Laundry list

A colleague today passed on a bit of trivia he knew I’d enjoy, about the laundry habits of another (single) person in the office. “This person,” he said with delight, “does five washes a week.” I leaned in to hear more. He listed the washes as:

Underwear – whites; Underwear – darks; Clothes – whites; Clothes – darks; Towels and bedlinen

“And in which of those does he wash his tea towels,” I asked?

Pretty washing line

Then someone else I worked with said they do three washes – whites, darks and mediums – but beyond that everything was muddled in together. My obsession with a separate tea towel wash is documented here, but the whole discussion was a thrilling revelation. How many different quirks and permutations are there? Please, I’m begging you, tell us in the comments how it runs in your house.

*Full disclosure: I’m typing this while a dreadful post-holiday wash wurgles away in the background, and it’s a nightmarish free-for-all in there. And this photo was taken last summer, of course

11 Responses to “Laundry list”

  1. Becca
    July 12, 2012 at 8:38 am #

    I generally go by the rule of darks, whites, and an in-between wash… til recently when i got so fed up with the mounting pile of laundry that i bunged it all in together… and my white bedsheets came out pink. #Laundryfail

  2. Patricia Gill
    July 12, 2012 at 9:52 am #

    Hilarious! Am always having same discussion with a mad friend of mine. How do you wash a black and white striped top. She said on it’s own !

  3. miss v
    July 12, 2012 at 10:55 am #

    sadly as ftm at the mo…i do a white wash just for muslin cloths and i also do a separate wash just for stripy clothes…..which can be either black and white or dark blue and shite stripes…..

  4. DjangoBoudicca
    July 12, 2012 at 11:27 am #

    I always like to make sure I accidentally leave a red sock in the drum when I put the white cottons on a hot wash.

  5. Angel G
    July 12, 2012 at 12:10 pm #

    Bras go in thier own wash, if we have a lot of reds/pinks I do those as one wash, then darks, whites and colours but knitwear gets its own wash too… Wow i do a lot of washing.

  6. glamorous gluttonlamorous Glutton
    July 12, 2012 at 1:44 pm #

    I do have rules: Whites, darks and mid coloureds. Sheets go in a 90 degree wash that also helps to clean excess powder and washing liquid gunk from the machine pipes, drains etc. I also iron my sheets, after all whats the point of fresh linen if its all creased? So OCD maybe but only about the laundry. GG

  7. G
    July 12, 2012 at 8:27 pm #

    I am with you on the subject of separating tea towels. Husband gets very stressed when I suggest mixing colours. Yes we even break it down to blues, beiges and pinks etc

  8. Zoe
    July 14, 2012 at 5:20 pm #

    I do: whites, darks, coloured, sheets, towels, tea towels, delicates, wool. My friends tease me about my obsession with washing.

  9. Elizabeth
    July 15, 2012 at 5:46 pm #

    I’m odd one out — I wash all my underwear together, regardless of colour. It’s all been washed so often that nothing bleeds anymore (and I wash in cold water, anyway). Other clothes and linens get sorted more by fabric type than by colour, too.

    Tea towels, of course, get their own wash — I don’t want their foody grunge to touch anything else!

    No one else has mentioned rags. My various cleaning rags (mop heads, dusters, dog towels) get tossed in a bin of their own until there are enough to run a load. On the industrial cycle. Because they are pretty nasty.

    • myfriendshouse
      July 15, 2012 at 7:53 pm #

      Wow – thanks for all the comments. I’ll be updating my routine to incorporate almost all the suggestions. Thanks Elizabeth for agreeing so emphatically about the tea towel wash x

  10. Yas
    July 26, 2012 at 12:53 am #

    I go work clothes, dark, white, towels, tea towels and rags and a dark and white of whatever delicate clothing I have.

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