Washing

I never change the setting on my washing machine. My clothes, bedding and towels always seem fine.

Admittedly, I rarely wash anything very pale or white as I prefer vibrant colours for bedding, towels and clothes.

I use Ariel capsules so I never have to measure anything. Just one capsule per wash.

Fabric conditioner is something I haven't used for 20+ years.

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I always use bio liquid Surf (unless non-bio is recommended on care label).

Tip: I have found that bio liquid Surf rubbed into stains and left to soak in is brilliant, it even got black felt tip off a white tablecloth. Good for tomato sauce stains on clothes. A 40 or 50 deg wash usually does the trick.

I use Aldi's non bio and rarely use fabric conditioner. My daughter always says my bedding looks really white and it's got great recommendations on which and good house keeping. Hope you can now worry about something else

I use Surf powder and buy it when it's on offer. My 90 wash box had run out and I bought a 100 wash box. I noticed that on both boxes they recommended diffferent amounts to use on each wash. I decided life's too short and vowed never to bother checking again!

How old is your washing machine? Try a thorough clean of the machine. I used a Dr Beckmann washing machine cleaner and seems to have helped. I also use their glow white sachets when my whites get dull

And how much soda do you use?

Do we put the vinegar in the powder drawer or the fabric conditioner compartment?

Got caught out by liquid capsules not dissolving properly on the wool wash. Sometimes use liquid, sometimes Sainsburys washing tablets. Vanish for stains, no fabric softener for years. Wash some whites ( tea towels, towels etc ) at 90deg. Will the green police be round?

That should be never use softener on towels!

I like using different detergents for different loads and I'm particular about doing light and dark things separately. I use Surf powder for towels and bedding, a colour safe liquid (like Aldi but depends on offers elsewhere) for most clothes but have something like Woolite for the wool cycle. I find that a lot of my clothes particularly from M&S recommend using wool cycle and I do think that they seem to wear out less quickly. My daughter, her partner and my grandson live with me and I have a non-bio for his baby clothes. I loony use softener on towels but tend to use a less scented one on everything else except jeans. I also have woolite for dark things which is good at preventing fading.

mollie I use Fairy non bio as it doesn't irritate my skin. I wash bedding towels and tea towels on 60 degrees as lower temps won't kill dust mites, and 40 or 30 degrees to wash colours.

I don't use fabiric conditioner any more. I use white vinegar instead - it strips out the last of the soap, and brightens things as well. And no, I don't smell like an escapee from the pickle factory!

Please could someone tell me how much washing soda you put in a wash? My towels and face flannel are looking grey, even though they're washed regularly and I'd like to try and brighten them up without bleach. Do you use the soda with a detergent or on its own?

Oh, and I meant to ask where’s best to buy white vinegar and soda - I presume you can buy larger sizes than the baking/cooking stock?

See! I knew you lovely lot would have all the answers! I’m glad that so many others agree with me about the capsules. I’m surprised that powder is considered better than liquid - i stopped because it seemed a bit old hat but I’m going back to powder now and I’ll give the white vinegar a go and ditch the conditioner. Silly question - do you put the powder in the drum or the tray?

Oh, and a slight guilty confession - I never hang washing out, always tumble

I use Daz liquid,30 or 40 degree wash for most things but a really hot 90degree for bedding and towels .Most of my bedding is cotton and white and I think the hot wash keeps it sparkling

Our water is very hard. I put a dessertspoon of soda and either Persil or Formil (Lidl) -recommended by Which Mag. I always hang whites outside in sun whenever possible.
I use the "for colours" version for colours. I never put dark colours in with whites although I do sometimes put in a pale blue! Whites keep really white.

I love the smell of all the Surf range ( I always use the powder versions) and use Tesco own cheapest stain remove spray and fabric softener. My daughters always bring their stubborn stains for me to wash and rave about the smell of the washing when it's returned to them! I pre-soak bad stains in baby Milton if the clothes are while and soak overnight in ordinary washing up liquid if coloured.

I never use fabric softener but do use Dettol laundry cleanser which I buy through Amazon, pack of four bottles. Apparently lower temperature washes means a quicker build up of mould inside the machine and after a while I found that the laundry had an unpleasant pong!
Was advised to try this by a W/Mc engineer and it works! My husband wants me to use Calgon as well-Oh, the power of advertising!!

I haven't read every post so not sure if anyone else has mentioned them, but I use soap nuts for almost everything. They are cheap & environmentally friendly (put them in the compost bin after use) & don't cause upset to sensitive skin like most detergents. And no synthetic smell which I prefer.
I got them from Lakeland initially, but now buy Salveo ones from Amazon:
www.amazon.co.uk/Salveo-Natural-Indian-Soap-Nuts/dp/B001DHVUTY?tag=gransnetforum-21
You put 3 in a little cotton bag & chuck them in with the washing, use twice. Apparently there is sometimes some staining from fresh ones so I always use fresh ones for a darks wash, second use on lights.
Haven't used fabric conditioner for years as I found it caused skin irritation for myself & son.

I used capsules until my washing started looking dull, so now use Fairy non-bio soap powder. It's much better, and you don't end up with those slimy bits that sometimes happens when capsules don't 'dissolve' properly.

Only use Waitrose sensitive as otherwise DH starts itching if I use other brands. Occasionally use conditioner but find it makes little drawer in machine nasty! Friend was told by washing machine engineer that only washing at 30 makes machines clog up.

This threads reminds me of my name! But there was a recent thread about water softeners, and I had to switch off just when it got to the exciting part, and now I can't find it again, prob because it has a title like 'And another thing' (nb to GN HQ this happens a lot and is annoying). Can anyone direct me to the answers - is the cost and initial hassle worth it, in hard water areas?