Kari C in SC Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 I guess y'all won't be visiting me.;-)Â I wash towels and and underwear/whites and lights together often. I don't use bleach, and I use a warm water wash/cold rinse. They get dried in the drier in winter and outside once the weather gets warmer. Â I wash everything else with cold water. Â I guess we are gross and unsanitary. This would describe me. Â My mil lived with us for about a month a few years back. She HATED that I would take dish towels and rags and throw them in the wash machine until I did my next load of whatever. It made her NUTS! I think I did it even more because I knew it made her crazy! Just kidding... sorta. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangermom Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 Those of you who are disgusted by the thought of combining, do you have separate hampers so a pair of undies never touches a dish towel? Â Clothes go in hampers in the bedrooms. Dishtowels collect in a bin in the laundry room (which is the room between the kitchen and the garage, so it's also where shoes and recycling live). There is no reason why my underwear would ever come into contact with dishtowels under normal circumstances--that would take planning. Â When it's time to wash underwear/socks, I sort a whites load out from the bedroom hamper and wash it. It fills a basket, so I would never need to combine it with anything else in order to make up a full load. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest RecumbentHeart Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 I've actually thought about this a lot. If your washing machine is not working well enough to clean your underwear in the first place, you shouldn't be putting them back on your body. I mean, wildly icky to do that, especially after they've sat there for a few days in the hamper with the family's dirty socks, kwim? And the same thing applies to those towels - whether for body or dishes. So, I have come to the determination that yes, if your machine, detergent, etc works properly, it is okay. If not, well, then don't and get your machine fixed. Â I agree. Â Next to none of you would come to my house though because personally, I wash with cold, never use bleach, always combine such things. The only stuff that gets washed separately in it's own load is the cloth diapers/wipes/sanitary pads. Â All that being said, our family has less incidents of sickness than any other I know. In fact, hardly any .. and when someone has gotten sick it's been ridiculously minor compared to everyone else I know coming down with the same thing. :001_huh: go figure, huh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extendedforecast Posted May 12, 2010 Author Share Posted May 12, 2010 :iagree:Us too. I didn't know it was controversial. Â That's how my Mom did laundry, that's how I do it . . . we're all still alive.:D Apparently not as clean as we should be ;) but alive. Â I didn't know it was either, until my neighbor told me how gross it was to mix underwear with dish towels and such. She washes her sheets separately too. Â Cindy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangermom Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 She washes her sheets separately too. But...doesn't everyone? :001_huh:  This is pretty funny really because I consider myself a relaxed and cluttered housekeeper. I would never have realized that my laundry habits are picky and germaphobic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 :confused: Â Frankly, our underwear is not the poop-encrusted, urine-stained fright which all these posts have me concluding that you poor laundresses are facing. We have only dirty garments in the sense that they were worn for one day, and the fabric acquired perspiration. How are we so lucky ? Â :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KS_ Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 But...doesn't everyone? :001_huh:Â Â Â There's really no way I could not wash my sheets separately. . .we have a queen bed and the sheets make a large load. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extendedforecast Posted May 12, 2010 Author Share Posted May 12, 2010 I guess many of you wouldn't want to come visit me! I throw it all together, wash on cold, and hang them to dry. Am I gross? Â No judgement from me! I was just wondering based on my neighbor's observation that it was gross to combine my laundry. I usually wash them in the sanitary cycle with no bleach, except maybe once every few months. Today was the day I decided to wash with bleach, so I included it in my post. BTW, DH is a huge germophobe, which is why we wash such clothes in hot water. If it were up to me, I would use warm or cold water to save $. Â Â Cindy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangermom Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 :confused:Â Frankly, our underwear is not the poop-encrusted, urine-stained fright which all these posts have me concluding that you poor laundresses are facing. We have only dirty garments in the sense that they were worn for one day, and the fabric acquired perspiration. How are we so lucky ? Â :confused: To me the problem is in combining dishtowels (ew) with my nice undies which are going to be all clean when they're washed, as long as they aren't contaminated by kitchen filth. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 To me the problem is in combining dishtowels (ew) with my nice undies which are going to be all clean when they're washed, as long as they aren't contaminated by kitchen filth. :tongue_smilie: Â These are separate loads to begin with, because they are of very different fabric types. Towels best are washed on the "sturdy" cycle; women's intimate wear on the gentle cycle. So no problem exists in that case ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 I don't think it's gross. But, I generally wash all the towels together and all of the whites together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peri Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 I also wanted to add that it also makes putting away easier to wash seperately. And I too agree that it is not the dishtowels getting dirty from my underwear that I am worried about. It is the underwear getting some of the germs from my dishtowels and rags that I am worried about. I had no idea that was the way it was being viewed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 (edited) On the sanitize cycle I think it's ok. I still don't do it--I wash my underwear/socks on sanitize cycle on their own but we've got lots so it's a full load when I do that load. On cold (or warm) water--it's not sanitary. http://www.housekeepingchannel.com/a_801-Airing_Dirty_Laundry_Issues If e coli is left in the machine and on the clothes in a cold water wash (underwear that looks clean averages 1/10 a gram of feces bacteria on average) I'd rather not be washing it with the towels I dry my dishes and hands with. So it's gross to me especially if it's not followed by a hot dry cycle. But most of us are not going to get sick from it if the family members aren't carrying anything pathogenic. My kiddo got a really nasty parasite. I'm glad I wasn't washing our underwear on cold with our kitchen towels. I think we'd all have it. Edited May 12, 2010 by sbgrace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 "Sanitize cycle" = ? ? ? Â My washer is 26 years old. This must be some new feature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretty in Pink Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 We have all white socks/underwear/kitchen towels/dishcloths. I toss them all in with detergent, hot water, and bleach. It's the way my mom washed laundry for years and we all survived. It doesn't gross me out. At all. Â I laundered cloth diapers in our machine for over three years as well (not with the kitchen towels, but in the same machine). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teamturner Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 I said "yes" before I read your OP. However, I'd rather not wash my undergarments in the sanitary cycle as that would be very hard and damaging to them, IMO. For my front-loader that's 90 minutes in very hot water. I only wash my kitchen towels on the sanitary cycle. I don't use bleach on them because it would damage the colors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle in MO Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 My short answer is--no, I wash all white/lighter clothes together, with Tide and Oxy-Clean, with very warm water, and I usually run the wash cycle through twice. I just don't have time to do laundry any other way. Â There are all kinds of things that can transfer germs/bacteria from one piece of clothing to the next. For example, how many of us disinfect our laundry baskets between uses? Technically speaking, each load of dirty clothes that is sitting in a laundry basket transfers its germs to the basket. Â I do the best I can to protect my family from germs, etc. I just do not have time to worry about anything beyond that. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crissy Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 :confused:Â Frankly, our underwear is not the poop-encrusted, urine-stained fright which all these posts have me concluding that you poor laundresses are facing. We have only dirty garments in the sense that they were worn for one day, and the fabric acquired perspiration. How are we so lucky ? Â :confused: Â :lol: It does make one wonder what is going on with everyone's laundry, doesn't it? Â Â It happens that our towels and undergarments are washed separately. Not due to the ick factor, but because of the way I sort. I have three hampers: White, Light and Dark. My dish towels are white (I use bar towels) but nobody here wears white underwear. So if any of you come to visit, you can be assured that my undies never came into contact with that cloth napkin (also white) that I just put in front of you. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissel Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 Doesn't faze me at all, but it rarely happens around here because I usually accumulate enough rags/kitchen towels/bathroom towels/pillowcases to make a full hot-water-and-vinegar load on their own. I'm not averse to tossing in a pair of gotchies or two for someone who needs a fresh one no matter what the load is though :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extendedforecast Posted May 12, 2010 Author Share Posted May 12, 2010 "Sanitize cycle" = ? ? ? My washer is 26 years old. This must be some new feature.  It is. I got an LG steam washer a couple of years back when my old one died and was surprised to see this cycle as well as a baby cycle. I have no idea what the difference is. Also, the sanitary cycle is almost two hours long. I wash whites every other week because of this.   Cindy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 Also, the sanitary cycle is almost two hours long. I wash whites every other week because of this.Cindy  I am floored.  