Laundry 101 class needed in all schools

[jaytag]

Ok, so this is my pet peave, due to the amount of washers that I take in and clean up/ fix and sell. Two most common issues. 1. People use way to much fabric softner. It turns to wax and clogs and is hell to clean. I had a lid switch fall apart on a 3 yr old KA. Picked up a Kenmore and the lady was putting it in the bleach dispenser. Oh LORD.
2. When selling, people call back because they say the unit is off balance. I go out and OMG they cram it full of clothes with no room for wash action and yes it does throw off balance its not my fault they overload. There should be a line that says no clothes over this line. LOL.

 

[rayjay]

I agree with you. I think some of this problem is due to the manufacturer also. WHen Sears first came out with the HE machines, they claim you can wash 22 towels. Now this is ridiculous. If you towels are papr thin, maybe, but on the average a good size towel and thickness is what matters. They should say no clothes above this line.

 

[whirlcool]

And just lately for some reason for a variety of things, I have been hearing this excuse " Oh, it's OK, I didn't know any better".

What gives with THAT? They let themselves off the hook for being too lazy to find out information about what they are supposed to be doing". My usual response is "It's NOT OK that you don't know any better, why didn't you take the time to find out or educate yourself!"

Here is an example. We had a dog at the shelter that had heartworms. We treated him and later adopted him out to a family that looked pretty good. We gave them lots of information about heartworm disease and how to prevent it. We even gave them a pack of Heartgard to take home with them. One year later the dog comes back with heartworms AGAIN! Did they use the heartworm preventative? All I got was "Oh, it's OK, I didn't know any better"

See what I mean?

 

[westie2]

My brother and two sisters and I were all tought how to sort clothes out and wash in the wringer washer. I was the last child at home in 1964 when my folks bought a washer and dryer (Maytag A700 washer and matching dryer). About 8 months later mother got sick and was in the hospital and gave dad some night gowns to take home and wash. Well to say the least he nor I could get the automatic washer to work. Had to call one of my aunts and she came to the house and showed both of us how to twist the dail and pull the knob. She wrote down the instructions for us so we could wash while mother was getting better.

My wife on the other hand had never washed clothes when we got married. Her mother had always done it and folded and ironed eveything. It was a learning experience for her not only from me but my mother and aunts. At first we used our folks (my parents Maytag set) or her parents (Frigidaire Rapid Dry Imperial set) then we got a BOL AMP 1956 Maytag with timed fill when the first baby came. Used cloth diapers so washed every day. Had to show my wife how to fold them. We had cloth diapers for all our kids and I did most of the presoaking and washing of them. She still says I did better at it than she ever did. I still do almost all our laundry.

 

[paulc]

I am constantly astounded at the state of my neighbours washing when they hang it out on the line!! They obviously chuck everything in the one load.

I had a friend round the other night, he wanted to borrow a shirt for going out, he asked why all my clothes looked new and his were knackered after one wash......need I say more!!

Laundry lessons for all is what I say!!!

 

[westie2]

Laundry 101 Calss

From my above post we started at age 12 all our children to doing their own clothes. Showed how to sort, wash, dry, fold and put away. Of course there were days that one would come up and say. I have nothing to wear!!!!!!!!!!! I would go through their dirty clothes and pick out the cleanest and spray with room spray (this was pre Frebreze) and run in the dryer. After the school day was over and homework done they could not do anything until their laundry was done.

I guess some folks think it was too hard on kids but at least they know how to do laundry and keep house and cook. My wife and I both worked and with children over a 14 year span (1967 to 1981)had to get them involved. They are doing the same with their children.

 

[polkanut]

This thread applies to my 2 sisters also. Very little sorting, pre-treating etc. They also comment on how my whites look so nice and theirs look so dingy. I've told them and showed them how to properly use bluing for whites and the benefits of line drying, but they can't be bothered with such tedious tasks. They cram their washers and dryers full and use the highest temp setting, "so it won't take so long".

 

[neptunebob]

My niece goes to the University of Dayton and when she first came there they had a representative from Maytag do a class on how to use the laundry machines. This was one reason why when she was trying to decide where to go to college, I pushed Dayton.

