Cleaning a washing machine

[heth]

Yeah I go by what is on the box, havent done any washing yet this week as I havent had much.
Will let you all know how it goes on!

[katex]

Originally Posted by heth

Have been getting them black spots so think a bleaching would be a good idea.

Thereby lies the clue .. mildew, due to leaving items in a damp condition for too long and will create a mouldy smell.

No bleach if your towels are coloured ... well a little hydrogen peroxide.

Difficult to treat, but with a few washes in a biological powder should improve.

Actually, did google the Persil site and they suggested rubbing with household soap and putting out in the sunshine for a while. The ultra violet light kills the spores. Wash after in biological detergent.

Never heard that one before ... worth a try.

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

My sheets are white and cotton so they get a 90 degree wash...with bleach.
I never really went for the low temperature washing thing.

With modern detergents, Margaret, that attack the stains with enzyme additives (biological washing powder), there is absolutely no reason why cottons should be washed at over 70 degrees. Bleach should only be added at the first rinse of no higher than 60 degrees, otherwise, you run the risk of tenderising the fabric.

After many years of dealing with commercial laundries and others who insisted that some of our hotel linens were not up to scratch and were showing holes, etc after the first wash .. this was the main abuse they subjected our products to.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Kate, I have washed my sheets like this for as long as I can remember(well the white ones anyway) and some of my sheets are almost 20 years old......they are egyptian cotton with a high thread count........and although I can't honestly say they are as good as new, there is life left in them.
I know when I bought them my husband thought they were very expensive, but they have turned out to be the very best value for money.

[Margaret Pilkington]

I wonder if my laundry habits can be laid at the door of my paternal Grandmother.....Ok, they didn't have the modern detergents.....she grated olive soap, boiled her sheets in a Slaxone copper boiler.........and used bleach. I loved the smell of the boiling sheets and pillow cases.........and used to help her put the sheets through the mangle.
She would lift the laundry out of the boiler with wooden tongs into a dolly tub of cold water .....swish the sheets around using a posser........then we would fold the sheets and put them through the mangle( a couple of times)....isn't it a good job the floor in the kitchen was stone flags....oh yes, and she wore clogs too.
That's my laundry story.

[MargaretR]

I have cotton percale (high thread count) bedding too.
It isn't suffering from 90degree washes.
M&S cotton nightwear and panties also stand up to it, but some panties I got on ebay have gone 'holey'.

[katex]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

I wonder if my laundry habits can be laid at the door of my paternal Grandmother.....Ok, they didn't have the modern detergents.....she grated olive soap, boiled her sheets in a Slaxone copper boiler.........and used bleach. I loved the smell of the boiling sheets and pillow cases.........and used to help her put the sheets through the mangle.
She would lift the laundry out of the boiler with wooden tongs into a dolly tub of cold water .....swish the sheets around using a posser........then we would fold the sheets and put them through the mangle( a couple of times)....isn't it a good job the floor in the kitchen was stone flags....oh yes, and she wore clogs too.
That's my laundry story.

Me too .. been there, done all that and slung the sheets across the line in the back street after (clothes rack in Winter).... Technology has moved on though and the main criteria is to attack the stains which modern detergents do without bleaching. You have been very lucky if your sheets are not showing any rotting of the fibres. Try shoving your nail through your sheet and see what happens.

Egyptian cotton sheets are not always the best .. can be manufactured in Egypt, but the yarn can be from elsewhere.

You are just wasting energy and bleach by taking them up to 90 degrees.
Why do you feel the need to bleach cotton sheets anyway ? Not like they get too dirty and should stay whiter than white even at 50 degrees wash

[shillelagh]

can remember when i was a kid my pensioner next door neighbour did all her washing the old fashioned way ... and she had a mangle ... and when it was the school holidays it was me who turned the mangle for her .....

[Neil]

Originally Posted by katex

Thereby lies the clue .. mildew, due to leaving items in a damp condition for too long and will create a mouldy smell.

The inside of your machine stays wet after use and there is always some water still in the machine.

This link is a good one I think about what causes machine machine smells and why low temp washing causes problems.

Washing machine usage (part 2)

[Margaret Pilkington]

I have checked the sheets Kate....and I can't put my fingernail through them.......if I could I am sure himself would have holed them by now with his toenails(they are hard as iron)
I don't use much bleach..........maybe a tablespoonful in a full load.
The egyptian cotton sheets were expensive at the time.....so expensive that you got two free bath sheets(I daren't tell you how much)....but they have been proved to be value for money.
On the hot wash cycles I have 40, 60, 90........I use 40 for most things, I don't do much low temperature stuff.......it really doesn't seem get things clean...not even with biological liquid.

[MargaretR]

I do what MargaretP does with the exceptions - no bleach, no biologicals.

[heth]

Thanks Neil i will look at that link a bit later and thanks all for your washing stories its funny how people get into habits isnt it?

I always seperate my whites/lights and my dark/colours but me Mum laughs at me and asks why as she doesnt??!!

[Margaret Pilkington]

I have always separated whites and coloureds........and get infuriated when himself chucks stuff into the machine without first checking what is in there. I have had a couple of mishaps due to him doing this....so now I unload whatever is in there, to check he hasn't put a pair of rogue socks or undercrackers in with the whites

[katex]

Ah well, suppose it would be a hard job to convince you ladies that washing at 90 degrees is so unnecessary. If you are happy with it .. then OK.

The dosage of bleach is quite low, MargaretP .. so you have been lucky to get away with it. Please remember though that when you remark that buying percale sheets "was worth it" ...it has nothing to do with the longevity of the sheet. Percale (as MargaretR mentioned) is just a finer yarn and more threads to the inch to give you a smoother, more luxurious feeling sheet... all the better if an actual Egyptian yarn with a longer staple length. A standard 60/60 (number of threads per inch warp/weft) 20/20s (the lower the number, the thicker the yarn) will probably be tougher. Course you know this .. as you were a weaver for a while.

I have always had excellent results at 30/40 degrees .. but please remember that some stains do need specialised treatment before washing.

Curious to know what agent you use MargaretR for washing ?

[Margaret Pilkington]

It was MargaretR who mentioned percale sheets Kate. I don't remember the company I bought them from denoting them as percale...but it is a long time ago.

Although my sheets have a high thread count they weren't thin(fine) when new they were surprisingly heavy....they are becoming fine now, but as I say I have had 18 and a bit years wear out of them.........so I have had my money's worth. I would certainly buy them again....they would probably see me out.

[MargaretR]

Originally Posted by katex

I have always had excellent results at 30/40 degrees .. but please remember that some stains do need specialised treatment before washing.

Curious to know what agent you use MargaretR for washing ?

I think I said earlier that I gave up with the soapnuts.
I use non-bio Surcare tablets
http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/ocado...Washes_16.html


The small print says 'outstanding results at 30 degrees' but I wouldn't know.
What matters is - totally perfume free. I have tried Simply Sensitive tabs but they have a small amount. My Bosch washer has an Aqua Plus setting for extra rinsing power to avoid any detergent residue being left on whatever is washed.