it herself, since I am obviously so inept.

I think the problem you and have is not having the stomach to lie. I prefer to avoid certain subjects so I won't have to.

High Threshold · Post by **High Threshold** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 11:07 am

cars;1460319 wrote: . .

'37 Buick?

Post by **LarsMac** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 11:21 am

High Threshold;1460322 wrote: That's EXACTLY the way we do it.

Oh-oh! So you need to do 4 machine-loads? How often do you wash? I do it on average twice a week and I don't segregate them. Everything together at 40 degrees: whites, colours, darks, you name it. Naturally, if (or should I say "when") the whites need an extra good washing, I'll segregate them and put them into a 60 degree wash cycle ..... and if my work/hobby clothes are particularly soiled then they'll be segregated as well. Otherwise 2 machines only (50/50 bulk) - all at 40 degrees.

Of course.

I think the problem you and have is not having the stomach to lie. I prefer to avoid certain subjects so I won't have to.

You must be using a laundromat. That does simplify it a bit, I reckon.

We just have a washer and dryer, and since my home office is downstairs, as well. I just grab all the pre-sorted laundry and haul it down stairs, and run the laundry while working through the day. Then haul all the clean stuff upstairs later in the day.

High Threshold · Post by **High Threshold** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 11:40 am

LarsMac;1460325 wrote: You must be using a laundromat.

Not exactly. Every block of flats in Sweden have a "tvÃ¤ttstuga" (a room included in the rent, each room with normally 2 wash machines, one tumble dryer, and a "tork" room - often even a sauna). It's very simple to book them at no charge.

LarsMac;1460325 wrote: I just grab all the pre-sorted laundry and haul it down stairs, and run the laundry while working through the day. Then haul all the clean stuff upstairs later in the day.

Ha. My wife also "pre-sorts" the clothes. She doesn't know that they sometimes end up in the same machine anyway. I hope that you can keep a secret! She's never complained about the cleanliness of our laundry though, so I guess everything is copasetic.

Post by **LarsMac** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 11:56 am

High Threshold;1460326 wrote: Not exactly. Every block of flats in Sweden have a "tvÃ¤ttstuga" (a room included in the rent, each room with normally 2 wash machines, one tumble dryer, and a "tork" room - often even a sauna). It's very simple to book them at no charge.

Ha. My wife also "pre-sorts" the clothes. She doesn't know that they sometimes end up in the same machine anyway. I hope that you can keep a secret! She's never complained about the cleanliness of our laundry though, so I guess everything is copasetic.

Hmmmm, so, ah, what's "your little secret" worth to ya, now?

Saint_ · Post by **Saint_** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 11:58 am

LarsMac;1460315 wrote: She gets very indignant when I do the stuff out of order. She has now declared that I need to figure out a way to mover the laundry room upstairs, so that she can do it herself, since I am obviously so inept.

Yep. Welcome to my world. Desite the fact that I did my own laundry for 34 years before meeting her, despite the fact that I have done the laundry countless times when she has been hospitalized over the last two decades, despite the fact that I hold two engineering degrees and have literally taken the washer and dryer apart and repaired them...

I don't have a clue what I'm doing and can't be trusted to do the laundry correctly.

High Threshold · Post by **High Threshold** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 12:03 pm

LarsMac;1460327 wrote: Hmmmm, so, ah, what's "your little secret" worth to ya, now?

:wah:

Post by **LarsMac** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 12:06 pm

Saint_;1460328 wrote: Yep. Welcome to my world. Despite the fact that I did my own laundry for 34 years before meeting her, despite the fact that I have done the laundry countless times when she has been hospitalized over the last two decades, despite the fact that I hold two engineering degrees and have literally taken the washer and dryer apart and repaired them...

I don't have a clue what I'm doing and can't be trusted to do the laundry correctly.

Well, yeah. You're obviously over-qualified.

cars · Post by **cars** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 12:42 pm

High Threshold;1460323 wrote: '37 Buick?

No, 36 Ford

Saint_ · Post by **Saint_** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 12:48 pm

On a laundry note: many people don't realize that modern detergents are usually concentrated and that using the full cap is about four times as much detergent than is needed.

High Threshold · Post by **High Threshold** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 1:01 pm

cars;1460334 wrote: No, 36 Ford

The grill and louvres fooled me.

High Threshold · Post by **High Threshold** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 1:06 pm

Saint_;1460335 wrote: On a laundry note: many people don't realize that modern detergents are usually concentrated and that using the full cap is about four times as much detergent than is needed.

I've reduced the amount of washing powder I use to 3/4 measure but it's just a wild guess. I really don't know how much I should use. It was my original assumption that the cup measure in the box is the correct amount but I'm now convinced that it is too much.

Saint_ · Post by **Saint_** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 1:14 pm

High Threshold;1460336 wrote: The grill and louvres fooled me.

Girls and Lovers always fool me.

High Threshold · Post by **High Threshold** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 1:15 pm

Saint_;1460339 wrote: Girls and Lovers always fool me.

:yh_rotfl

Post by **Chloe_88** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 1:33 pm

Saint_;1460335 wrote: On a laundry note: many people don't realize that modern detergents are usually concentrated and that using the full cap is about four times as much detergent than is needed.

Thats why I put a little bit in a cup, mix with water and then put it in the machine.

+ I put a dash of vinegar in each load, vinegar keeps the machine clean, good for smelly socks etc.

I also put vinegar in the dishwasher as an extra. the cups have never come out so clean

Bez · Post by **Bez** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 2:48 pm

Men doing the Laundry..............you're heros. All my EX husband knew about a washing machine was how to plumb it in !

