The Pet Peeve Laundry Habits of Others

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The good thing about living alone

and having my own machines is that I can do laundry as I please, pretty much whenever I please.

Some pet peeves:

I hate, hate, despise, abhor, and abominate smoking at coin-op laundries.

I hate it when people leave ill-mannered children at coin-ops. Quiet, older children who are reading/doing homework, or listening to headphone music are one thing, especially if they are transferring wet loads to the dryers, hooligans shouting and running are another.

I hate it when there are no coin-op dryers set aside for loads without dryer sheets.

*****

I LIKE fabric softener in towels, but only every other washing.

Maybe I am too suspicious, but I feel very uncomfortable if I have to use coin-op machines and cannot stay through the entire process. There were a few times at college when laundry rooms were "pranked" with substances ranging from acrylic paint to Kool-Aid to bleach. When I had to do laundry, I would take my clothes, chemicals, and homework, and make an evening of it. I know I prevented some mayhem just by being there.

Lawrence/Maytagbear
 
I can count Mom's bad laundry habits on one hand...

1. Too much FS, or FS not diluted with water, gunking up the dispenser...I don't itch but it's slippery!

2. NOT CLEANING THE LINT FILTER...this happens with both the washer AND dryer! Can anyone tell that this is the most frequent occurrence? ;-)

3. Overloading...you can't overload a Power-Fin equipped OrbiTag.

4. Using too low or too high of a water level.

5. Not measuring detergent or other additives...just scoop 'em up and throw 'em in!

I think that doing laundry is an art form (LOL)...now you see why I'm the only one allowed to touch the WO-65-2 and the other vintage machines?
 
And Jon, I have to ask, were you itching or were your clothes slippery after Greg added a capful of that "syrupy" vintage Downy to the SQ? ;-)
 
#1 thing that grosses me out is a dirty washer! I've seen it at others houses. I mean come on people can't you see the grime on the caps and around the rim? YUCK!

Not taking out clothes as soon as their done washing and putting them in the dryer.

Not folding while there warm.

I really can't bitch about anything around here because I'm the only one that does laundry.
 
How to do laundry, according to my mother and SO.

*Even in a TL washer with a detergent dispenser, it is important to slop enough powdered or liquid detergent around to gunk up the tub rim cap, the top of the agitator, and the tub opening. You'll always have some spare detergent in case you run out.

* Always wash all loads, regardless of size, in a TL on the highest level of water possible, or whatever was the last setting someone else used.

*The reserve gunk in the fabric softener dispenser is not to be cleaned out. It is there in case you forget to add it to
the current wash.

*Fill all dispensers up to the word MAX in honor of our miniature schnauzer of the same name, who has since passed on.

*Pour in twice the recommended detergent and then snap the 2nd rinse switch off because the cycle will take too long if you use it.

*Wash all loads on the Heavy Duty cycle, regardless of fabric.

*Dry all loads on the highest possible temperature, regardless of fabric.

*The smell of smoke coming from the dryer coupled with a loud, shrill tone coming from that irritating thing on the ceiling, is a handy,convenient reminder that it is time to ask me to clean the lint filer since no one in my family can seem to locate it.

*Develop a notch in your hearing spectrum at exactly the same pitch as the end of cycle buzzer or beeper.

I finally solved part of the problem with my SO and I, by switching to a FL machine about 8 years ago. This change has not been without trauma,(it generated many opportunities for coaching and training) and he is adjusting well. My mother, when told of the value of properly using her new washer, just took a puff of her Virgina Slims and said, "That's nice
honey, but the thing in the ceiling is making that noise again."
 
My little laundry rant . . .

I can't stand it when others:

1. Overload the machine. How can you expect the clothes to get clean if they are not even underwater?

2. Using too much detergent, and not using an extra rinse to get it out.

3. TOO MUCH FABRIC SOFTENER. Number one, I really can't STAND Downy unless it is in very small doses. This is especially true with towels. I love my Mom, but she uses Downy and LOTS of it.

4. Not cleaning the lint filter on the dryer.

5. NOT PRETREATING stains. Yes, detergents these days are wonderful, but can you really expect them to get out those greasy, dirty stains on that garment that has been sitting in the hamper for 2 weeks?

6. And last but not least, WEARING WRINKLED CLOTHES! I mean, come on people. How can you live with yourself when you walk out of the house after taking your clean shirt out of the laundry basket that it's been sitting in for two weeks? I don't care much for ironing, but I still do it every single day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year! (I have to have my creases!)

Tex
 
i can't stand

cold water washes

people that run their washer on the shortest wash. My aunt has three young kids and washes everything in her Hoover Premier t/loader on the 3 min wash cyle, it fills up, agitates about 15 times, then clicks into drain.

The way modern front loaders take nearly two hours to complete a cycle when older front loaders take about half an hour.

People who don't use softner at all and then leave their clothes in the hot sun to go all crispy.

People who overload the softner dispenser and then bitch because theres no suds, resulting in them adding about 3 capfuls more of detergent.

People who own a dryer but never use it.

Cheap detergent that smells like toilet cleanser

Thats my lot
Matt
 
When you take your king-size blankets and comforter to the l

. . .you can't use a laundry cart because others have parked their idle clothes baskets and chemicals in three of them, and kids are racing around the place in the other four.
 
Time to take the gloves off!

Now that my ungrateful adolescent has posted these outrageous charges, it is time to defend myself and add a few of my own pet peeves! LOL

I DO clean the lint filter and the agitator filters. I don't do it after each load, rather after each wash session. I have also been known to remove the agitator filter and wash it to remove any gunk and lint that have accumulated.

