I don't know how to do laundry

[plain jane]

There. I've admitted it.  I used to think I was pretty good and am pleased with myself because it never seems to pile up around here and I am dutiful about getting one load washed, hung, and put away every day.  Thing is pretty much all our clothes come out stained, or, if cleaner than they went in, still not 100% clean.  My kids aren't especially dirty but I'm really not able to get simple marks out of clothes.  For example, one of our rubbermaid bins leaked a bit and some clothes had some wet dust (just a streak, it wasn't even mud, just a smudge of brown dirt).  I looked a it and figured it would come out in the wash.  Nope.  It looks the same coming out as it did going in.  Now, I could have used a stain remover, but I was out.  And honestly, I don't have time to spot stain all 7 of my kids' clothes.  The baby has plenty of spit up or diaper leak stains and the older kids get stuff... not even the big things like blood or coffee or grass stains.  Just some dirt from here and there and... spots.   Often, after a few washes their clothes come out with some grease looking spots on them and I have to toss far more than I would like to admit.   Usually to avoid this we have at home and going out clothes but their "at home" items far outnumber their ones or going out.

 

What am I doing wrong?  I have a top loader (old style, not even a new one and this is non negotiable for now as we are renting temporarily).

 

I sort clothes into the following:

 

Blacks - wash in cold in Woolite Dark liquid and hang to dry to avoid dulling of black

Whites- wash in hot with regular liquid soap.  Sometimes I wash in cold because some of the whites are more delicate fabric and I don't have time/energy/desire to sort by fabric

Jeans/Underwear- hot with regular soap

Colors- wash in cold

 

What am I doing wrong?  Is hot water better for washing clothes?  I recently spoke to someone who told me that none of her clothes have stains and she washes everything in cold.  Does cold water wash as well?  Is it my detergent?  
 

I use Ecos from Costco mostly because my kids don't do scents or dyes well.  Is it my soap?

 

I'm so tired of staying on top of all our laundry needs (no small feat) and yet always having dirty clothes.

 

Oh, and if kids are sick, stomach virus or more serious things, hot is always better right?  Will cold get clothes clean?  I use hot for jeans/underwear because I figure it cleans germs better but correct me if I'm wrong.

[Ellie]

There. I've admitted it.  I used to think I was pretty good and am pleased with myself because it never seems to pile up around here and I am dutiful about getting one load washed, hung, and put away every day.  Thing is pretty much all our clothes come out stained, or, if cleaner than they went in, still not 100% clean.  My kids aren't especially dirty but I'm really not able to get simple marks out of clothes.  For example, one of our rubbermaid bins leaked a bit and some clothes had some wet dust (just a streak, it wasn't even mud, just a smudge of brown dirt).  I looked a it and figured it would come out in the wash.  Nope.  It looks the same coming out as it did going in.  Now, I could have used a stain remover, but I was out.  And honestly, I don't have time to spot stain all 7 of my kids' clothes.  The baby has plenty of spit up or diaper leak stains and the older kids get stuff... not even the big things like blood or coffee or grass stains.  Just some dirt from here and there and... spots.   Often, after a few washes their clothes come out with some grease looking spots on them and I have to toss far more than I would like to admit.   Usually to avoid this we have at home and going out clothes but their "at home" items far outnumber their ones or going out.

 

What am I doing wrong?  I have a top loader (old style, not even a new one and this is non negotiable for now as we are renting temporarily).

 

I sort clothes into the following:

 

Blacks - wash in cold in Woolite Dark liquid and hang to dry to avoid dulling of black

Whites- wash in hot with regular liquid soap.  Sometimes I wash in cold because some of the whites are more delicate fabric and I don't have time/energy/desire to sort by fabric

Jeans/Underwear- hot with regular soap

Colors- wash in cold

 

What am I doing wrong?  Is hot water better for washing clothes?  I recently spoke to someone who told me that none of her clothes have stains and she washes everything in cold.  Does cold water wash as well?  Is it my detergent?  