Maybe I should suggest a laundry class for the new high school we are going to build but by the time they build it, won't it all be Whirlpool Duets and no agitator machines?

 

[butch-innj]

LIFE LESSONS

YES !
EVERYONE that goes to school should be taught things they need to know to get along in life after school.

1. The proper way to write a check.
2. How to cook a meal and read a recipe.
3. How to clean a house
4. How to do laundry
5. How to put out a fire
6. How and where to shop
7. How to balance a checkbook
8. Home remedies and what to do when you get a cut or a boo-boo and when you should go to the doctor or ER. Not every cut or boo-boo is worthy of an ER visit.

I'm sure I'm missing some here.
What really drives me insane is the penmanship and spelling ability (or lack of) that kids in school posses today.
2 days ago a college kid handed me a paper (no I'm not a teacher) that I could barely read but did make out that he spelled the word 40 as ...fourtey.
This guy is in his 2nd year of college !
He told me it was ok, when he was ready to type the paper up on the computer he'd use spell check. Spelling wasn't a concern.
I wanted to put him over my knee !!!

When I was in school, penmanship was a BIG issue.
One of my teachers said to us....why bother to do your homework if I can't read it when you turn it in?

I guess because everything is done on computers today that penmanship isn't much worried about either.
I ask....what if your computer breaks down and you have an assignment due tomorrow?

How about if your calculator breaks down while your doing your math assignment tonight?

And to think....one of these kids that are in school today will someday be President of the USA.

 

[maytagbear]

Great idea,

but try to get it past the curriculum committee of your local school board!

This is a pet peeve of mine, a big one. My mother taught Home Economics for over 30 years. In the 70s, Home Ec was viewed as irrelevant and anti-feminist. Even with a name change, to "Family and Consumer Studies," it is still not as popular as it once was, and still struggles with the (extremely) outdated notion of just being "stirring and stitching."

A well-conducted Home Economics programme also includes: Family Life Cycle...from child development to elder care. Home financial management...credit, mortgages, taxes, budgeting. Other courses include World Food and Nutrition, Sports Nutrition, Career Options......

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[ronhic]

Home Economics

...was something that I did at high school...

Our course elective was either 'Cooking', 'Sewing' or a combined course....cooking for me thanks. There was at least a 40% representation of males in the classes AND some of the males were more 'hard core' too....(think footballers) who were doing metalwork or woodwork on one line and cooking on another...

Now back to the laundry...

My mother started work part-time when I was in 2nd grade and went back full-time when I was in 5th grade (10-11yrs). From the age of 9, my sister and I were expected to take the laundry off the line and fold it before we did anything else. If it was winter and still a tad damp, we had to hang it on an airer.

And then the lessons started.

- How to sort
- How to load the machine
- How much powder to use
- Which cycle and WHY
- and how to hang things up to minimise any creasing (and ironing)

Both my sister and I are better at doing washing than any of our friends and I have had compliments even in this day and age about how white my sheets are (and that's without bleach)....People ask 'How do you get them so white?' Simple...I reply 'Hot water wash and a good detergent' They then baulk at using hot water....

I know cold water washing is cheaper, but I have never liked it and, to be honest, things eventually start looking a little grey

 

[mixergal]

When I was in school in the 80's...

Everyone HAD to take a home ec class - boys and girls. We learned basic cooking skills and basic sewing skills. We also all has to take woodshop. There we learned how to use basic tools, how to read a plan, and basic wood joinery. From there we had a class that I don't remember the name of, but it was sort of a "life lessons" class. We learned how to balance a checkbook, how to make and balance a budget, how to plan meals to make a shopping list to buy groceries. Again, boys and girls had to take all of these classes. There was a fourth class too - art. In art we learned basic material manipulation and got to experiment with a variety of mediums. This was all in Jr High. At the time Jr high was only 7th and 8th grades in our school district. The four classes were broken up into four semesters. So semester one half of the 7th grade class would be in art while the other was in the life lessons class, and in the middle of the school year we would switch. The same schedule happened in 8th grade - half of the year was spent in woodshop, half in home ec. It was a great system, and I learned a lot from them. When my hubby and I got married I was absolutely shocked that he had no experience writing out a shopping list or balancing a budget - he didn't even know how to balance a check book! I had assumed that all schools taught this stuff, and I was so surprised to find out it wasn't true.

