Washing machines sometimes hold a little bit of water in them. This water sits, becomes sour, and sometimes turns into mildew.  Also, high efficiency (HE) machines sometimes hold water and suds in the gaskets.  This is another reason why is it important to use HE detergents in HE machines.  Too many suds from non-HE detergents can cause build up.

Follow the manufacturer’s instructions when cleaning your washing machine.  Some machines even have a special cycle just for cleaning.  Other common ways to clean your machine are by running a wash cycle with bleach or vinegar (with no clothing).

For more tips and debunked laundry myths, see an Exploration of Laundry Myths.

How clean is your your washing machine?

image (c) Karen Weideman

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Myth #1 – More suds mean cleaner clothes.

Fact – More suds do not mean cleaner clothes. In fact, using too much soap can cause keep your clothes from getting clean and it can leave an oily residue on them.

Myth #2 – It’s ok to use regular detergent in an HE (high efficiency) machine.

Fact – You should always use an HE detegent in an HE machine.   Oops. I thought you could just use less until I saw this.

At the Wisk Bubbles & Bubbly event, our scientist Kristin had us perform a little experiment. We put three drops of regular Wisk detergent in one cup of water and three drops of Wisk HE in another cup. We put the lids on a did some shaking. Each time, there were less suds with the HE detergent and the suds dissolved faster! There really is a difference in the two types of detergents. In case you’re wondering, you can use HE detergent in a regular washing machine.

Myth #3 – HE detegents don’t clean as well as other detergents.

Fact – HE detergents clean just as well.  The HE detergents are specially formulated to create less suds, but they have the same cleaning power.

Kristin gave us a grass stain and had us “paint” something on our grass stain using the regular Wisk and the Wisk HE detergents. Then we swished the detergent around in the bucket of water. Taa-daaa. Which is the regular Wisk and which is the Wisk HE? I can’t tell!

Those are the three laundry myths today. And I almost forgot . . . I’m in a Youtube video. Please don’t make fun of my hick sweet country accent.

Did you learn anything new from our laundry myth exploration?

images (c) Karen Weideman

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Real Simple has a video and simple instructions for fixing a stretched sweater cuff.  You’ll only need boiling water and a blow dryer.  It’s worth a try.

image from real simple

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My tip for saving time with laundry is to wash the clothes from one bedroom at a time.  On Monday, I got the dirty clothes from my 11-year-old’s room and washed his clothes.  The only clothes in the pile were his and the only clothes that needed to be put away were his. 

Doing only one room of laundry at a time saves you time because you’re not wandering around the house putting things away.  Just think of all the time you’d save if you did this with every load of laundry.  Hopefully, the kids are around when their laundry is ready to be put away.  With my 11-year-old, I put the clothes on his bed.  He hangs up the shirts while I fold everything else.  Then sometimes he helps to put the other items in his dresser drawers.  With my 3 and 5-year-old, I usually just have them put away their socks, underwear, and pajamas.  I fold and hang up the other clothes.

Of course, my system is not fool proof.  With kids, sometimes they spill food on themselves or have a potty accident.  I try not to do half loads, so I’ll throw in a bunch of other clothes.  This throws off my system a little bit and takes more time, but it does save energy and water to do a full load.

If you’re able, give this system a try and let me know how it works for you. Or if you have any laundry saving tips of your own, feel free to leave those too.  We can all learn from one another.

For more Works for Me Wednesday ideas, visit We Are THAT Family.

image from sxc.hu

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Many folks take off their sheets and put them into the laundry hamper.  Then they get out another set of sheets from the linen closet and put those on the bed.  Later, after they’ve washed the previous sheets, they fold them and put them back into the closet.  This seems like a lot of extra work to me.

When I need to change my sheets, I simply pull them off, wash them, dry them, and then put the same sheets back on the bed.  I really thought that most people do their sheet washing this way until I was at someone’s house one day and saw them doing all the folding and such.  I asked why they just didn’t wash them and put them back on.  She said because it takes a while to wash and dry them.  It does take small bit of time, but much less time than it would take to change them with a different set. 