 

I use Ecos from Costco mostly because my kids don't do scents or dyes well.  Is it my soap?

 

I'm so tired of staying on top of all our laundry needs (no small feat) and yet always having dirty clothes.

 

Oh, and if kids are sick, stomach virus or more serious things, hot is always better right?  Will cold get clothes clean?  I use hot for jeans/underwear because I figure it cleans germs better but correct me if I'm wrong.

 

:grouphug:

 

I wash almost everything in warm. I only use cold when I'm washing something delicate and I'm also using a delicate-wash detergent.

 

It could be your detergent.

 

I have used Amway laundry products exclusively for over 40 years. Mr. Ellie is the one in our family who is sensitive, and Amway products are the only ones that don't make his skin break out.

 

When I wash whites, I presoak them in hot water with Amway detergent and dry, non-chlorine bleach. My whites are lovely. :-)

 

I use a prewash spray on stains when I know they're there, lol. But it only takes a few seconds to eyeball garments to see if they need special treatment, and a second to spray.

 

I just don't trust washing everything in cold, so I don't.

[EmseB]

Hot will set in stains, IME.  You might try doing a cold soak or rinse before doing the hot cycle.  I use Oxyclean for this if it's something really bad.

 

Also, I would try just plain old regular Tide as a detergent.

 

ETA: Also, if you have hard water that could be a source of the issue.

Edited January 21, 2017 by EmseB

[ondreeuh]

I agree with EmseB - check your water hardness. If it's hard, the detergent won't work well. You can add Borax along with your detergent to soften the water - that's an easy and cheap thing to try.

 

I would buy some OxiClean and soak your lights/whites in HOT with the OxiClean added (follow directions on the bottle), then rinse/spin and continue with normal detergent. I bet you will see some of the dinginess decrease.

 

Dish soap is great for getting out greasy spots. Just get the greasy spot wet, rub in a little dish soap, and wash as usual.

Edited January 21, 2017 by ondreeuh

[Carol in Cal.]

I don't see how you can get most spots out without spot treating.  I use spray n wash or zout for that, either one is a spray.  I spray things as they go into the sort baskets and don't necessarily wash them right away.  But NEVER put stained clothes into the drier.  That will make it extremely hard, maybe impossible, to ever get the stains out.  

 

Blood or egg stains (protein) are actually set in by hot water, so those you want to spray and then wash in cool water.  Other than that, generally the hotter the water the more likely to get stains out.  

 

I like Amway detergent for cool water wash--it doesn't fade clothes the way Tide does, but it gets them just as clean.  Tide is pretty good, though.  

[Guest]

Another common mistake is putting too many clothes in the washer at once. Only load about 2/3 full. There must be plenty of room for the clothes to agitate. No agitation = no clean clothes.

[lovinmyboys]

My kids clothes seemed to be not getting clean and someone suggested switching to Tide. It seems to be working better. I also use zout on the stains.

[Caclcoca]

My kids don't do scents or dyes well either.  We use All Free and Clear.  I do spot treat with Shout, and I occasionally soak in Biz.  I mention the All Free and Clear because my sensitive kids couldn't do Tide (even the free and clear kind).

[wendyroo]

I sort as follows:

Dress clothes - cold

Lights - warm

Colors - warm

Darks - warm

Really dirty stuff - hot with Oxiclean

 

I use really cheap home made detergent (plus oxiclean when appropriate).  It almost always does the job, but sometimes the kids do get greasy food stains on their shirts...and pants...heck, sometimes even their underwear.  How do they manage that?

 

If I notice a stain before washing, I will treat it with some dish soap, but the vast majority of the time I don't notice stains until I am folding the item as it comes out of the dryer.  I just throw everything stained in a bin and deal with it all when I get around to it.  Eventually, as I am getting ready to do a hot load, I will pull out the accumulated stained items and treat them with a OxiClean Max Force Gel Stick - I have always had superb luck with those things.  I let the gel sit on the stains for 15ish minutes and then I throw all that stuff into the hot load with detergent and a scoop of dye-free, scent-free oxiclean and do a double rinse (one of my kids also is sensitive to detergent chemicals, but the extra rinse does the job).

