On being a superwoman and shortcuts

amother

Lawngreen

Fri, Oct 05 2018, 11:03 am

amother wrote:

If you use bleach for whites you don’t have to scrub. Also, whites should be washed in hot water . Using a quality detergent with lots of bleach really works well on pure whites.

But my experience is that bleach eats away at the fabric over time. I usually spray Oxy Clean directly on the shirts , add detergent and a capful of lavender scented bleach to the load. (That's like a tablespoon or two )
I also add the capful of bleach when washing white underwear etc.

thunderstorm

Fri, Oct 05 2018, 11:07 am

princessleah wrote:

This is like a whole different universe for me!
Q: are most of you who are posting also working during the day?

I work full-time and I ain't got no patience/time for scrubbing shirts. Honestly I wouldn't even know how! I dump everything in the washer otherwise it goes to the dry cleaner. Also my DH wears a lot of patterned shirts so stains are not as obvious. Are you all strict white shirt-only wearers?

I'm not into housekeeping in general so I don't feel at all bad not doing it. :-)

DH cleans and does dishes, I cook and do laundry. We alternate grocery shopping.

I was working up until recently but plan on going back to work soon. And I've been pretreating those white shirts for 18 years.
I hate that my husband and boys wear strictly white shirts. But it's their levush and it's not going to change. So I grin and bear it.
And I did end up washing those 30 white shirts yesterday. Still have about another 10 that need washing

Mommyg8

Fri, Oct 05 2018, 11:10 am

SuperWify wrote:

I’m embarrassed yo admit to but I never bought bleach for DH shirts but I’m noticing now that some need it...

I’m cliselrss- what should I buy?

I was told by someone years ago that bleach yellows the shirts over time. If you buy shirts frequently that may not be a problem...

I also don't really know if it's true as I have never tried bleaching shirts. Many people I know don't use bleach altogether, because as someone said - bleach is the most expensive cleaner Smile

. So weigh the factors.

giselle

Fri, Oct 05 2018, 11:12 am

mommy3b2c wrote:

Yes. Very much.

Is it because they want to and you have a hard time stopping it, or because you are overwhelmed and this is the easiest way to get them out of your hair? Only asking because I would offer different advice depending on which it is. It’s really tough and very tempting as a mom, that’s for sure!

amother

Gray

Fri, Oct 05 2018, 11:22 am

amother wrote:

I bleach white shirts all the time and they are as white as can be. I don’t use a capful of bleach,I doubt that would even do anything. I use around 3/4 cup of bleach! To the person who said she heard that bleach makes shirts yellow, I have found the opposite to be true. My kids undershirts and white shirts are as white as when they were new. Even after getting passed down. I have noticed other people’s kids have grayish whites and it’s obvious that they don’t use bleach. Not sure about bleach ruining fabric. I never found that. Good quality clothing lasts a while while cheaper things don’t. Bleach is very cheap btw.

Mommyg8

Fri, Oct 05 2018, 11:40 am

amother wrote:

Good to know! Are your shirts all cotton or poly cotton? I know you can use bleach for pure cotton but wasn't sure about cotton blend which most of my boys shirts are...

As for bleach bring expensive - sorry was typing quickly do didn't get to explain. Bleach is very cheap but the clothing it may splash on and ruin may not be....

Personally I use splashless and never had a problem but I know people who wouldn't bring it into their house.

thunderstorm

Fri, Oct 05 2018, 11:48 am

amother wrote:

Ok. So I'm not sure if anyone here is aware of the fact that each person releases different chemicals etc when they sweat. Some guys sweat differently than others which results in how the stains show up on the collar and cuffs of their white shirts. It also comes out different in the wash.
You can wash two guys shirts exactly the same way and one will be perfectly white and the other left with a yellow line.
Whatever chemical reaction happens in regard to my DHs and one of my DSs sweat, I'm left with yellow stains instead of a nice clean looking white shirt .
I discovered that Oxy Clean works better and keeps away the gray and yellow when used on my family members shirts. I truly believe it's different for everybody.
My family also has an extreme sensitivity to the smell of bleach and they even complain when I just use a capful in a load that it smells too bleach. So we all have to do what works for us because it is different for everyone.
I did see though that the cuffs and collar definitely were "eaten" and frayed when I used lots of bleach back in the day on my white shirts . That's when my MIL told me that bleach actually ruins the shirts. Since I resorted to using Oxi Clean our shirts last much much longer.

