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<p>I know! They can do brain surgery and put a man on the moon, but doggone it, that rinse cycle is more than they can fathom. :p</p>
<p>I haven’t done any laundry because we have to go to the laundromat (we have a washing machine but we have well water), and I go but never set the machines. If that explains anything.</p>
<p>If they have smarts to get into college, they definitely have smarts to read instructions on washer / drier. My D. ended up loving doing laundry as relaxaing experience (never done it at home and still no doing it while visiting, which is completely fine, since I love doing laundry, very soothing). However, for some reason she was fearful dealing with hot stove, but she has successfully overcame that one and expanding her recipe list with easy to fix meals.</p>
<p>I know! They can do brain surgery and put a man on the moon, but doggone it, that rinse cycle is more than they can fathom. </p>
<p>LasMa, male-“basher”… you’re right though, for the most part, and I did laugh… </p>
<p>I just happen to be a male who does ALL the family laundry. I worked in the clothing industry for over 40 years, including as a “technical advisor” to clothing manufacturers, which included lots of testing by way of laundry cycling. So, I don’t fall into that “big bucket” of yours! </p>
<p>Mr. Moms unite!!!</p>
<p>" know! They can do brain surgery and put a man on the moon, but doggone it, that rinse cycle is more than they can fathom."</p>
<p>-Only if they do not want to do it. Males (all ages) especially are very smart at pretending that they are not capable of something when they absolutely do not care doing it. Which is fine, if they can tolerate wearing the same underware for several days. It is really the matter of individual choice/preference. I know it very very well as I do not like to drive and very much prefer if somebody else is doing it, and my H. knows it very well. He always tells me that I am perfectly fine driving anywhere, but he is OK also not forcing me when we are going somewhere together. It is exactly the same thing about laundry and other stuff.</p>
<p>Here is the unfortunate part of the having to use your card instead of quarters: You have to make sure there is money on your card. =( My mom sent me to school with a roll of quarters my freshman year (I am her oldest child) and I found that I could not, indeed, use them to do my laundry. So now I make sure to mention this fact when I give tours to perspective students, I guess mostly for the benefit of the parents.</p>
<p>I sort laundry into four groups:</p>
<p>*black technical fabrics (anything with spandex or sweat-wicking–stuff worn for bicycling,mostly) (warm water, long soak before washing)
*darks and colored towels (warm water) (colored towels are separate for the first wash)
*white towels and sheets (hot water, bleach)
*light colored technical fabrics (unmentionables, bicycling jerseys, etc.) (warm water, long soak)</p>
<p>The technical fabrics also last MUCH MUCH longer if they are not put in the dryer. I just hang them to dry, which they do, pretty much instantly. If I didn’t have the front-loader, I would also do them on the gentle cycle. Husband is an avid cyclist and those fancy cycling shorts are incredibly expensive; I like them to last a LONG time.</p>
<p>Funny laundry story–A couple of moms couldn’t stand watching their little boys wear the muddy soccer uniforms for another game, so they took advantage of a few hour break in the soccer tournament schedule and found a laundromat. Not realizing how long it had been since they’d used commercial dryers, and having forgotten how darn hot those things can get…they proceeded to put the dial on High because time was running out! </p>
<p>Well, the numbers on the backs of the soccer jerseys melted and were stuck together, some of them were barely discernable! There was an older gentleman nearby who heard their shreeks of panic (after all the next game was just minutes away!). He promptly told them they should have known better! NOT what they wanted to hear at such a time, guess he thought women knew that kind of thing instinctively!!</p>
<p>Several of the jerseys required removing and replacing the numbers altogether!</p>
<p>Word to the wise college freshman: NEVER use “High” on clothing you’d like to wear again!</p>
<p>I’m with whoever it was who questioned sorting earlier. In college, there is no time nor is there enough laundry or money to go sorting into multiple loads. Plus, a lot of us in college just…don’t care that much. I just throw it all in at once on a cold cycle. It’s not like these clothes are special; it’s pretty much just a bunch of undergarments, jeans, t-shirts, sweatpants, and sweatshirts. (And I’m female, not male, so no stereotyping)</p>