 

Wendy

 

 

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

I agree that you don't need the hot water and that it will set stains. Also, I'm sorry to say that my experience with Ecos is that it is nearly useless. Actually, my experience with most natural detergents is that they're nearly useless. Even the ones people rave about have not worked at all for us--armpits still stink, stains don't come out, etc. 

 

I'm the one who doesn't do well with scents and dyes, and both DH and DD get eczema from sodium percarbonate, which is the active ingredient in most natural detergents, so we've had a time trying to find something that works! Right now we're using Ecover Lavender Field,and it works well enough to satisfy me, but before that we used Costco's "environmentally friendly" detergent. That worked better, and the scent was mild enough to not bother me (you could smell it some when using it, but clothes from the dryer smelled like nothing but hot fabric), but it turned out it wasn't especially environmentally friendly *sigh* 

 

I also agree that overloading the washer can lead to clothes not getting clean enough and can lead to oily stains from detergent redeposits. That one is easy to solve though. I usually spot oil stains when folding (usually me, from cooking or dropping food on myself), so I keep a dollar store ketchup bottle of blue (original) Dawn at hand. I treat the stains as I see them, rub them a bit, and toss them back into the laundry to get washed on the next go round. Works nearly every time. 

 

I don't keep a stain stick nearby, but that's probably something you need to keep an eye on as you load the washer, since once it comes out of the dryer, it's going to be pretty well set. If you don't want to do that, then yeah, wash on cold or warm and switch to a more powerful detergent, if you can find one that works for the kids. 

Edited January 21, 2017 by ILiveInFlipFlops

[Classic Mom]

I have tried numerous types of detergents, temperatures, and stain treatments. The best has been buying Tide. I found when I bought cheaper detergent I re-washed the clothes so many times trying to get stains out that I wasn't saving any money.

[Pawz4me]

I think many (most, from what I've seen) people overload their washers. Clothes need room to move to get clean.

 

I think many people use too much detergent. It's counter productive.

 

I wash most things in warm water.

 

I've tried many detergents over the years and always come back to Tide. I really, really like the Persil at Walmart. I think it cleans even better than Tide. But it's significantly more expensive per load and our clothes just aren't that dirty.

 

I've never found Oxiclean to be anything but a total waste of time, effort and money. I know I'm in the minority on that. It baffles me.

 

I like Shout Advanced Action Gel stain remover.

[plain jane]

Thanks, everyone.  I think I may try switching from Ecos.  I know it takes a couple seconds to spot stains but I usually grab and dump and have been moving towards having the kids put their own laundry in the wash so I'm no longer supervising what goes in other than a quick glance to make sure they're sorted appropriately.  The two times I decided to forego sorting one of the jeans bled and ruined several shirts. I knew better but had read a few blogs about people who stopped sorting and lived happily ever after.  Lesson learned!!

 

We don't have hard water and I hang everything to dry.  The only items that go in the dryer are baby clothes so it's not the dryer that's setting in stains.  Your'e all given me a lot of tips to work with. Thank you!

[zoobie]

I had a Maytag washer that sucked so hard it should've been a vacuum. Switched washers and suddenly my clothes were clean again!

 

I wash almost everything on eco warm which just makes sure the water isn't COLD. Tide or Persil powder. Shout Advanced scrubby top stain stick.

[Guest]

I'm not sure why you aren't blaming your machine. I'm with Zoobie, except my dud was the %#@&$ Whirlpool Calypso machine. "See? No agitator yo damage clothing!" More like, "No agitator, the thing that cleans clothing!" Also, too miserly with water. Water gets clothing clean. A teaspoon of water does not get clothing clean.

 

Speed Queen, baby! I'm like a laundry genius now!