As far as measuring....it's like an old recipe. I have been doing it so long, that I know where the fill lines are for the appropriate amounts of detergent, booster, non-chlorine bleach, and fabric softener. I LOVE slippery, soft, and "loud" smelling laundry! So I don't dilute the fabric softener...throw me in the launderers lockup!

Contrary to popular belief...I do most of the laundry. My big pet peeves (Austin) are....

Leaving a load in the washer: Nothing like getting ready for a load of laundry only to lift up the lid to find yesterday's clothes spun and stiff against the tub.

Leaving a load in the dryer: I absolutely hate wrinkles, and leaving those freshly washed clothes in the dryer for hours increases the need for botox between my eyebrows! Get 'em out while they are warm and hang and fold them for goshsakes!

Underloading: We don't need a super fill to wash a few items, now do we. Why do you think they put different water levels on the washer!

Too much detergent: Someone (that you all know) has a tendency to put too much detergent in the washer resulting in massive suds rolling out of the standpipe onto the laundry room floor! OY

Mixed loads: Please don't wash the underwear with the dish towels. That just doesn't paint a pretty picture, does it?

and one final pet peeve.....someone that complains that they do all the laundry all the time - but really doesn't. ;-)

Venus -

exacting revenge on u-no-who
 
lol FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT.

You go Venus! Love ya Austin, but prob not a good move telling all! LOL LOL LOL

Petek: why so many whites?
White sox and T-shirts. Those of us who have to wear T-shirts under any other kind of shirt are the ones with sensitive skin. At certain times of the day, this is a good thing!

Another pet peeve: Those in the laundromat who "know it all" but have not figured out that Wascomats wash twice and rinse three times. Means you need to add detergent twice or load up the dispensers properly.
 
Since we get into many homes, We see a lot of gross things. The one that really gets me is that some folks don't seem to mind the crud that builds up behind the lid. I mean, come on now, (forgive the crudity I'm about to use), gunk w/ pubic hairs and such, on the top of the washer. GROSS! I really can't stand that. Also, we get washers that smell like, um, how to put this gently, pooh water. People wash their clothing in that! Not for this guy. Sorry for being crude & descriptive this morning.
 
LOL "body hair" would have sufficed. LOL LOL LOL

My sister s_ _t all over her in-laws for leaving one in the bathtub of my soster's summer house. They are 75+ years old and simply didn't see it.

So we suggested "Body hair" for the next abuse session she gives forth.
 
Oh the Peeves I have

1 - Nasty Folks (Dirty Machines)

2 - Using the lint (removed from the dryer filter) to "Dust off the top of the Dryer" OH NOOOOOO

3 - Licking your dirty fingers to make lint stick from the dryer filter to your fingers. You just went to the bathroom you idiot. Before that you were scooping the cat box, and got gas in the truck right before that without any handwashing!

4 - Stinky Front Loaders (Leave the door open after you wash). (I Wipe my gasket dry and leave the door open) (True story, lady returned a Neptune last week at the Maytag dealer cause it was so full of slime and mildew on the gasket - I saw it! OY!

5 - Rednecks that are clueless (clueless folks in general)

6 - The detgerent all over. The bleach splashed all over.

7 - Get the fabric softner off the porcelian, it will destroy it.

8 - People who cannot wash for whatever the reason, be it water level, detergent issues, OVERLOADING ETC!

Steve
 
At the laundromats:

Overloading the toploaders and underloading the frontloaders. "I know I just put 2 pairs of jeans in a 50# washer, but they are really dirty and I want to make sure they get clean." "The doubleloaders are just too small; I can fit way more in the toploaders."

Overdosing detergent, bleach and softener doesn't even phase me anymore. Just don't tell me that the washer doesn't rinse well. I won't believe you and certainly will not restart the washer for you for free.

Toggle: It's not the know-it-alls, it's the ones who you explain to how to use the dispensers and they still put all the soap in the prewash, because that is where the water is running and then hover over the machine to put softener in the first rinse.
 
I know I'm in the minority opinion on this issue around here, but I'm all for using as little water as possible to wash clothes. I think it's great that some newer FL'ers use very little water, even though this decreases the fun/splash factor. Water/energy conservation is why I switched to FL'ers to begin with back in the mid-80's. As long as the clothes come out clean and well rinsed, I'm happy. In fact, I wish there was a water level selector on my Frigidaire (as there used to be, back in the day). I notice my machine uses more water than necessary on small loads. My mom rarely moved the water level off HIGH on our '60 Kenmore and it used to drive me nuts! However, in her defense, she used the suds saver all the time, so I guess things balanced out in the end...

Anyway, my second laundry pet peeve is using more water than necessary for a load of clothes.
 
Um..well how about leaving the detergent on top of a Duet and then coming back to find that the detergent has been "spun" off of the top, landed on the floor and liquid Tide is all over the room. Guess that is my peeve for this morning..grrrr
 
Being the enlightened, serene person that I am, I have no pet peeves about laundry.

<FONT SIZE =1>And it has nothing to do with the fact that I do all the laundry!</FONT>

veg
 
Veg---enlightened, I'll accept. Serene? No freakin' WAY!! LOL

To cold wash peevesters: Until recently, I thought the earth would spin off its axis before I'd wash anything in cold water (except black items, of course). However, since the benevolent gods at P & G blessed us with the awesome wonder that is powdered Tide Cold Water, I haven't moved my temp selector off cold----not even for whites, which I previously considered a crime punishable by imprisonment.
 

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