I have given some laundry tips over the years, but I recently got one of those new-fangled High Efficiency washers, so I hadda learn some new tricks. The suggestions I am making are specifically for HE washers but the same techniques can be employed for regular washers or regular frontloaders.

• Soak soiled items in a bucket of water for several hours to loosen and dissolve the crud, but no more than overnight. A scoop of OxyClean (or equivalent) is a great idea! Cold water soaking is better than hot because the hot water will lock in odors and will also "set" stains.

• Using gloves, load the soaked items into the washer and set it to spin. This will release most of the nasty soak water, etc. For REALLY badly soiled items, do a spin then a rinse/spin.

• Use Charlie's Soap http://www.charliesoap.com/
You may be able to find it locally, but since I cannot get out often to shop and look around for stuff, I ordered mine off the net. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS. You won't believe how LITTLE it takes!! Even less than HE detergents. Charlie's soap has NO fragrance at all and contains only washing soda, sodium silicate and coconut oil based detergents. The ONLY error on their FAQ is about adding bleach after the rinse - they guy told me he needs to change that. Add bleach when you normally add it.

• STOP using dryer sheets. They contain wax that not only builds up on towels and clothing making them less absorbant and attracting more soil, the residue also traps odors.

• Instead of fabric softener (unnecessary with Charlie's soap - only for fragrance), try mixing skin-safe fragrance oil or a few drops of essential oil with water, shake it up and put a tablespoonful of it in the fabric softener dispenser or ball. Skin-safe fragrance oils and essential oils (used for soapmaking, cosmetics and candles) are available online. If anyone needs a list of recommended suppliers, PM me and I'll send you some links. A 1 ounce sample ($2-3) will last for many loads as you only use a very small amount - 1/8 teaspoonful of FO or a few drops of EO per 6-8 oz. of water - more is NOT better!).

• Always wash warm or hot and rinse warm or cold. Use the "heavy soil" cycle if your washer has one. A second rinse is imperative to really get rid of the odors.

• LOOK at the items when you remove them. If they still have an odor or are stained, run them through again. DO NOT put stained smelly stuff in the dryer as the heat will lock in the odors and set the stains, making them VERY difficult to remove.

• Drying "bad" laundry in the sun helps to sanitize and remove odors. The laundry will not be as soft as if you put it in the dryer, but the sun will help remove any residual stubborn odors. I do this with large items like bedspreads and blankets. You can also put them in the dryer for a few moments to soften.

• OxyClean (or generic equivalent) is your best friend. If you can find powdered Biz, it contains enzymes that are great on organic stains like urine, feces, blood, grass stains, etc. Use bleach to sanitize soiled items.

• Do not wash heavily soiled items with items that are less soiled. No sense in spreading the smells...

• Do not wash your loved one's soiled stuff with your regular wash. Not only can it transfer odors to your normal clothing, it can also transfer germs. Bleaching is very important to kill germs! My HE washer does not have a sanitizer so I can't personally vouch for the efficiency of them, but MariaBee says hers does a good job.

• For regular washers, you may need to increase the amounts given above because of the greater volume of water.
• NEVER never never overload the washer. It's a waste of time because even washing twice won't clean as well as not putting so much in there in the first place.

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Do YOU have some great laundry tips? If so, please add them here!!

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So Moms_Buddy, do you put towels and pads on your mom's chair too?

Megs, mom doesn't sit in chairs any longer, but when she did, yes, I used a pad. Let me explain. There are draw sheet/moisture resistant pads you can get at the hospital supply stores that are wonderful for this. Some have rubberized backing so that they don't slip. These can be laundered over and over again. They are kinda pricey, but WELL worth the bucks! I bought 2 at $25/each in 2002 and they are both still in very good condition.

quote:

But I will start washing everything in cold water so that it doesn't smell like hot pee when it gets out of the dryer

DO wash in warm or hot water with bleach to sanitize, but SOAK in cold water first. Just don't put smelly stuff in the dryer cause that WILL lock in the odors. If items still smell bad when they come out of the washer, put them through another rinse.

Since I wrote the tips above, I have started using a product I used years ago when I bred & trained dogs called X-O. I will NEVER live without it again!! Here's the link to their website:
http://www.xocorp.com/index.asp
and the place I order online
http://www.xospray.com/
There may be a supplier in your area so do check on the main site. I put about 1/2 capful (like maybe 2 teaspoonfuls) of the concentrate in the fabric softener dispenser for a FINAL rinse (keep in mind that I have an HE washer - increase the amount slightly for a regular washer). That stuff is MAGIC!! It can be diluted for a room spray, fabric freshener, etc. and even can be used directly on the skin! The ingredients are not harmful, but DO exercise caution before putting on pet or people skin to be sure they are not sensitive to any of the natural components in it. Spraying the chair daily would make a LOT of difference!! I buy mine by the gallon since I have to order it online and a quart doesn't last long enough to suit me.

When changing over from regular detergent, fabric softener & sheets, it may take several washings for the residue left by these products to wash out, so don't be surprised if the first or second time things are washed that they may still smell kinda musty. After a few washings with Charlie's Soap, no fabric softener, no dryer sheets and X-O in the final rinse, the residue will wash away and the clothing & bedding will begin to not smell so bad after laundering. DO remember the tip about drying things that are smelly in full sun - sunshine is good stuff!

Perhaps you should color-code the laundry baskets for Grandpa so he will know that he cannot put HIS stuff in the RED basket... Red is the universal contaminated stuff color, so train your family to NEVER put stuff in Gramma's RED hanper or bucket!! You could also write his name on the lid of HIS hamper so that he will know which one to use if he forgets. I do not keep the hamper for Mom's stuff in her room - just makes a stinky room even stinkier!! Anything poopy or pissy goes straight to the laundry area. That way there is NO misunderstanding where stuff goes and nasty stuff never gets mixed with normal laundry. If your Gramma's tops do not smell bad, don't wash them with the nasty stuff. Good luck!!

That was amazingly helpful I have been washing everything in bleach and hot water for months trying to get that smell out, I would sometimes wash things 3 or 4 times! I also have to run a load of hot water and bleach with nothing in it so that way it doesn't make the next load of everyone elses clothes stink, I did one time use this stuff that I bought at PetCo, yeah the animal supplies place ! And it was for anything that got dog urine on it, that seemed to work ok but then I ran out of it and it is really expensive, so I just use everything scented I possibly can! But I will start washing everything in cold water so that it doesn't smell like hot pee when it gets out of the dryer UGH! Another thing is I keep finding Grandpa's dirty clothes in there which makes his clothes smell, he doesn't have a problem at all with accidents, I put a laundry basket in his room for him but he keeps putting his stuff in her basket! So Moms_Buddy, do you put towels and pads on your mom's chair too? I am really thinking about covering her chair with one of those plastic covers even though she doesn't want me to we have gone through 2 chairs in about 9 months because they smell so bad I refuse to have them in the house! So she is working on her third but I don't want to have to get her another one again. Are those things pretty cheap? I tried an old plastic shower curtain but all it did was slide off and then it would get the chair wet anyways!

Good tips.
One thing I did and continue to do is wash my clothes baskets.They carry the dirty and soiled clothes so they carry germs that can be transfered to the clean clothes.I put them in the shower.Spray them and then rinse them good and allow them to dry.