When does conditioner get added to a wash cycle?

Emmia

RavingMad said:

Thanks all.  Adding 40⁰ stuff to 30⁰ has definitely helped even out the loads but undies are to kept in 40 wash insists the wife lol. Do you leave room in the washer when filling? Or cram it full?

Next: tumble dryer - stick to the instructions or to hell with it. Not talking woollen or anything delicate it's usually the branded athletic stuff that surprises me that I mustn't tumble, hoodies, leggings, running stuff.  As much as I can, I'll line dry but not having a south facing garden at this time of year means stuff is usually still damp 

Just this morning put the dehumidifier on in the spare room with sports clothes 

Synthetics don't do well in a tumble dryer, as it damages the lycra in them. 

We tend to only use the dryer element of our washer /dryer for cotton socks and pants, where the number makes pegging them to the clothes horse a pain, and towels and bedding which are too large to really hang up indoors. 

Cotton under t-shirts, that don't matter if they shrink also go in.

ThisIsWeird

Interesting info, thank you all.
DGG, any idea what that 'drum clean' cycle involves? I've never run it, but instead wait for a build up of white towels and the shower mat, and shove them in for a 90o wash (when the sun is out).
Would that be near the same?
Read an article recently - possibly by M Lewis - about how to dry clothes in winter. In essence - avoid tumble dryers, the appliance of the devil. Instead, a dehumidifier will cost far less to run. 
I'd go further - if you have a spare room like a guest bedroom, utility, or even your sitting room if unheated during the day; do the vast bulk of the drying in there on a nice big 'orse, but with the windows as wide open as possible, and the door shut to the rest of the house. No need even for a dehumidifier. After a day, possibly two, it should be 80-odd % dry, so then by all means finish off in a T/D, or airing cupboard, or on rad racks - you want them bone dry before storing.

ThisIsWeird

RavingMad said:

Thanks all.  Adding 40⁰ stuff to 30⁰ has definitely helped even out the loads but undies are to kept in 40 wash insists the wife lol. Do you leave room in the washer when filling? Or cram it full? Best not to cram - they need to tumble, so the paddles give them a good agitating.

Next: tumble dryer - stick to the instructions or to hell with it. Not talking woollen or anything delicate it's usually the branded athletic stuff that surprises me that I mustn't tumble, hoodies, leggings, running stuff.  As much as I can, I'll line dry but not having a south facing garden at this time of year means stuff is usually still damp. See reply below. Try and restrict T/D use to a finishing 20-30 minutes to get stuff 'cupboard dry'.

Just this morning put the dehumidifier on in the spare room with sports clothes. See below.

Have you tried just leaving the windows open in that spare room, rad off, door closed?
Worth trying. It would be really useful to see how it compares - how much longer it takes. On more ideal days - dry and breezy - I wouldn't be surprised if it was quicker, and costs nothing.
Finish off yer wee things on a rad to get them bone dry.

Albermarle

 Do you leave room in the washer when filling? Or cram it full? 

Personally we try not to cram it full, especially if there are items that get very heavy when wet, such as thick joggers, towels, blankets, thick rugby shirts  etc . Mainly because you can have problems with the spin cycle. However we do tend to use the 60 min 'Mixed fabrics ' progamme,  which in theory should only be about 5Kg, but we usually add more than that.
On the other hand a younger adult family member does tend to cram it full, but her clothes are mainly quite lightweight and the machine seems to cope OK .
So no hard and fast rules really, just use some common sense.

EssexExile

ThisIsWeird said:

Interesting info, thank you all.
DGG, any idea what that 'drum clean' cycle involves? I've never run it, but instead wait for a build up of white towels and the shower mat, and shove them in for a 90o wash (when the sun is out).
Would that be near the same?
Read an article recently - possibly by M Lewis - about how to dry clothes in winter. In essence - avoid tumble dryers, the appliance of the devil. Instead, a dehumidifier will cost far less to run. 
I'd go further - if you have a spare room like a guest bedroom, utility, or even your sitting room if unheated during the day; do the vast bulk of the drying in there on a nice big 'orse, but with the windows as wide open as possible, and the door shut to the rest of the house. No need even for a dehumidifier. After a day, possibly two, it should be 80-odd % dry, so then by all means finish off in a T/D, or airing cupboard, or on rad racks - you want them bone dry before storing.

Yes, as hot as possible, preferably with a powder detergent. I just chuck all my dirty rags from the garage in.

As for loading, allow stuff room to tumble about, it's no good if it just rotates in one big lump.

Tumble dryers - everything goes in it. I'm too old to be a Middle Aged Man In Lycra so I don't worry about that.

ThisIsWeird

Smelly mystery - or lack thereof - partially answered, and effectively solved; turned out there were fourteenhundred reasons.

(I wondered why my default 'cottons' WM setting left the clothes musty and devoid of conditioner smell, even tho' the wash duration is the longest at around 4 hours...)

Did a 'mixed load' wash recently - around half the duration - and clothes came out smelling nice and fresh. Wife did a delicate 'wool' wash for her jumper last week, and the thing filled the room with aroma afterwards; 800rpm speed.

So it seems it's largely down to the spin speed and duration, with the long 1400 'cotton' version seemingly 'fuging the conditioner right out off the clothes. Pffft