[Reefgazer]

A few simple rules for awesome laundry:

1. Get an old-style full-tub-of-water, agitator washing machine.

2. Make Stain Stick your best friend

3. Do not put whites in with dark colors

Edited January 22, 2017 by reefgazer

[ktgrok]

It's your soap. I tried Ecos and it didn't work well at all in my water. Tide. You need Tide. Use the unscented one if you want, but use Tide. 

 

Also, warm does work better. 

[CadenceSophia]

I like natural detergent but Tide Free and Clear is actually great for many people with allergies and issues with scents.  Cold water does not work for me where I live. Very much depends on the temperature the ground water comes out at. In FL where it comes out like 66 degrees, it might be fine. Where I live, it comes out at 35 degrees. Can't wash a darn thing in 35 degree water.  Hard water needs more detergent. Machine too full is a big issue. Things will still stink if you wash too full, or like other said if your machine just doesn't work well. Could totally be the machine.  

Also you can't throw in super gross things with your other laundry -- I always wash dish towels seperately and bath towels in their own load so I can wash them harder and longer/dry longer. The scents will transfer and you'll have clothes that smell like cooking oil. Bleck. 

[littlebug42]

Clorox 2 is awesome for stains.  It will even get out blood that has gone through the dryer and set in. I try to catch the stains and treat before I wash but will put in some of the Clorox 2 with each load just to help stuff.  The dawn dishwashing liquid is the only thing that gets out greasy stains for me.  

 

I am allergic to Tide and can't use it.  I have good luck with arm and hammer but it is scented.  I use hot for towels, sheets, sometimes with my whites and scrubs.  I use cold water on most everything else.  Works just as well as warm in my opinion. 

[Ausmumof3]

There. I've admitted it. I used to think I was pretty good and am pleased with myself because it never seems to pile up around here and I am dutiful about getting one load washed, hung, and put away every day. Thing is pretty much all our clothes come out stained, or, if cleaner than they went in, still not 100% clean. My kids aren't especially dirty but I'm really not able to get simple marks out of clothes. For example, one of our rubbermaid bins leaked a bit and some clothes had some wet dust (just a streak, it wasn't even mud, just a smudge of brown dirt). I looked a it and figured it would come out in the wash. Nope. It looks the same coming out as it did going in. Now, I could have used a stain remover, but I was out. And honestly, I don't have time to spot stain all 7 of my kids' clothes. The baby has plenty of spit up or diaper leak stains and the older kids get stuff... not even the big things like blood or coffee or grass stains. Just some dirt from here and there and... spots. Often, after a few washes their clothes come out with some grease looking spots on them and I have to toss far more than I would like to admit. Usually to avoid this we have at home and going out clothes but their "at home" items far outnumber their ones or going out.

 

What am I doing wrong? I have a top loader (old style, not even a new one and this is non negotiable for now as we are renting temporarily).

 

I sort clothes into the following:

 

Blacks - wash in cold in Woolite Dark liquid and hang to dry to avoid dulling of black

Whites- wash in hot with regular liquid soap. Sometimes I wash in cold because some of the whites are more delicate fabric and I don't have time/energy/desire to sort by fabric

Jeans/Underwear- hot with regular soap

Colors- wash in cold

 

What am I doing wrong? Is hot water better for washing clothes? I recently spoke to someone who told me that none of her clothes have stains and she washes everything in cold. Does cold water wash as well? Is it my detergent?

 

I use Ecos from Costco mostly because my kids don't do scents or dyes well. Is it my soap?

 

I'm so tired of staying on top of all our laundry needs (no small feat) and yet always having dirty clothes.

 

Oh, and if kids are sick, stomach virus or more serious things, hot is always better right? Will cold get clothes clean? I use hot for jeans/underwear because I figure it cleans germs better but correct me if I'm wrong.

Are you overloading the machine? I tend to cram too much in - since I've learned to reduce the load size we are getting much cleaner looking clothes. I'm not much into stain treating either unless it's something like blood or berry juice.

