Why dont our clothes work properly?

Question

We got a new washing machine a few years back now, and we use Fairy , and have used Persil, and Surf and Daz and those stain removing products, the decent ones, even the ones that say you can wash on 40, nothing works? I mean yes we have children, and I know some of their food like tomato doesnt come out, but even with stain remover? And its not just our childrens clothes, its our clothes too. I have also soaked all our clothes, and done it by hand, but I just cant seem to do it??!!

We eat 'normal' (whatever people think is normal!!) food, apart from when my husband cooks (african food) which has more colours in it, like tomato kind of colours etc, but not everytime.

Its just annoying, we dont want to all start having to wear bibs!!

Anyone know what I am doing wrong?

Thanks.

Answer 1

A couple of points here, firstly you are currently using Fairy - a non biological powder. For Fairy to be effective at stain removal you will need to use it on the hottest cycles that the care labels state for the garments. You probably better to use a biological powder like Persil Biological (and yes there is a big difference between quality of soap powder). Use soap powder rather than liquid as the powder has bleaching agents (unless it specifies for Coloureds). All purpose modern biological powders with both enzymes and bleaching agents are designed to work at all temperatures as the enzymes that breakdown protein stains (hence biological powder not suitable for wool or silk) gets more active as the water heats up until it is too hot and the enzymes are "killed" whilst the bleaching agent is less active in cold water and gets more active as the water is hotter. Hence when washing coloureds at low temperatures it is more the enzyme action and less bleaching whilst at hotter temperatures less enzyme more bleaching. This is why whites come out best at higher temperatures. In the UK machines used to be hot & cold fill (with a built in heater) but these are now more difficult to get as most are just cold fill relying on the in built heater, this is because you will get a better wash (with biological powder) if you start off cold and then gradually heat up the water to the wash temperature as this will take advantage of the biological action on all washes. This allows manufactures to A grade the wash. This does not work so well with non biological powders.

As you have had the problem across all your wash it is obvious to me that you overload your machine. I bet your old machine consumed much more water than your new machine as manufacturers have cut this back to improve efficency/economy to get the best ratings, therefore if you overloaded in your old machine it was less noticeable than in your new one. (I have been assuming you have a front loader) A front loader should not be packed and should be visibly two thirds full only. Front loaders are designed so that during the wash cycle the clothes are lifted up to the top of the machine (with the paddle bars inside the drum)  and then drop down again, this is the agitation that removes the soiling. Cotton cycles do this with the material just saturated (a low water level) so they fall from the top down to the bottom of the drum whilst delicate cycles wash on a high water level so the drop distance is the top of the drum to the water level so much less agitation. If the machine is packed you are just dipping the clothes in and out of the detergent water and not really any agitation. So I would suggest either halving your wash load size or get the bathroom scales out and weigh the load (remembering synthetic fabrics are washed at half the weight that the machine can take on cottons).

The other point is the amount of detergent you use. If you always overloaded the machine then using the normal amount of detergent, it just would not rinse out properly so would not give a great wash and you may have felt the detergent still in the fabrics or even taken skin reaction to it. The immediate response is to cut down the amount of detergent to a level that prevents this however this will now mean stain removing properties will be diminished as there is not enough detergent.

So start again as if first washing machine you have ever used and reduce the wash size, use biological, use the correct temperature for the wash and use exactly the amount of detergent as stated on the packet (add the extra if you have a large capacity machine and the extra if the clothes are particularly dirty).

If the children have spilt alot on their clothes a pre wash will always help (using a half dose of the soap powder) - my mother used put just the stained items onto the pre wash and then added the rest of the load before the main wash, but some machines nowadays can only do the pre wash when selected with the main wash so that case you would need to put the whole load in from the start.

I really do think overloading has been the main problem but try and see - good luck.

Answer 2

If your clothes cover your body then they work perfectly well. But maybe you are having trouble cleaning them.

Answer 3

its probably because , when water has a lot of minerals like iron, salts, lime, whatever its what you call hard water, iron can stain clothes, sinks, washer and dryer, it looks like rust right? well it doesnt mix well with soaps either and the soaps wont clean well .  you might need a water softener i dont know if they are cheap or what or if you can get them everywhere, i live in canada good luck.

Answer 4

You could try gathering round the dining table and all eating from a single large trough.

As an added bonus, this also cuts down on the dishes...

Answer 5

You may want to pretreat with a paste.  Mix some Clorox color bleach (the dry kind) with some water.  Spread on the spots and let it sit for 15-30 mins.  Then use your detergent as normal.  The water softener is a good idea too.

Answer 6

WOW Xan's answer deserves the 5 stars.!!

yes have u tried Ariel., well i think that cleans well and has a really nice strong smell.  

Though we always use Daz and Daz is cheaper but you get a d**n good clean and is worth buying. it really cleans clothes and the smell is fab. remember to ue 60 when you can. 40 is ok. if you use Daz you dont need any of that vanish stuff.

use prewash/intensive cycle.

what machine you have. the synthetic cycle could work better as it uses more water but the wash action is reduced. just try all the info from everyone which is really good.

Answer 7

Try soaking overnight in a solution of your washing powder or spray with a pre wash solution like shout.  Then if you live in a hard water area make sure you use enough soap powder for your wash load. Finally use a water softener tablet (lidl sell some by adritt) which has the added bonus of helping remove limescale from your pipes.

Answer 8

Have you tried Ariel?  My new washing machine recommended it and I have found it to be excellent.  Also, check that you are putting enough powder in for your water hardness.  You shouldn't need to add stain removers to the wash but use a spray stain remover (like Shout) on tomato based stains etc.  Otherwise I would say that perhaps your washing machine is not working correctly, check that it is actually heating the water.  Good luck, and ignore that rude person who suggested you used a trough.

Answer 9

Persil, Surf and Daz and any other 'higher price' brand seem to talk rubbish in their TV ads and are in fact no better than the supermarket's own brand or value products.

I'm not sure what else to suggest, just cross your fingers that the stains will fade in time after several washes.

Answer 10

Try a hand wash in diluted bleach, but let them soak for an hour first.