ra_mom

Fri, Oct 05 2018, 12:06 pm

amother wrote:

Mommyg8 wrote:

Good to know! Are your shirts all cotton or poly cotton? I know you can use bleach for pure cotton but wasn't sure about cotton blend which most of my boys shirts are...

Cotton/poly blend mostly

I hear those are easier to keep pristine (doesn't absorb stains and perspiration same way) but dh likes 100% cotton.

SuperWify

Fri, Oct 05 2018, 12:29 pm

Thanks everyone for responding. I really don’t like the smell of bleach or to put chemicals directly into our clothes...

DH shabbos shirts (Charles Trywhitt) are fine. The really don’t need bleach. The wash beautifully and come out the same color.

His weekday shirts (Next) are the problem. They come out s bit off colored- maybe a drop grayish even. DH doesn’t notice or care. It’s a cheap brand and non iron which is a winner for me so we usually buy new once year. I’m trying to figure out if it’s worth while to dump chemicals onto his shirts or leave it be and buy new once a year.

Mommyg8

Fri, Oct 05 2018, 1:30 pm

[quote="amother"]

Mommyg8 wrote:

Good to know! Are your shirts all cotton or poly cotton? I know you can use bleach for pure cotton but wasn't sure about cotton blend which most of my boys shirts are...

Cotton/poly blend mostly

Ok, I'm going to try bleach on my next load, Thanks!

One more question - if you use bleach, do you pretreat?

amother

Orchid

Fri, Oct 05 2018, 1:47 pm

mommy3b2c wrote:

Where do you think my loads are? One in the washer, one in the dryer, and one unfolded in the laundry basket. And don’t think I will fold them. I won’t.

Bribe your kids to work for you! Kids can fold and put away some of the laundry.

It was a little embarrassing- a few nights ago I was putting my four year old to sleep, and we were talking about how some people, unfortunately, don't have anychildren. My son thought that was sad because "they have no kid to clean up for them!" embarrassed

amother

Orchid

Fri, Oct 05 2018, 2:03 pm

[quote="crust"]My experience with giving wool tzitzis to the cleaners is that they came back nicely ironed stains intact.

Dont worry. I dont take those stains out by myself. Remember the kosher soap I mentioned in my previous post? That's what I advise the people wearing the tzitzis in my home to use. I provide free training.

(After scrubbing it by themselves they are more careful to wear something on top of the tzitzis before drinking that darn coffee.)[/q
uote]

What is kosher soap?

amother

Gray

Fri, Oct 05 2018, 2:15 pm

Mommyg8 wrote:

Ok, I'm going to try bleach on my next load, Thanks!

One more question - if you use bleach, do you pretreat?

I don’t- but I use either tide or Palmolive dish soap which is strong on stains. Don’t forget to use lots of bleach! If the bleach smell bothers you, use bounce sheets in the dryer.

For all those complaining about bleach being a horrible chemical, what do you think about the chemicals the cleaners uses?

mommy3b2c

Fri, Oct 05 2018, 3:27 pm

giselle wrote:

Actually it’s a bit of both. I’ll try to explain more later.

ra_mom

Fri, Oct 05 2018, 3:36 pm

I bought those laundry folder flip boards on Amazon (baby size and adult size), and when I'm in a pinch, the kids can fold. Even if the clothes are not perfect when a preschooler folds with them, they can still manage to fold them fine enough to put away in a stack. And the boards make it into a fun activity.
And when adults use the boards, the result is a beautiful symmetrical stack of clothes.