[Laura Corin]

I use a generic no-enzyme washing powder and almost always wash on cold.  I have a newish cheap frontloader.  Spraying stains with spot treatment makes a difference but I don't check clothes carefully for stains.  In general, things come out clean anyway.  I sort:

 

whites

colours that go into the dryer afterwards

colours that get hung up to dry.

 

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

Sometimes I have to rewash something with a stain.  My go to thing is Fantastik.  I discovered it when I went to the culinary school and had to get grease stains out of my cooking uniform. 

 

I almost only use cold.  I use Arm and Hammer (which is a good balance of price and effectiveness).

 

I doubt you are doing anything wrong.  If something gets spilled on or stained I spray something on it and then throw it in the hamper.  Maybe try doing that.  You can also try pouring a bit of the laundry soap onto the stain. 

 

I do think it's worth buying a better soap.  There are some super mega cheap brands that are terrible. 

Edited January 22, 2017 by SparklyUnicorn

[Carrie12345]

My water is VERY hard, so that's a big deal.

 

I make the Duggar recipe, but I always throw Oxyclean in the whites, since my "detergent" doesn't have any bluing.  They still wind up dingy eventually, but not nearly as quickly as they did before I considered the whole bluing factor!

 

Stains are almost always treated with blue Dawn, here.   Yes, there are a few that don't come out, but it's usually because I didn't notice before the took a wash and dry already.

 

As far as baby stains, I don't care what you use.  I tried every detergent and stain remover invented in my kids' baby lifetimes, and nothing was ever 100%.  Sunning helped, but I mostly considered my babies' clothes to be disposable and used lots and lots of bibs.

[poppy]

You don't use detergent to wash underwear?????

 

 

I just stick everything in the washer, all mixed up, add detergent and wash on hot.  It comes out clean.

[Soror]

 

I just stick everything in the washer, all mixed up, add detergent and wash on hot.  It comes out clean.

That is how I do laundry :)

 

Shockingly I still get things clean- most of the time anyway! My theory is to do the least amount of work that gives the most pay off. I did use All Free & Clear for many years as reg. detergent bothered my now nearly 13 yo, then I switched to homemade and then back to All F&C. I finally realized that none of the natural stuff does a very good job, I'm generally crunchy and all that but with 4 kids, um nope it doesn't cut it, I also have exceedingly hard water that doesn't make it any easier. These days I wash everything on stain cycle in my washer, use reg detergent and pre-treat with Dawn and I'm having much better luck. I also make my kids reserve "nice" clothes just for wearing to "town" and such, otherwise I'd go crazy!

Edited January 22, 2017 by soror

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

As far as baby stains, I don't care what you use.  I tried every detergent and stain remover invented in my kids' baby lifetimes, and nothing was ever 100%.  Sunning helped, but I mostly considered my babies' clothes to be disposable and used lots and lots of bibs.

 

 

The most miraculous thing I used to do for stained baby/toddler clothes was this: Mixed 1 cup original Cascade powder dishwasher detergent, 1 cup Clorox 2, and the hottest water I could manage (boiled, even, if the household water couldn't get hot enough) in a huge bucket, added all stained clothes to it, and soaked for 24 hours. Those clothes came out looking like NEW. I'm not even kidding. 

 

Except after a few years that stopped working, and I couldn't figure out why, until my dad pointed out that the government mandated all phosphates be removed from dishwasher detergent, so I was probably finally getting a supply that had no phosphates in it. Thankfully I was mostly done with baby clothes by then. I definitely support regulation that moves us toward less environmental damage, but that method really did save a lot of clothes that I might have otherwise thrown away because they were so stained (bright orange breastfed baby poop!  :ack2: ). 

 

The method does still work to some degree, so it might be worth trying anyway, but it's not as useful as it was originally. 

[mom2samlibby]

I use Charlie's soap for everything.  I don't think Whoolite works that well.  

