Those nets could do with a wash...(polyester on washday)

[superelectronic]

You find me at home on a hot and sultry Monday afternoon indulging in some laundry therapy. Some might say it’s no way to start a holiday but those people can keep their opinions to themselves – the last few weeks have been a b*tch at work and I just like having time to do whatever really...but this is of no concern to anyone here.

Anyway, I have two polyester bête noires in my abode that need laundering: the shower curtains and the net curtains. I recognise the fact that net curtains are irredeemably naff but when one’s hallway is decorated in the style of the Queen Vic circa 1985, nets are the least of one’s problems and frankly indispensable when the front room faces a busy road and the neighbours. So I ask the community at large: any tips?

The shower curtains have developed limescale crust and spots of mould despite fairly regular washing. I should point out that I have just treated them to a 30 minute warm wash with a glass of vinegar added followed by a hand hot 30 minute wash with standard bleach-containing powder. The results are unimpressive. I chuck two towels in with them to ensure they get pulled around the drum, just so you know. I want rid of the crust and mould!

The net curtains will never more be white, I fear. Last year I did a normal warm wash with a few other whites thrown in to keep down the suds, powder for whites with extra oxy bleach added. Unimpressed, I then put them back in on a 60C wash at high water level using only soda and oxy bleach powder. Results were better but the washer drum was coated with a thin crust and the nets were a bugger to iron. Would anything work better? I’m thinking a long soak in the bath this time.

Any of your thoughts are appreciated.

My thanks in advance

Alex

 

[westingman123]

There is hope for those nets! (we call them sheers across the pond) Have you Ivory soap (bar type) in London? Dissolve Ivory or similar pure soap in your wash water, soak
your nets for about 1 hour, launder and hang in the sun. Works every time!! By the way, I find Laundry therapy to be
better than a shrink every time. Toodles

 

[spoodles]

Wash them in whatever you like and then try some Dr Beckmann net curtain whitener. You can get it in Sainsbury's.
I think you just soak them in it for a bit, then line dry - it's just a whitener, so you need to wash them in detergent first.

 

[hoovermatic]

My family home had huge bay windows front and back and yes, net curtains for many years. My mother always swore by soaking nets in cold water, in the bath in this case due to the size. This got all of the dust out quickly and easily and then you could wash them. She always washed them by hand in hand hot water and detergent, Persil usually as that is what she nearly always used, and dried them outdoors, very carefully hung, upside down. She never deviated from that routine until she decided to get rid of them after 20 years. I used to help her when she got older and couldn't manage them so well and she was HORRIFIED when I put them in the washing machine. Cold rinse in the bath first and then a 40 degree delicate wash with no spin. Worked a treat and still didn't need ironing. Have fun whatever method you use. There is something oddly satisfying about hanging clean net curtain to clean windows!!

 

[aquarius1984]

Regular washing is key.

Alex, the ones I have in the kitchen (the joys having next door able to see into the kitchen from their bathroom window) get washed about once a month and in 18 months I have yet to use any proprietary whitener.

I would try said Whitener until the desired level of whiteness is achieved then a quick hand or machine wash with any detergent be it colour powder, Dreft or twinny powder is enough to remove grease dust and dirt without resort to all these chemicals.

I tend to handwash the 2 meter strip in the sink then rinse thoroughly with plenty of softener in the final rinse.
Then I squeeze out as much water as a good squeeze does and wrap the net in a large towel to remove the excess.

Fold the nets into required pleats and stoke the Rowenta up to 3 dots and press those pleats in while the fabric is still damp.

I keep the iron moving over the lot until its thoroughly steaming hot then they get hung back up on the rod and back into the window.
There they dry with the window ajar perfectly crease free.

I have fond memories of washing nets at my grandparents house as a child where firstly the nets were handwashed in Ariel Automatic powder then loaded into the Servis Quartz 600 on number 6 where the majority of the cycle would commence until final spin.

I dont know why but the final spin would always abort to the diagnostic mode every load where it had to be reset to 'A' Rinse and spin which would complete normally.