If you find you’re like this person I mentioned and struggling for time to wash and use the same set, then try putting your sheets into the washing machine as soon as you get up in the morning.  Then before you go to work you can put them in the dryer.  Or try putting them into wash when you get home from work and then put them in the dryer after dinner.  See what works for you.

How is your laundry routine?  Do change the sheets or do you use the same ones?

image (c) Karen Weideman

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I have used lingerie bags for years and have been very disappointed at the bra hooks poking through and snagging other garments, the bras becoming wound up inside the bag, and the underwires getting damaged.  I am so glad that Tide came up with this handy little gadget.  If I’m not mistaken, I paid about $4 for the BraBag.  It was definitely worth the investment.

Have you tried the Tide BraBag?

image from tide

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If you’re interested in trying Wisk HE, you can download a $2 coupon from the laundryhe.com site.  Simply click on the site and at the top toolbar, choose Try Wisk HE.

And now for the giveaway! One person can win a bottle of the Wisk HE detergent.  There are several ways to enter the contest.  Pick any of the options below.  Just remember to leave a comment for each one you’ve completed.

1)  Leave a comment.

2)  Follow @thriftymommy on twitter.

3)  Add Keeping the Castle and/or Thrifty Mommy to your blogroll.  You can earn a separate entry for each.

4)  Tweet about the giveaway.  You can earn up to three tweet entries per day.  Be sure to leave a status link here or to include @thriftymommy in your tweet.

This contest ends May 24 and is available only to those with a U.S. address.  The winner will be contacted via email and will have 72 hours to respond.

image from amazon

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Stain Removal Tips

Lively Laundry Rooms

Hidden Laundry Rooms

Install a Built-In Laundry Cabinet

Storage-Smart Laundry Rooms

Innovative Laundry Room Helpers

We also have some laundry tips posted here at Keeping the Castle.  Please let us know if you have any laundry tips.

image sxc.hu

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My two favorite stain removers are Shout Advanced Gel and Spray ‘N Wash Max.  Over the years, I have tried many other stain removers and none seem to remove stains the way these two cleaners do.  The Shout Advanced Gel has even removed some stains that were dried in the dryer; accidentally of course. 

We’ve had quite a wet winter here.  My daughter wore her coat to school and got red mud on it in several places.  I didn’t pay attention and I washed the coat and hung it up to dry.  After I hung it up, I noticed these stains on her coat.  I know this picture isn’t great, but you can see the stains that are left after it was washed.  I simply sprayed on the Shout Advanced Gel and washed the coat again. 

As you can see here, I am very pleased with the results. 

What are your favorite stain removers?

Works for Me Wednesday is hosted at We Are That Family.  Images by Karen Weideman.

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Our younger children are 3 and 5, so we have asked them to do simple things such as bring all the laundry baskets to the laundry room, take the laundry baskets back to the rooms, and put away the socks that I have already folded.  My daughter is 5, so she sometimes asks if she can help fold washcloths or put them away.  Now that we have a 10-year-old in the house, I have asked him to switch the clothes from the washer to the dryer or hang up his shirts. Even my 3-year-old likes to help switch clothes from the washer to the dryer.  I am actually the one that is switching them.  He just likes the throw them into the dryer.  It takes a little longer, but he wants to help and I need to encourage that.

Here are a list of things your children can do to help out with the laundry.  Of course, you must choose which ones are appropriate based upon age and maturity.

• bring laundry baskets to the laundry room
• take laundry baskets back to the rooms
• put socks, pajamas, and underwear away
• get hangers
• help sort the laundry into darks, coloreds, whites, and towels
• switch clothes from the washing machine to the dryer
• match socks
• If you are line drying, the child can hand you clothing and clothes pins.

How do your children help with the laundry?

image sxc.hu

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