washing machine that gets cottons soft
msulli1
8 years ago
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mamapinky0
8 years agoRelated Discussions
washing rayon/cotton slacks
Comments (2)I find rayon very hard to predict, so I'm hesitant to suggest you wash them. If they happen to be your favorite pants, still in the prime of life, then I might say keep on dry cleaning them. OTOH, you could try literally handwashing them in a basin, followed by a spin the machine to remove the water and hanging to dry. If they do OK there, you could then try a machine washing cycle. Handwash designation or not, a machine will always be more challenging than a few swishes in the sink. If you do wash them, I would use a special detergent for dark colors; turn them inside out before washing; use cold, or at most cool water to avoid shrinkage; and NEVER machine dry them. Of course, you will have to press them, which some people find so irksome they'd rather have the dry cleaner handle that anyway. If they are lined, all bets are off, and I would dry clean them as the lining may be the snag with water washing, and anyway pressing lined pants is a complete pain. Sorry not to be more unequivocal. Rayon, although made from natural fibers is just a tricky material, but it has a lovely linen-like drape. Molly~...See MoreCan I machine wash a dry clean only comforter?
Comments (16)I worked for a dry cleaner for several years in my (sort of) misspent youth. I worked in the alterations department and I also learned to press which meant I spent a lot of time "out back" with the dry cleaner and the spotter. I learned a TON about fabric care and when I no longer worked that job (and no longer received free dry cleaning!) I began learning how to properly launder things, by reading old sewing and Home Economics books I picked up at yard sales. "Dry clean only" is the safety net for manufacturers. If they slap that label on something they're protected from liability. Consider that both sheep and geese routinely get wet. ;) Cold water and a dilute solution of my favorite laundry detergent is how I wash things like comforters. I will take them to a laundromat to use the extractor to really get remaining water out of them and use their dryers (I don't have a dryer). I routinely wash our feather pillows by first soaking them with the garden hose (this keeps them from floating in the washer). I put them in the washing machine with a cup of ammonia and run the cycle. I rinse them twice. Ammonia cuts grease (and everyone's hair is oily and sometimes we sweat while we're in bed). I take them to the laundromat and "extract" them and then dry them, finishing with a full day in the sunshine on top of the car, turning every couple of hours. They look nearly brand new when I'm done. They're now nearly 15 yrs. old, too. I use ammonia a lot actually; esp. for woolens. I use it for hats, socks, mittens (I rinse carefully and add a capful of lanolin to the final rinse to add water repellency and promote elasticity in the wool fibres). I block and dry them flat or, in the case of socks, on stretchers....See MoreTo Machine Wash or Not To Machine Wash...that is the question
Comments (18)I hate to tell you this, but washing is no guarantee that fabrics won't bleed later. I have no idea why, but even fabric from the same bolt might act differently. Just yesterday, I had a small scrap of RJR panel print to make a label for a quilt. Spritzed it a bit first with cold water to press first, and very soon, the reds ran. All the fabrics were rinsed in cold water before I used them, and nothing ran. So, I got another idential scrap, and rinsed it in cold water first, to check. No running. Huh? So I got another and spritzed it. No running. It was all from the same bolt. Hmmmm. I guess I will just use one that didn't run. Go figure. I'm left to wonder what will happen if the quilt itself ever gets washed. It would not be the first time I've had this happen. BlueBars...See MoreSo sad to need a new washing machine and have no idea what to get
Comments (55)One of my sisters washes everything in cold water for years. Her old-style (1984) Maytag toploader carried a smutzy odor. She was always loaded-up on dryer sheets and highly-scented detergents. I couldn't convince her to at least use warm because "our t-shirts will shrink" she said. They took the grandmother's machines when granny died, being some years newer. The bro-in-law connected them up and got the hot/cold hoses reversed ... so they were washing (and rinsing) in HOT for several weeks without realizing it. The washer would beep an error code every time they ran it for not getting cold water but they thought the beeping was normal behavior, until they brought it to my attention and I figured out/explained the problem. No mention that anything had shrunk in the interim ... Happenstance came along and now they have a frontloader, given to them by friends (after a catastrophic failure due to bad usage habits), and which I completely disassembled and repaired last February. I gave sister instructions to run hot and/or Sanitary cycles on a regular basis, and the machine's cleaning cycle (which heats to 130°F) monthly. She's not doing any of that. Last time I was there, the machine had slime and mold around the door seal and an odor, developed in 7 months after I had it refurbed to pristine condition. Go figure. Toploader, cold washing, smutz. Frontloader, cold washing, smutz....See Morelarsi_gw
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