 

I wash everything on cold, except towels (hot) and underwear (warm).  

 

If I see a spot, I put Dawn dishsoap on it.  They all come out.  

 

 

[ktgrok]

Speaking of laundry, my husband mentioned his synthetic fiber shirts were stinky, and asked what would help. I said Biz was my favorite, over oxyclean, and got some while we were at the store. Later he decided to "help" with the laundry and did two loads. With Biz. But without any detergent!

 

I smelled them and they didn't smell like my detergent (tide) so asked "you did put detergent in, right?"

He said, "No, why would I do that?"

 

Sigh. 

[Carol in Cal.]

Yes, we have a stupid new style Maytag up at the cabin, and sometimes all the clothes don't even get thoroughly wet.  It is supposed to sense how much water to put in, and it doesn't always get that right.  No agitator, either, but yet it's really hard on clothes.  They come out more wrinkled than I would have believed was possible.  I hate that thing so much that when I saw a washer for sale here in town like our old Kenmore with the actual agitator, the one that actually cleans my clothes 20 years later, I insisted that DH go buy it and stash it in the garage for when ours finally fails.  And someday when I have saved up my pennies there is a Speed Queen in my cabin's future.

[KungFuPanda]

Unless you're stuffing the machine too full, I don't think it's you. I have a toploader and my clothes come clean even with homemade detergent. I really think the water does most of the work. Do you have hard water? If yes, can you try softening it? I think someone suggested borax. It's cheap. Can you let things soak a bit? That's an advantage with toploaders. I only used an Eco-friendly detergent once, a long time ago, for washing dishes and it was crap. It didn't cut the grease at all. Maybe a small squirt of dawn along with your detergent would work OR try tide-free. I use the Kirkland brand in the 5 gallon bucket and it works really well and leaves almost no smell. My family can't take strongly scented laundry, but they have no issues with this.

[catz]

I'm a big fan of using oxyclean in every load.  That has made a big difference.  I also use Tide because I need the HE kind with our most recent washer, but I used to use a cheaper detergent with the oxy and I don't feel like that made a difference.  I don't wash everything hot/warm either. 

[TammyinTN]

I wash everything in cold water.    I also have an old school machine that works like a boss ;) .

 

Towels/washclothes/kitchen stuff/sheets---1 cup bleach and 1/2 cup of tide.

Everything else just sorted the right color/whites and washed with 1/2 of tide and cold water.

BDU's  All Free and Clear and cold water.

 

[G5052]

I primarily use cold water and do just fine. We have a water softener and do fine with Charlie's Soap.

 

Greasy stains get Dawn directly on them, and really dirty loads get soaked overnight with Oxy.

 

I rarely have to rewash anything.

[prairiewindmomma]

I used Ecos for a while, and had similar problems with getting clothes clean. I switched to Tide Free & Clear and started using Oxyclean quite a bit.

[ktgrok]

I used All F&C at my dd's last week and didn't feel it did as good a job as my Tide. I had load after load of wet towels from a leaky roof and they just didn't come out smelling clean. 

 

Same here...it worked well at another house I lived at, so may be the difference in water. 

 

Best laundry advice I got was to look and see, or ask, what sells the best in your area. That's probably what works best in your water. 

[extendedforecast]

Thanks, everyone. I think I may try switching from Ecos. I know it takes a couple seconds to spot stains but I usually grab and dump and have been moving towards having the kids put their own laundry in the wash so I'm no longer supervising what goes in other than a quick glance to make sure they're sorted appropriately. The two times I decided to forego sorting one of the jeans bled and ruined several shirts. I knew better but had read a few blogs about people who stopped sorting and lived happily ever after. Lesson learned!!

 

We don't have hard water and I hang everything to dry. The only items that go in the dryer are baby clothes so it's not the dryer that's setting in stains. Your'e all given me a lot of tips to work with. Thank you!