30 degrees is fine for everything as far as I'm concerned except perhaps the clothes of someone with a really dirty job.

FourPart · Post by **FourPart** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 5:22 pm

Monday evening I put all my white shirts in the machine, with a drop of beach to really bring out the whiteness, overnight.

Tuesday morning I took them out & put them on the line, out on the balcony, to dry.

Wednesday morning, I took them all in to get them ironed in readiness for the choir's Function Concert at the Royal British Legion later that evening.

THAT's when it dawned on me. I had left my HC2 Certifacte (exemption from having to pay fees for certain things, like dental work, eye tests, etc.) in my breast pocket. As I laid the out on the ironing board there were bits of white fluff / papier machÃ© powder all over the place.

I tried to brush it off, but it just made things worse, rolling it into bigger lumps. I tried shaking it out, which just made the entire flat look like it had dandruff, with apparently no effect to the shirts.

All my white shirts were covered in the stuff, and I had nothing else to wear for my Posh Togs Stage Gear.

There was nothing for it, but to thoroughly clean out the seal on the washing machine (I was surprised how much papier machÃ© mulch there was trapped in there), and put the shirts back in on a cold, quick wash & hope for the best.

Fortunately the weather has been exceedingly hot, and with the balcony enclosed behind glass (more of a conservatory now, since the renovations I suppose), although there not really any breeze possible, they were dried in no time. I had been expecting to have to iron them dry, but there wasn't any need for that.

In the end, by the time I brought them in, I had time to get 2 of them (re)-ironed, just in time to get out & head for the concert.

I suspect that if there hadn't been time to run them through a last minute wash, I might even have been able to get away with it, as the fluff stuff had been bleached so much that it probably wouldn't even have been visible to the audience.

Incidentally, I was able to report the HC2 as destroyed & got a replacement a few days later.

High Threshold · Post by **High Threshold** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 9:13 pm

A happy ending to a disconcerting story, FourPart! But this bit still has me worried â€¦

FourPart;1460360 wrote: Monday evening I put all my white shirts in the machine, with a drop of beach to really bring out the whiteness, overnight.

Unless your buttons are exceptionally rusty, I would not recommend putting sand into your washing.

High Threshold · Post by **High Threshold** » Sat Jul 19, 2014 9:23 pm

Bez;1460350 wrote: 30 degrees is fine for everything as far as I'm concerned except perhaps the clothes of someone with a really dirty job.

Thank you, Bez.

Bez;1460350 wrote: Men doing the Laundry..............you're heros.

I wear it proudly.

Attached files

along-for-the-ride · Post by **along-for-the-ride** » Sun Jul 20, 2014 9:08 am

High Threshold;1460365 wrote: A happy ending to a disconcerting story, FourPart! But this bit still has me worried â€¦

Unless your buttons are exceptionally rusty, I would not recommend putting sand into your washing.

:wah:

I separate clothes into lights, darks, blacks, and colors (like all reds) After clothes have been dried and folded; one group goes to one end of our home, the other group goes to the other. I do one load during the week, then I do the rest on Saturday.

High Threshold · Post by **High Threshold** » Sun Jul 20, 2014 9:16 am

along-for-the-ride;1460393 wrote: .... one group goes to one end of our home, the other group goes to the other ....

Is that a miss-print or do you live in a castle on the Rhine? "One end of your home" and "the other end ... "? I'm thinking you're washing for an regiment. :-3

FourPart · Post by **FourPart** » Sun Jul 20, 2014 9:37 am

Ironing, being the thing I hate most of all I usually leave it until the last minute, when I take the opportunity to do 2 - sometimes 3 sets, just in case there's an emergency (like spilling my coffee - or soup, as has happened before now), so I can do a rapid change.

High Threshold · Post by **High Threshold** » Sun Jul 20, 2014 9:58 am

Ironing, you say. I loath it! Thank God for "drip dry"! I havent ironed a thing since 1973.

G#Gill · Post by **G#Gill** » Sun Jul 20, 2014 10:25 am

High Threshold;1460402 wrote: Ironing, you say. I loath it! Thank God for "drip dry"! I havent ironed a thing since 1973.

I last ironed anything, must have been in the late 80's, when Chris's uniform white shirts got a bit crumpled in the tumble drier ! Normally I fetch things out of the drier as soon as the programme has finished, but I forgot and they were left in over night grrrrrrrrrrr.

I learnt a lesson then :-1 :yh_rotfl I hate ironing !!!!!!

FourPart · Post by **FourPart** » Sun Jul 20, 2014 10:29 am

I remember a time when my Kid Brother was on leave from Junior Leaders (Army Training School for new young recruits), where part of his training was how to do ironing properly to a standard format, as laid down by Army Regulations.

Anyway, knowing that our Mum was going out to a fancy 'do' that night, he decided to give her a very special treat by ironing her best Evening Dress frock for her.

She was NOT a Happy Bunny when she found nice sharp razor creases all the way down the sides.

Lon · Post by **Lon** » Sun Jul 20, 2014 2:30 pm

I live alone and thus, do my own washing. I wash the bath towels with soap because there is dead skin from your body in and on the towel. My apartment has a most convenient built in washer and dryer. I wash my sheets and pillow cases every week.

along-for-the-ride · Post by **along-for-the-ride** » Sun Jul 20, 2014 4:36 pm

High Threshold;1460395 wrote: Is that a miss-print or do you live in a castle on the Rhine? "One end of your home" and "the other end ... "? I'm thinking you're washing for an regiment. :-3

Hubby's closet is at one end and mine is at the other end. Yes, Lon, it is our castle, our mobile home.

:-4