Wonder if Paul would forgive me for having a load of nets in out own pad just so see if our Servis's do the same thing lol.

 

[superelectronic]

Hmmm, well thanks for the thoughts so far. Perhaps I'll hold off a little while longer in case anyone else has any gem of wisdom.

Incidentally, I don't believe we do have ivory soap in London but one can puchase soap flakes or Fairy household soap in the laundry sundries isle of my local supermarket. I've heard about using soap before but the ruse was that you washed them , didn't rinse and hung to dry on a frosty night. Clearly not an option with 31C heat today...plenty of sun, though! Just not sure I want to go buying soap only to have it stuck in the cupboard for years after!

Some sort of prewash definitely seems the way to go, whatever I do. And I will consider the whitener when I pass by the shops later.

Rob - yes, regular washing is key and by your standards I am but a slut, LOL! I also know well the joys of living in a Victorian terrace with side returns giving views into each other's abode. My neighbours have given me an X-rated show before now, and I gave a different set of neighbours more than an eyeful once! All part of the fun if you ask me and a boon if one has voyeuristic tendencies...but enough of that. Your net washing procedure does sound quite involved and don't even think my nets have pleats - they just gather on the rod thingy. Tips appreciated nonetheless! Perhaps you can hang your nets in the shed/garage/laundry annexe when you get one?

I recall reading the best way to dry nets was to hang upside down with a stair rod in the top hem...but who the hell has a stair rod to hand these days? They'd have to be blinking wide for my nets too!

My Mum has nets - I daresay always will - and her procedure seems to be a normal wash with a couple of old towels thrown in to help mop up the suds. We tried whitener once and there was that time she did sugar starch (sugar in the rinse water...there's a war on, don't you know!) - wonder if starch is a good idea? That can of spray starch is just gathering dust in the cellar!

My inclination is still hand hot water with whites powder overall...but this time by hand in the bath to minimise the creasing.

Of course, I suppose I ought to clean those windows too. What a palaver...

I bid you all adieu for now!

Alex

 

[superelectronic]

Upon re-reading...

...my first line above makes me sound like an ungrateful b*tch! Apologies to anyone who takes it that way. I do value any contribution!

The shower curtains, by the way, are now re-hung, having been ironed. The vinegar wash did help and the mould stains have faded but not gone. It's always a bit of a loosing battle with these things, though. Perhaps I should have gone with spraying with neat vinegar/mould remover. To be fair, 85% of the curtains are lovely and clean - it's only the bit at the bottom that takes ages to dry againt the bathtub that's the problem.

Cheerio!

 

[ronhic]

Alex,

Assuming the shower curtains are not heavily patterned, I have always used an 'exit mould' type product or just plain thin bleach watered down 1:1...

Spray it on...leave it for a few minutes...give a quick rinse with the shower rose and then bung it in the machine on a 40c wash...

Hang it up ready to use to dry it....

I should note though, that we have always had white shower curtains ....

 

[lotsosudz]

How to dry Sheer curtains (nets)

after the curtains have been washed and hung out to dry, I find it beneficial to put them in the dryer on no heat for 10 minutes to de-wrinkle them. They will still have that wonderful smell from hanging, but with fewer wrinkles. I do this with all my laundry, and have had many compliments on the smell and how soft my laundry feels, after being hung outside to dry.

 

[dogboy44]

A soak in TSP?

I do this for alot of things that get dingy, or yellowed from bleach. If you have that available, it is worth a shot, and does not harm fabrics (at least what I have done)

 

[superelectronic]

Those nets are has-beens...

So time is ticking by and I've now washed the nets.

Soap - ruled out due to limited potential subsequent use but I like the idea of using it one day

Propriety net curtain whitener - was £1.79 in Sainsbury's and I said no - they're not worth it. I wish I'd spent money on a mixer for the Martini I DID buy last night...but that's another story!

Drying - they're drip drying on the line as I type

Ironing - later. Perhaps after another medicinal Martini on the rocks (and heavy on the rocks this time, if you please!).