I hope our schools still have this system - I think it was really useful!

But then again, is this really the responsibility of the schools? My mom also taught me how to balance a check book and how to budget. Money was tight, so we learned to be happy with what we had, and how to compromise. She taught me how to do laundry properly so I could get the most wear out of my clothes. My mom was not a great cook, but she taught me how to read a recipe and to respect the range/all of the household appliances. Again, we were very poor, so the understanding was we should be grateful for what we have, because it was not easy to come by; and if you take care of your equipment, it will take care of you.

I also learned the value of the thrift store

-Sherri

 

[j2400]

"I also learned the value of the thrift store "

A lesson that recently paid off, in the form of a KitchenAid dishwasher!

 

[j2400]

Ideally, I think people would learn skills at home. Although, there is the question of whether or not that will happen. An argument in favor of sex education in schools is that at least kids will learn something, while at home they may never learn anything. Basic skills like laundry, cooking, etc are probably easier for parents to talk about...but one is assuming that the parents have the needed skills...

But there is one problem with schools doing this--the graduation requirements (in my state, at least) are higher than they once were. It's become important to prepare for standardized testing. And then, for those on the college track, the classes needed for entry into even a modest college makes the load even worse. Unfortunately, something has to give...

 

[autowasherfreak]

I had home-ec in high school, but they never taught us how to do laundry. There was a nice Maytag set there that was used for washing towels, dish cloths and other school realted stuff.

I learned to do laundry by watching my mother and reading the instruction manual from our first automatic washer. I was using a laundromat that was a few blocks from a college, and it was fun to watch the guys trying to do their laundry. I helped a group of about 3 or 4 one afternoon. They were going to washing everything without sorting. They went across the road to McDonald's once everthing was washing, even brought me back a cheeseburger and fries

 

[ronhic]

It is one thing to suggest that parents should be doing it, and I agree that they should, but the reality is that many of them don't.

In an age when we some of us complain about a machine that takes 'an hour' to do the laundry is too long (even though it hold more = less loads), people are crying 'time poor' at every stage.

People state 'I don't have time' at almost every opportunity, but the reality is, parents have an obligation to the children to teach them some of the 'adult-hood' basics as mentioned above and it ultimately shouldn't fall to the school system to do it for them.

As for the work load at college being high, it is no doubt about it, but it would be interesting to see what it would do for the student population if there was a compulsory 10xhourly course run weekly on basics such as:

- Cheque book balancing for beginners
- 'How to work within your student budget...and still have fun'
- Laundry room basics including 'How to shift that stain!'
- 'Food for thought' How to cook simple, inexpensive and balanced meals to help you power through the days.

In the first few months of college life, students are finding their feet, meeting new people etc...this is the perfect opportunity to run a course such as this before the workload does get astronomical and the stress levels too high

 

[mrb627]

Clothes Hamper

Someone I know uses the washer like the dishwasher. When it gets full, add soap and start it. Yuk!

MRB

 

[ronhic]

eeewwwwww

 

[jamman_98]

I'm sorry but...

Thanks to No Child Left Behind, we are not allowed to teach "Life Skills" anymore because we are standards driven and bubble tested to death. English and Math replace all those courses we used to take like Home Economics, etc. The pressure to make Adequate Yearly Progress with the goal of 100% of all students being "Advanced" by 2015 takes precident. In addition to budget cuts for the Arts, Music and fluff courses, school districts have eliminated these programs and school libraries as well. After 21 years in education, you get tired of being beat down by politicians who have no clue what a real education is.

{Steps down from soap box}
Joe
Jamman_98
High School Librarian

 

[ronhic]

Joe,

That is a soapbox worth standing on....

 

[re563]

Jamman98:

I'm truly sorry for what you have to go though. I see this kind of stuff everyday. What ever happened to good 'ole common sense.

There were six of us kids in my family. Both of my parents were factory workers at the time. Once I was 5 yrs old I was worked into the "cycle" so to speak. We all had to pitch in to keep the house running, both boys and girls. We each got rotated from dishes/meal prep to laundry and yard work. Because of this learning format, I get the same comments from people like those listed above, "why are you clothes always so fresh and new looking?", "How can you just throw a meal together?", "you baked this...from scratch? where did you know where to start?" And all I can this is "geez--it's not rocket science".

