Well, my friend, that tiny and innocuous-looking red trim ran over everything in the machine. Even on a low-temperature wash.Īt least if the red dye had run in a coloured wash it wouldn’t have had much effect, save for the white babygro. I looked at the red trim as I bundled the washing into the machine, and thought, “ ahh, what’s the worst that could happen“? I then ran a 30☌ cycle. Trust me on this. About 3 or 4 days after my first daughter was born, a mountain of white laundry had piled up for the first time ever. Bleary-eyed, I washed a load of whites that contained a white babygro that had a tiny and completely innocuous-looking red trim on it. Heat can make the red dye run like nothing else. Never with white clothing. I would also run it on the coldest wash your washing machine will muster. Washing white and red striped clothes is headache-inducing because the red dye is so temperamental.Īs such, I would only ever wash white and red striped clothing with other coloured clothing. It will run and ruin white-striped clothes in the blink of an eye.Īka, the worst of the striped clothes. However, I wouldn’t wash stripes in a load that contains a new item of red clothing. This is because red is the worst of all dyes. This is because dye tends to run from these items in the first few washes. Trust me, it will ruin your striped clothes.Ģ) Coloured loads are also ok for washing stripes in. However, I wouldn’t wash white striped clothing in a dark load that contains a new pair of indigo or black jeans, or a new item of dark clothing in it. I will wash these stripes in either a white, a dark, or a coloured load on a 30☌ wash or cooler with a couple of caveats:ġ) Dark loads are ok for washing stripes if you are washing clothes that have been washed a few times before. Consider this the enigma code-cracker of the laundry world! Dark or Black and White Striped Clothesįor white and dark striped clothes (such as black, navy or green) I’m rather free and easy when it comes to them. So, after some research and trial and error, here’s what I’ve found:ĭepending on the colour of the stripe, there are different laundry rules. When you look at the small print, colour catcher manufacturers stipulate that new coloured garments should be laundered separately for at least 6 first washes. Sadly, no assistance was forthcoming, so I took matters into my own hands.Īt first, I thought colour catcher sheets would be the answer, but it turns out they are pointless. To which I always found myself shouting at the label “ which similar sodding colour“?! If it’s a black and white striped top, the top is 50% white and 50% black – so which should it be in with? The white clothes or dark clothes? Some assistance would be useful. The labels on white striped clothes always helpfully say “ wash with similar colours“. Cracking the Laundry ConundrumĪs a family of stripe lovers (and The White Stripe lovers), one of the earliest problems that cropped up was the conundrum of how to wash white striped clothes to keep them looking good for as long as possible. This sounds simple enough, but, as with anything that sounds too simple, there are always sticking points that unexpectedly rear their heads. This meant vowing to always wash whites with whites, and darks with darks. With more white laundry to deal with than ever before, I realised my old dangerous ways wouldn’t cut it. I wanted to prolong the lifespan of our clothes as long as possible because of a) money and b) the environment. All of which kids are masters at. Yet manufacturers insist on making kids’ clothes, and especially baby clothes, white. Kids are surely the muckiest creatures known to man. Meanwhile white is like a magnet to all things dirt and food and poo related. They have so many white items of clothing, which I can never understand. Since having kids it’s a completely different story. What can I say? I liked to live dangerously. I hardly owned any white clothing, so I never felt that there was any point in doing separate loads. So the odd rogue white item that managed to sneak its way into my wardrobe got washed with the coloured stuff. I didn’t separate loads of washing by colour. Prior to having children I just bunged everything into the machine and hoped for the best. To the point that, whether I like it or not, laundry takes up more of my day and more of my brain than ever before. And no, it’s not because I’m a glutton for punishment. It’s just that since having kids I do so much more laundry. Laundry is something I have come to put more thought into in recent years. Stuck in a laundry conundrum? I’ve been there before – here’s exactly how to wash white-striped clothes without ruining them.
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