This may help. I've trained my family to set aside clothes with stains. I have a special basket in the laundry room for stained clothes that I pull from when I have time to sit and treat stains. I usually get around to it every two weeks. I highly recommend Biz over oxiclean. I print out coupons to help with the cost. My favorite detergents are tide and arm and hammer. I've had good luck with both. For stains that are stubborn, especially oil stains, I've found a bar of white soap to work really well. I wet the stain , rub the soap, gently scrub the stain with a small brush and rinse. Then it goes into the hamper or washer depending on what I'm washing at the time.

[extendedforecast]

Speaking of laundry, my husband mentioned his synthetic fiber shirts were stinky, and asked what would help. I said Biz was my favorite, over oxyclean, and got some while we were at the store. Later he decided to "help" with the laundry and did two loads. With Biz. But without any detergent!

 

I smelled them and they didn't smell like my detergent (tide) so asked "you did put detergent in, right?"

He said, "No, why would I do that?"

 

Sigh.

My kids did the same thing a few times!

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

My kids did the same thing a few times!

 

I honestly never knew that Biz wasn't a detergent. I thought it was just another option like Tide or All. Is it actually more like an Oxyclean or Clorox 2?

[ktgrok]

I honestly never knew that Biz wasn't a detergent. I thought it was just another option like Tide or All. Is it actually more like an Oxyclean or Clorox 2?

 

Yes! It's basically Oxiclean, plus Borax, plus enzymes and brighteners. So like Oxiclean plus Chlorox 2 plus Borax plus enzymes that eat stains and odors. It's miraculous. You can either soak stained or stinky cloths in it, then wash, or add it to the load, with detergent, like oxiclean or such. 

[Elizabeth 2]

Yes! It's basically Oxiclean, plus Borax, plus enzymes and brighteners. So like Oxiclean plus Chlorox 2 plus Borax plus enzymes that eat stains and odors. It's miraculous. You can either soak stained or stinky cloths in it, then wash, or add it to the load, with detergent, like oxiclean or such.

 

*adding biz to the shopping list*

[TranquilMind]

There. I've admitted it.  I used to think I was pretty good and am pleased with myself because it never seems to pile up around here and I am dutiful about getting one load washed, hung, and put away every day.  Thing is pretty much all our clothes come out stained, or, if cleaner than they went in, still not 100% clean.  My kids aren't especially dirty but I'm really not able to get simple marks out of clothes.  For example, one of our rubbermaid bins leaked a bit and some clothes had some wet dust (just a streak, it wasn't even mud, just a smudge of brown dirt).  I looked a it and figured it would come out in the wash.  Nope.  It looks the same coming out as it did going in.  Now, I could have used a stain remover, but I was out.  And honestly, I don't have time to spot stain all 7 of my kids' clothes.  The baby has plenty of spit up or diaper leak stains and the older kids get stuff... not even the big things like blood or coffee or grass stains.  Just some dirt from here and there and... spots.   Often, after a few washes their clothes come out with some grease looking spots on them and I have to toss far more than I would like to admit.   Usually to avoid this we have at home and going out clothes but their "at home" items far outnumber their ones or going out.

 

What am I doing wrong?  I have a top loader (old style, not even a new one and this is non negotiable for now as we are renting temporarily).

 

I sort clothes into the following:

 

Blacks - wash in cold in Woolite Dark liquid and hang to dry to avoid dulling of black

Whites- wash in hot with regular liquid soap.  Sometimes I wash in cold because some of the whites are more delicate fabric and I don't have time/energy/desire to sort by fabric

Jeans/Underwear- hot with regular soap

Colors- wash in cold

 

What am I doing wrong?  Is hot water better for washing clothes?  I recently spoke to someone who told me that none of her clothes have stains and she washes everything in cold.  Does cold water wash as well?  Is it my detergent?  

 

I use Ecos from Costco mostly because my kids don't do scents or dyes well.  Is it my soap?

 

I'm so tired of staying on top of all our laundry needs (no small feat) and yet always having dirty clothes.