I decided to soak them in the bath, firstly in warm water with 6 tablespoons of water softener that I want to get rid of. The water was very grey and murky and the nets didn't look much better either. Then a second soak/wash in hotter water in the bath, this time with 300mls or so of Persil non-bio powder and a sachet of Punch Ultra Whitner my housemate has lurking in the cupboard (trying to rescue a colour run incident, poor love...it's the wrong product). They were in that bath for about an hour with intermittent agitation (quite fun) before a final flurry of dunking and swishing. Then onto the washer for 3 high level rinses and no spins.

The result? Well frankly, my dear friends, it's time for new nets. True, they're looking brighter, but hardly pride of the street! I'm guessing 15 years of hanging in sun has made them forever yellowed...and once white synthetics go yellow I believe there's no going back. I'm pretty positive chlorine is not an option - maybe hydrogen peroxide in neat form somehow? A whole tub of oxygen bleach perhaps?

Anyway, at least I can tell from the water that much dirt has been removed. Quite what I'm going to do about the proper curtains that haven't been touched in at least 5 years is anyone's guess - the backs of those are visibly filthy but I'm scared to machine wash in case it creates a nightmare ironing scenario. Dry cleaning would be better but very pricey indeed. Perhaps I'll have to insist the landlords take care of that job!

By the by - I've no idea if we can buy STPP over in Britain but there are at least two detergents still using the stuff as their base: Surcare powder (no enzymes or perfume for sensitive skin) and Aquados Simply soft tabs. There may be others, though.

Now...time for some other activites methinks!

Toodles

Alex

 

[aquarius1984]

Martini? LMAO not drunk that for ages,

Said Servis Quartz Grandparents used to throw a party every Christmas day where all friends and family would pack into their 1960's semi where I would perform acts of Mixology and general opening of cans of Boddingtons, Tetleys and Labatts (wonder if you can still get Labatts in the UK??) for tips to supplement pocket money.

Anyway one LADY friend of theirs always drank Cinzano and Lemonade. To a 9 year old it seemed like such a classy drink with such a fancy bottle lable that when ~I was able to buy alcohol at erm 16 years old that was the first drink I went for.

Not sure if I do like it but it seemed fun at the time.
Didnt last that long, went onto Vodka the week after on the usual weekly student wednesday binge.

As for Persil Non Bio, well I was tempted earlier to make the switch back to non bio. Bloody eczema has flared up on both my elbows after many years of it hiding away. A work colleague cut straight to the point and asked if I had changed my washing powder lately.... she advised me to use non bio lol.
Itching got me wound up, I know its nothing to do with the Ariel but the torment does put that thing in your mind where you blame all but the gentleist of detergents lol.

Have the manufacturers tapped us all with hype????

Nice work with the nets, il save mine for you to do next time.
Perfect work for a twinny id say?

 

[superelectronic]

Vermouth and other sundries

Cinzano makes me think of a job I used to have - preparing case files for financial policy mis-selling. When looking at some mortgage applications, one lady had entered her drinking habits as: one Martini (then crossed it out and wrote cinzano) and lemonade a week! It would have been circa 1984 when she filled in the form. My work colleague and I found it highly amusing and would regularly respond "oooh, a cinzano and lemondade, please" when asked what we wanted on the tea round...one customer actually overheard and wanted to join us! We also had it a few times at the pub. Funny times (but only if you have that sort of sense of humour).

Martini and lemonade was my first tipple as it goes - it was what my Mum drank. I've got the Rossato version on the go - I can't work out if the blurb about pomegrante and lime is the suggested mixer or the flavour twist. It's a bit odd, anyway - a bit like drinking perfume.

As to non-bio, well - I splashed myself several times with the wash solution and have experienced no rash, so Persil NB must be innocuous to some extent. Maybe the perfume content of bio powders is irritating your skin, Rob...this seems to be the culprit more than the actual enzymes. I wouldn't usually pick Persil for my wash cause I like some suds action. If you're using it on the preferred boil wash setting for whites I'm sure just about anything will work!

Sending me the nets? Send me the 96702 with 'em and you've got a deal! In running two baths of hot water I might as well have been running that little beauty...and much happier I would be too!

TTFN

Alex