Washing underwear with tea towels?

ripplyuk

Thanks for the replies. I’m glad to hear other people also mix these things in the laundry. I was starting to worry I’d been doing it wrong for years! None of my underwear is delicate or lacy etc. I had a look at the labels and almost all of them are 95% cotton, 5% elastane. Interestingly, although they’re exactly the same material, most of them say to wash at 40°C and others (the Sloggi knickers) say to wash at 95°C. I’m sure they’ll be clean enough at 60°C. 

For those commenting that washing at high temperatures is unnecessary, I appreciate that we all have different attitudes to hygiene but I am reluctant to ignore my doctor’s advice. 

JGB1955

I wash everything at either 30C or 40C. I hand wash my bras but otherwise - it all goes into the melee!  Still alive at 68!

oldernonethewiser

No need for tea towels.

Just whip your scants off, give the pots, pans, plates etc a quick wipe and it's all good to go. 

JIL

What has the most germs? Pants or tea towels.

My confession, my husband does all the washing and as long as my pants are clean and smell fresh, I dont care how they have been washed. I do know they are tumble dried.

bouicca21

Everything goes in together at 30 - as a singleton I’d never have a full wash otherwise (seeing as my jeans definitely do not get washed every time I wear them).  But every couple of weeks I put the towels and tea towels through a 60 or even a 95 wash.  (My tea towels are rarely used for drying dishes.)

YoungBlueEyes

Seems like I'm very low church when it comes to laundry. My machine has a prog (can't remember what it's called - dark shirts or something) which is 40' with an extra rinse and a good spin in just over an hour. So everything goes in on that. 

I do bedding on it's own cos it fills the machine. Then on windy days I do thick/heavy stuff - towels jeans jumpers etc. On less windy days I do thinner stuff - undies tshirts blouses trousers skirts. 

Special things I will handwash, but that's once in a blue moon.

I agree about over washing stuff, I'm a great one for airing stuff. "Wear it for 1, air it for 2" (days), as my granny taught me. Not mucky or sweaty clothes, but things that just don't smell fresh now. Himself's jumpers - he wears them once and throws them in the wash basket! He always has a shirt/tshirt under them, so I hang it on a hanger and put it on the washing line for a blow. He's none the wiser. 

RobM99

I use Man wash - warm and quick. Why have 16 different programmes?!  Chuck it in, press 'Go'. And no, I don't smell like a dozen wheelie bins!

maryb

I wash everything together usually on 40 degrees.  But I dry on the line where possible because UV light is a natural disinfectant and then I iron my tea towels with steam.  Partly for hygiene and partly so they lie flat and I can get them in the drawer

Ditzy_Mitzy

I normally wash mine with a washing machine!  Bras and anything lacy probably wouldn't take kindly to a hot wash, so go in with the other clothes.  Same goes for bits with elastic, as it's kinder.  Towels and cloths get blitzed on a hot cycle, which keeps them soft and smelling nice.  They go in the tumble dryer, too.  

I have got an expensive washing machine, though, and it's a Godsend as it doesn't seem to damage clothes in the way cheaper machines seem to.  

ripplyuk

@Ditzy_Mitzy I have the opposite problem. I ‘upgraded’ to a mid-range Bosch and it wrecks clothes. I only had cheaper machines before that and never had any issues. I honestly can’t wait until this one needs replaced.