<p>Bleach use shortens the life of clothing. No need to bleach towels- they’re the item that is least dirty, usually used on clean bodies just to dry off. Modern laundry detergents and machines do a great job with minimal amounts and time. Dryers built in the past 20 years do not get as hot on high as decades ago- some cottons may shrink, but I allow for that when buying. Life is too short to spend too much time doing a lot of sorting and it wastes too many resources. Items for running that caution against using fabric softener need to be separated out and towels are more absorbant without it. I’ve learned to do the least amount of work to get good results. I feel sorry for the people who think appearances include perfection in clothing. So many more important things in life.</p>
<p>Laundromats- had to go with my mother sometimes and learned the art. The ancient wringer washer was dangerous to us kids. Today’s front loaders make “extractors” (used to spin out water left by top loaders before drying) obsolete. Go with your mom someday to learn how to run the machines. Learn the tricks of saving money by doing a full front loader (when I take large comforters I cringe at the waste of half loading machines- people who could use the smaller but opt for big) and 2 dryers for the load- then you can separate the heavy, cotton clothes/towels from those that take less time…</p>
<p>D. and I sort the same: lights and darks. We do not use bleach and not very particular being super duper no spots clean. Peice of clothing is nothing more than something that could be easily replaced.</p>
<p>We rarely use bleach–sometimes H insists on bleaching whites when he feels they are getting dingy, but that’s maybe a few times/year. We rarely pre-spot either.</p>
<p>My SIL puts everything in the wash together & washes several loads EVERY DAY for her family. There are 4 kids & her & my brother. She does notice that things do get dingy, but she doesn’t care & doesn’t bother to sort at all. She does wash bath matts & throw rugs separately now tho, since it takes up so much space in the washer & dryer.</p>
<p>I’ve been doing my own laundry since I was 7, so I’m not too worried, haha. </p>
<p>This thread reminds me of an amusing conversation I had last year with a friend who was going off to college:</p>
<p>Me: So, are you ready for college to start?
Him: For the most part…I’ve just been brushing up on some stuff before I go
Me: Oh yeah, that makes sense. [Mutual Friend] is doing the same thing. He said he’s reviewing some calc/physics/chem formulas and other basic stuff for his classes.
Him: Oh, I mean I was brushing up on skills like learning how to iron. And how to do laundry.</p>
<p>ahaha. I always feel bad for those poor boys who are so clueless about things like that.</p>
<p>The only iron in our house lives in S’s bedroom. He has used it more than all of the rest of us put together (meaning perhaps a dozen times or fewer). He came to grief at college graduation by trying to use the bottom of a skillet to “iron” out wrinkes on his polyester grad sash–it melted to the bottom of the hot skillet! Oh well, no biggie, but it sure made a mess! He did NOT wear that sash but not suer whether he’ll keep it as a momento or toss it. :)</p>
<p>My son who never touched an iron, asked for a steamer his second year of college, I guess he thought it was easier and he wanted his more formal clothes to look less wrinkled (thankfully) It worked well, and was under 40.00 at Target. My daughter’s want one now too. Then he morphed back into the “wrinkles will fall out” kid again. : )</p>
<p>He also noticed and this might vary by school, the dryers took a lot of quarters, more than an hour to dry, and started letting some things dry 3/4 and then let it finish on a rack or door knob. Remind students not to leaved laundry and check back hours later, they might find it gone, on the floor or still damp sitting in the dryer.</p>
<p>My son is like yours, Debruns. Did not want to learn to iron, but he really loves his steamer. When he got back to school, he pulled out all his polos, dress shirts and slacks and spent a day or two steaming the wrinkles out. Got a feeling that his kid brother will go the same route when he gets to college.</p>
<p>Yes, I think it’s more like a “tool”, and can be fun and faster than ironing.</p>
<p>I’m surprised the OP’s son had such wet laundry from a front-loader. My father just got a new washer-dryer combo, and the clothes come out of the washer practically dry! I gotta get me this new technology, just as soon as my 16 year old washer & dryer die.</p>
<p>mommusic, the school laundry machines are often older technology, and are used by MANY people, so they wear out more quickly than home machines.</p>
<p>Debruns, I have pulled other people’s stuff out of a dryer before, but only if I noticed the same stuff in the same dryer an hour later and there are no other dryers available; if I check the dryers when I put my laundry in the washing machine and I come back to find your stuff still in the dryer, your stuff is coming out, because I don’t have time to sit around and wait for you to remember it’s down there. At least I stack it on top of the dryers though.</p>
<p>Steamers are great from all I’ve heard. I suspect S will purchase one when we get him moved out East to start his “real job.” It will mean lots of long-sleeved dress shirts, which he has rarely worn in his life and probably a lot of wrinkles until they are steamed out. He’s good about being sure he presents a neat appearance.</p>