a cycle that lasts nearly two hours ?! :001_huh:  I suspect that less energy would be required to, as in olden days, simply boil the clothing and sheets on the stove (or over an outdoor fire), then hang them out to dry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 All the whites get lumped together with a shot of bleach at my house. If I did kitchen towels and washcloths separately I would waste a ton of water. I would have to let them sit for a week getting nasty before I had enough for a load! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danestress Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 Mostly because it seems like overkill to have to use bleach and the sanitary cycle. It does not seem energy efficient to me, and it also just seems sort of gross even if I know that there is no pathogen to worry about after that treatment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynn in WI Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 Whites are whites here. They get washed together...in an old fashioned washing machine--meaning no sanitary cycles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2squared Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 Now I know why laundry is such a homemaking issue. Most others make it much more complex that I do. Â My washer cleans our laundry. If it didn't, I wouldn't use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snickerdoodle Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 Now I know why laundry is such a homemaking issue. Most others make it much more complex that I do. My washer cleans our laundry. If it didn't, I wouldn't use it.   I agree. I just thank my lucky stars I don't have to do it all by hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyCrazyMama Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 Under the circumstances you describe probably not unsanitary, but still gross in my mind. I just can't do it.  :iagree: I wash nothing with my kitchen laundry. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyCrazyMama Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 All the whites get lumped together with a shot of bleach at my house. If I did kitchen towels and washcloths separately I would waste a ton of water. I would have to let them sit for a week getting nasty before I had enough for a load! Â Not here, it also grosses me out to reuse them later in the day. I do a load of kitchen towels and cloth napkins every 2 or 3 days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockey Mom Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 All the whites get lumped together with a shot of bleach at my house. If I did kitchen towels and washcloths separately I would waste a ton of water. I would have to let them sit for a week getting nasty before I had enough for a load! Â :iagree: Â And I only use cold water unless it's something particularly gross. Â I do wash my small area rugs/bath mats seperately though. Oh, and dog bedding. Other than that, it gets sorted by reds/whites/darks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyCrazyMama Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 Yes I do. I have a hamper (actually a laundry basket) in the laundry room for all my dish towels, rags, and tea towels. Â Ditto. I get uptight when other things end up in there too. Â I guess I shouldn't be replying as I read. I didn't realize how many points would be raised with this one question.:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forget-Me-Not Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 I don't generally combine them, but that's more because underwear/socks/whites tend to go into a different load setting than towels. I tend to wash my towels on 'heavy duty' with hot water and an extra long agitation. In fact--LOL--any undies with potty accidents here usually get thrown in WITH the towels because they get a heavier/longer wash. Â I don't think it's gross to combine them. We're talking water, soap AND bleach AND a trip through the dryer. Nothing lives through that. Or very little anyway. Â I sort by colors and wash settings. Not by germ type :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 I definitely use hot for its germ-killing properties (and I have read articles suggesting to do this) Because cold water will not sanatize the blood on my underwear, poop on kids, discharge etc. I wash some things on cold, but underwear is on sanitary. Christine  Ah, you see we hang our clothes in the sun for the germ killing properties.  I've never heard of anyone using bleach in a regular load of washing until reading this thread!  Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyCrazyMama Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 I sort by colors and wash settings. Not by germ type :D Â :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyCrazyMama Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 I've never heard of anyone using bleach in a regular load of washing until reading this thread!  Rosie  Really, :confused: . I always thought it was very common. Perhaps it's a regional thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 Really, :confused: . I always thought it was very common. Perhaps it's a regional thing? Â Heheheheh, now I have two new tips for the frugality threads. Â :lol: Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010  I've never heard of anyone using bleach in a regular load of washing until reading this thread!  Rosie  I never have done, and now I would avoid it because of the septic tank.  Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vettechmomof2 Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 We combine everything except animal bedding. That gets seperated and washed by itself. Cold water only for all. We do use the dryer though as we had too many items stolen when we first moved here and put them outside to dry.:confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oraetstudia Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 I generally throw everything in together, wash on cold and never use bleach. In the summer, I do sort out towels from everything else, because I don't like the feel of sun dried, scratchy towels, but I like to dry everything else outside. Â I guess we're just gross, but we seem to stay fairly healthy in spite of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 I'm sure it's fine, but I think it's gross. I've read they find e-coli on stuff even after a dryer cycle and that grosses me out, so kitchen towels get washed with clothes but not with underwear, nor with bathroom towels. Â This thread made me think of something related that I thought was super gross. I used to do housekeeping/nanny work in college to make extra $$. One of the families I worked for used the same sponge for both the kitchen and the bathroom. Yuck, yuck, yuck, yuck, yuck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 I have never had a problem with it. The only sorting I do is darks and whites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim in TN Posted May 12, 2010 Share Posted May 12, 2010 One of the families I worked for used the same sponge for both the kitchen and the bathroom. Yuck, yuck, yuck, yuck, yuck. Â Yeah, that's pretty gross. I also hate eating out and seeing the workers wash the table and chairs with the same rag. Eww! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delaney Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 Doesn't bother me. I am , however, really grossed out by dogs licking faces. I mean they lick their butts right? :confused: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 You people wash with hot water? :confused: Rosie  Only towels. I think my husband does his clothes on warm but everything else that I do is cold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarlaS Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 I agree. Next to none of you would come to my house though because personally, I wash with cold, never use bleach, always combine such things. The only stuff that gets washed separately in it's own load is the cloth diapers/wipes/sanitary pads.  All that being said, our family has less incidents of sickness than any other I know. In fact, hardly any .. and when someone has gotten sick it's been ridiculously minor compared to everyone else I know coming down with the same thing. :001_huh: go figure, huh?  I could have written this!  :iagree: with all the above--right down to the separating cloth diapers/wipes/pads (which I don't currently use, but kind of miss...). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 I wash my whites in hot water/cold rinse. That is most of our unmentionables. The rest I wash in warm water/cold rinse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2denj Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 No, I have been combining them my whole life and we have all survived. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarlaS Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 I wasn't thinking of environmental factors. I was wondering why you want to pay to heat water to wash clothes when cold water will wash them! Ah well, I now have a new tip to put on the frugality threads :lol: Rosie  Are most water heaters where you are electric? That would be expensive.  I wash everything on hot, and we have a natural gas water heater. In the summer, when the furnace does not run, our gas bill is about $40. That's daily laundry, showers, baths etc. for a family of six. I can't imagine a significant savings washing in cold. I do have a front loader though, and I fill it. No partial loads. I've also really clamped down on people washing clean clothes. THAT bugs me to no end... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ravin Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 If kitchen rags are really nasty, I'll give them a rinse cycle before throwing in the rest of the load. The only thing I've ever deliberately segregated in my wash is a few delicate items (and even most of those I don't bother)and diapers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 I wouldn't because of fuzz balls on the clothes, but no other reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peela Posted May 13, 2010 Share Posted May 13, 2010 I would and have done it. Cold wash, no bleach, just powder. Non germ phobic person here! What do you honestly think would happen to you even if there were germs? By the time everything is washed, rinsed, washed, rinsed, spun, and hung out to dry, not much is realistically goign to survive. Â If there is sickness or skin diseases in the family..articles affected get washed in hot water and eucalyptus oil in the rinse water. Â We all wash in loads per person. I wash all my clothes, leaving our the whites and lights if there are any. If the washer isnt full I will toss in other things to fill it up. I am probably the only person in the family who would do it- dh and the kids wash their own clothes but wouldnt think to add in anything from the general household pile if their loads werent full. Besides, dh IS germ phobic, so dont tell him what I do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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