I don't want to offend anyone here, but if you want to see a real example of this, just go over to the GardenWeb laundry forum and read through the post that people put up there. It's unbelieveable what people will write about, and have quesitons about with doing laundry.

 

[whirlcool]

One point that hasn't been made here is that unless a kid today has some kind of motivation, they are doomed to follow in their parents footsteps.

My neighbors are typical examples. A few years ago they had a teen age son graduate from high school. When I asked what colllege he was going to it turned out the parents had never saved up for it. In fact they told me that he doesn't need to play around with school, he needs to get out there and start making money NOW! What do they do for a living? Their whole lives they have started up small businesses and then operated them for a few years until they fail, then they move to a new location and start something else up. So unless somebody instills a sense of accomplishment and pride in their kids, the kids are doomed to repeat their parents mistakes.

This just drives me nuts. My parents always wanted the best for us, but we had to work hard for it. Nothing was just "given" like it is today. Kids today seem to have a very strong sense of entitlement. What will happen to them when they grow up?

 

[neptunebob]

Parents should teach about laundry, but I was very disappointed to find that the "Family and Consumer Education" of our new HS is only 2 small rooms. Yet the gyms take up nearly 40% of the total space and the plan calls for an Astroturf football field and new baseball fields. They are eliminating tennis courts too. It seems that the biggest emphasis in our high school is team sports and not much else.

Oh, and they will probably do as they did when I was in HS, which is show a lot of movies in class. Easy to lose interest and motivation when that happens too many times.

 

[DADoES]

<blockquote>It seems that the biggest emphasis in our high school is team sports and not much else.</blockquote>And this is news to you? Hahaha! 30+ years ago when I was in junior high, I remember the MATH teacher lecturing the class that too many boys weren't playing football who should be.

I aced district, placed at regional, went to state competition in a UIL academic event (tied for 3rd/4th place), which hadn't happened at the school in years, and the local newspaper wouldn't have mentioned it or run a picture if my teacher hadn't pushed. I don't remember anyone on the faculty or student body except the librarian giving me any acknowledgment or congratulations. Thanks, Mrs. Hafernick!

 

[yogitunes]

Yeah, schools push sports, like football and hockey and track, and then they have fundraisers...why not a bake off where the kids themselves have made the food from "home economics"...or offer raise money from doing laundry for say 5.00 a load...and not just the HOME EC students, but from the football players themselves...the most you may see today is a "CARWASH" usually done by some cheerleaders or towel boys, or little kids standing out front of WAL-MART begging for money into a can....put some actual brain thought effort into fund raising, offer a project, or clean up a community, help an elderly person with a few chores for a few dollars, SHOW YOUR SKILLS...change oil in a car, vacuum carpets, wash a few loads, prepare a meal, mow a lawn....this is what people need and wouldn't mind putting a few dollars out and know its really going, not just a good cause, but a learned investment in todays children, I wish we had that around here, we would all put more effort into encouraging learning basic skills.

We used to go around the neighborhood and offer yard work for cash, it how we learned the value of money that we really had to earn....which actually turned into a cleaning business of homes inside and out, and then more calls from people who have heard of the work we have done and they want us too, many we had to turn down, wasn't enough hours in a weekend, but it was how we got by, and learned along the way...you don't see that today!

many of us still o side jobs we love, I work on washers, my brothers works on cars, my sister does sewing lessons, outside of our regular jobs, homes and families.

My kids are 9 years old and have to pull teeth to get them to do chores, even to clean their own rooms, I encourage them with everything I know and they just don't get it...you need street smarts as well as a good education to make it today...

my mother got her first automatic washer the year I was born (1964)what a joy I must have been (number 7) yeah right!...but I was totally helping my grandmother sort, wash and hang clothes out when I was only 4 years old while my parents worked full time jobs...we all helped out and people who came to visit were suprised that we help out around the house instead of out playing like their kids...my mother would BEAM as she would take in the praise that she had done a good job that her kids would be self sufficient...I have to look around but I have pics from neighbors who took pics of me hanging clothes on the line with a step ladder..too short to reach but wanted to help!...great memories

 

[thomasortega]

All the electrolux front loaders have a guide.

turn the drum to let the paddles positioned at 2, 6 and 11 o clock positions.
load clothes loosen until the drum fills or load the clothes a little bit compacted until they reach the horizontal line (looks like a smile) in the back of the drum.