 

Oh, and if kids are sick, stomach virus or more serious things, hot is always better right?  Will cold get clothes clean?  I use hot for jeans/underwear because I figure it cleans germs better but correct me if I'm wrong.

Laundry is probably my sole domestic skill which I have mastered. ;)

 

I never wash anything in cold, ever.  I wash all colors in warm or hot (depending if anything is new and will bleed), and all whites in hot.  Our clothes do not fade quickly. 

​You need a spray bottle of Shout and of Oxy-Clean (one works better on some stains, the other on bodily fluid stains!).  Pre-treat as soon as you get the clothing item, even if you aren't washing right away.

 

Have a basket in the laundry room for these items.  Also each bedroom should have a basket for clothing in the closet.  Every day or two have someone gather all the darks, or all the lights, and wash them. 

​I wash all colors or all lights together in a full (but not overly full - this can cause them not to be clean) load.  Then I dry laundry by half loads, not the full load, and remove them immediately upon the dryer stopping and fold and hang.  That way they are never wrinkled.

 

How much Ecos are you using?  You only need a little bit (maybe half an inch in the cup).  If you are overusing laundry detergent, your laundry will be dull.   I use half Ecos and half scent free.  I want a tiny bit of good smell but not those awful chemical smells. 

[ktgrok]

*adding biz to the shopping list*

 

I found out about when cloth diapering and it's pretty amazing. I don't use it all the time, but will pick up a box now and then and use it, figure it helps to get things extra clean every so often. I swear I can feel a difference on the clothes when I use it. 

[extendedforecast]

I found out about when cloth diapering and it's pretty amazing. I don't use it all the time, but will pick up a box now and then and use it, figure it helps to get things extra clean every so often. I swear I can feel a difference on the clothes when I use it.

Yes I do the same. I notice the difference when I haven't been using it. Then the box runs out and I'll buy a new box whenever I need more detergent. Again, you can print out coupons from their website.

[heartlikealion]

I don't wash jeans on hot as I would imagine that I wouldn't fit in them afterwards LOL. Also, if they are a dark shade I think that would fade them fast. I just think of hot as much more harsh so only wash certain items on hot like bath towels, underwear, socks or dish towels.

 

Not sure if you've actually had any problem with the jeans, though!

 

I use a stain remover sometimes. I usually use Shout (I have tried both the bottle that you rub on and the spray. Currently have the spray). It seems to help. And I usually wash with Arm & Hammer with Oxi clean (liquid). I feel like if a load needs extra help that works better than my All detergent or such. For example, it gets rid of smells better (mildew, smoke). A&H does make a sensitive one which I use sometimes, but that does not have the oxi clean. Dh had trouble with some detergents growing up but has no problem with any of ours so the brand may work for your family.

[Elizabeth 2]

I found out about when cloth diapering and it's pretty amazing. I don't use it all the time, but will pick up a box now and then and use it, figure it helps to get things extra clean every so often. I swear I can feel a difference on the clothes when I use it.

I have used Clorox 2, borax and enzyme detergents previously, but I didn't realize biz has all of them. We did also live in an area with soft water, so it wasn't hard to get clothes or diapers clean. But maybe this will help with the issues I'm having here. The water is so hard! I've never had to descale anything. Ever. Vinegar is now my friend.

[ktgrok]

I have used Clorox 2, borax and enzyme detergents previously, but I didn't realize biz has all of them. We did also live in an area with soft water, so it wasn't hard to get clothes or diapers clean. But maybe this will help with the issues I'm having here. The water is so hard! I've never had to descale anything. Ever. Vinegar is now my friend.

 

Worth a try!  I can say that it did get the arm pit stink out of my husband's synthetic polo shirts and work out shirts. 

[LuvToRead]

Because of this thread, I actually bought some Biz today.  I have never used it before, and didn't even know if I could find it locally.  I was at the grocery store (small town, family owned) and went down the cleaning aisle just in case they carry it.  Well, not only did they have Biz, it was on sale!