 

[whirlcool]

I remember the school bake sales from here. All the kids do is come home from school and tell their mother that they need 4 dozen cookies for school in the morning. Then they go outside to play.

When I was in school we even had a "Mens Cooking" class. While I never took it (opted for auto mechanics instead) I still turned out to be quite an accomplished cook.

 

[re563]

And that's just it...

nowadays, parents rely on the schools teaching everything. Parents have to get involved like our parents did. By the time I was 12 I had a checking account, and my parents sat me down and taught me how to balance a check book, how to do minor repairs around the house, how to properly do laundry, etc. It's not really up to the school system to get involved in this sort of thing. This responsibility lays with the parents.

I like what yogitunes said about doing stuff to earn money as well. That's exactly what the youthgroup of our church use to do. We were a very active bunch as far as doing things such as camping, weekend retreats, etc. When we needed money, we held a carwash, bake sale, had a food both at estate sales, did "rent a kid" for yard and housework. My Dad now tells me that the kids in the group now do not do anything or go places because they don't have money. The one year we all wanted to go camping on Assteague Island in Maryland. We not only paid for the campsite, but the fuel for the bus to take us there, all the food to eat, plus each of us got $40 for a "night on the town in Ocean city. There were 16 of us total. All money was raised by things mentioned above. Time to get back to basics or as they say "K.I.S.S" Get these kids up from the computer and video games and get active--they just might learn a thing or three.

 

[ptcruiser51]

This class is ab-so-lutely needed TODAY

I am astounded watching people do their laundry! No sorting whatsoever! Bleach in with colors! Bedroom shoes in with dish towels! AAAAAAH!

I have had customers ask me "Who does your ironing?"
I DO IT!!! Why do they think men can't operate a complicated thing like a steam iron?

On another topic: Why do children nowadays seem so helpless? My college-age nephews don't know how to write a letter or address an envelope. I get birthday cards addressed to:

Uncle Charlie
My street address
Town, State (no zip code)

One of them wanted to make a phone call from my house once, looked at the dial wall phone in the kitchen and said "I'm not sure how to do this..."

The best is when I have The Weather Channel on, I'll ask one of them to point out Michigan or Texas. Clueless.

I've tried to show them things but it seems a lost cause.

>end of rant<

 

[butch-innj]

RE563

"Parents get involved".....you ARE kidding !!!

I do odd jobs for people only because most people have no idea how to do things themselves. I mean simple things that I believe you don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out.
Example: I do odd jobs for a family here in the town where I live. 2 adults, both work, 1 is a journalist and the other a teacher - they have 2 boys, 1 is 17 and the other is 13.
The older boy broke a window in the younger ones room and now it needs to be fixed - a new piece of glass put in. Since the father is 48 yrs old, I would automatically assume that he'd either repair it and instruct the oldest boy on how to do it (since he's the one that broke it). No ! They called me to come to their house on Saturday morning to instruct the oldest boy on what to do to fix this window. Its an old wooden window frame in an older house. He could easily do a search on the internet to see what to do or go out and buy a "How To" book. Whenever anything goes wrong in their house, its automatic, call Butch. I'm not complaining because they do pay me but they could save so much money by learning to do things around the house themselves. They are the most wasteful people that I know of. And yet they are always complaining that they dont have enough money but they've scheduled a trip (vacation) to Mexico in August !!
Their own kids won't even cut their own lawn !
And they are not the only ones I know like this.
I got an allowance to do stuff around the house...its how I made spending money. My parents just didn't give me money because I wanted it or cried for it.
I agree that it should be the parents job to teach the "life skills" that we all need. But even the parents don't know how.
If its not taught in schools and the parents don't know how then the kids are stuck. I feel sorry for the kids.
Maybe we need to open up schools just for "life skills".
It would give kids a place to go during their summer breaks instead of just setting in front of their computers complaining that they are bored.