BS: Men & Washing Machines???

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: ranger1
Date: 24 Jul 12 - 03:07 PM

Ebbie, yep, National Guard. The quarter gave it away, didn't it? He also taught me how to plow and a lot of mechanical maintenance skills and household fix-it stuff. I was usually his assistant of choice rather than my brother when it came to mechanical stuff.

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 24 Jul 12 - 06:56 PM

Ebbie -

In truth, your then-wife was obviously correct: There was something wrong with the dryer.

Sorry Ebbie, but YOU ARE WRONG.

In fact there was NOTHING WRONG with the dryer. I KNOW WHAT "NOISE" she was hearing, the two repairmen KNEW WHAT "NOISE" SHE WAS HEARING and it was a NORMAL SOUND FOR A PROPERLY FUNCTIONING DRYER.

"We," and subsequently "I," used that dryer for slightly more than 30 years after she insisted it was about to disintegrate, with NO PROBLEMS.

The part I bought had nothing to do with the "noise" but it ended her complaint. I bought a part that's expected to wear out. Since it seemed necessary that "I" do something, I bought the part most likely to be useful "later." In other words, I did what she really wanted done - showed MY concern and spent some money ($12.45) for her, and she was satisfied with what I did - and never complained about the noise again.

And I think I actually sat down and looked up the dates - and "later" arrived after 34 years, after the dryer sat outside in an exposed location for most of the last two years without being used.

The part I replaced should have been good for at least another couple of years in regular normal use (I inspected it when I put it out on the balcony); but outdoors in Seattle the "green stuff" ate the rubber, so I did a "premature" replacement before giving it to the people who bought it. I even asked them to let me know if it didn't last at least 5 years for them, and never heard from them (about the dryer - I saw them regularly for a few years).

John

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: ranger1
Date: 24 Jul 12 - 07:17 PM

JiK, was it the belt? I'm just curious.

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: Bobert
Date: 24 Jul 12 - 07:33 PM

Well, John... Back when I was an assistant service manager at a Chevy dealership we'd get these people who'd come in just before the end of the warranty who thought they heard noises... I'd drive the cars sometimes with 'um and they'd go "That was it... Did you hear that?"... Of course I didn't but I'd always say, "Yeah, I did... We need to make some adjustments" and...

...send 'um to the waiting room for a half an hour while their car was back in the shop just sitting with it's hood up in a bay that was not manned... Because of the size of the shop the customer really couldn't see if anyone was working on anything...

After a half and hour I'd walk in the waiting room and say, "Mr or Mrs ________________... We adjusted a belt and everything is fine now"...

They'd leave happy and 9 outta 10 times not return ever again with "strange noises"...

I mean, I hate to admit that but that goes on a lot in new car dealerships...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 25 Jul 12 - 03:09 AM

ranger 1 -

The part I bought was the drum belt. It was cheap, and I'd helped a few friends replace them on older dryers so it was an "expected failure." Later assessment of why mine lasted a lot longer than the ones in the "friends'" dryers was that they weren't using them right, and were making "french fried skivvies" by running everything on "max heat" settings to hurry up the drying. Ours had a "humidistat" sensor that would shut off things when it detected "dryness," and we used the "dry/more dry" setting mostly instead of the "hot/light-my-fire/burn-the-clothes" settings.

Dumping a lot of "heat" (enthalpy) into the dryer doesn't raise the drum temperature much if there's water to abosrb the watts and be evaporated, but dumping a lot of watts in after things are mostly dry raisees the drum temp fairly rapidly, and "ages" the belt (and the clothes) to destruction fairly quickly, especially for belts with older compositions.

Ours also was bought at around the time when the makers started adding a little silicone in the belt composition, so the original one had a lot better heat resistance than some of the older ones I'd helped replace.

The "noise" she was hearing was a "ratchet" that was in the timer. A "clock" pulsed a solenoid that clicked a ratchet drive to step the "timing" along through the cycle, and a cam driven by the ratchet moved switches that told the innards what to do next. I don't think they make them that way much anymore, but I expect to be "in my hundreds" by the time I need to get a new dryer to find out what's "modern" 20-30 years from now. (I'll let you know then, if I find anything new.)

John

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: Ebbie
Date: 25 Jul 12 - 03:38 AM

Hmmmmmm. Hours ago, I posted an acceptance of your explanation, JohnK, but it seems not to be here. Don't want you to think I didn't respond.

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: kendall
Date: 25 Jul 12 - 07:58 AM

That brick in the washer was one of the funniest things I've seen on the internet. However, it reminded me of a dog I had years ago that was epileptic.

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: ranger1
Date: 25 Jul 12 - 07:59 AM

Kendall and I replaced a drum belt in my neighbor's dryer a few years ago. I learned some interesting words and phrases from the Cap'n that day...

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: kendall
Date: 25 Jul 12 - 12:59 PM

I have many more for you as needed.

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 25 Jul 12 - 04:26 PM

ranger1 - The belt on my dryer wasn't at all difficult to replace, but different machines do present different obstacles.

The dryer belt doesn't come close to the alternater belt that I helped a friend replace on one of those rear-engine girlie cars (his daughter's). It took two of us, both relatively skilled mechanics, and about every tool in both our toolboxes, about nine hours.

(The service manual said put the engine on a jack and remove the car before starting, but we didn't have an engine jack.)

Most of the fancy settings on washing machines are there to keep the detergent makers' advertising departments happy. Except in unusual cases, the majority of the settings - and the advertising - should be ignored.

There's very little real difference in most of the "laundry products." If there was any significant advantage for one, they wouldn't need to advertise. They'd just tell you what it does. If you look at the $$$$ spent on advertising, it's pretty obvious that all it's for is "brand recognition."

Recent washers have removed the "warm rinse" and "hot rinse" settings, and make all final rinse cycles "cold." Since laundry detergents only "foam" because they think the customers think they should, nearly all of them add some "sudzicators," and they foam up more in hot water. But foamy stuff is harder to rinse out, and warm water helps keep the foaminess up, so cold water gets more of the residuals out of the clothes. Set on cold rinse and leave it alone.

There are very few kinds of "dirt" that are removed better with "extra hot" water within the temperature range you're likely to have available if you're using a fairly ordinary detergent, so a "medium" wash temp is fine for almost everything.

If you have an older washer, a "heavy duty" wash cycle might agitate more aggressively, but with recent ones the agitation is the same and the machine just continues to same agitation for a few minutes longer. Unless there's a reason to think that you need to use "more of the same," the regular wash setting will work just as well.

You do need to sort the things to be washed, and avoid mixing heavy things like blue-jeans, bath towels, and such with "dainties" since things get tangled up in the machine and the sheer weight of the (water soaked) heavy things can rip the things made out of lighter materials, or stretch them to fit Chongo instead of you (or her).

Most things sold by major retailers now are unlikely to fade much, or to bleed color into other things, but it's a good practice to separate darker colors from the "whites." It is possible that some things with very dark/dense colors may "bleed" and change the color of lighter stuff in the same wash, but this tendency usually goes away once the dark things have been washed (separately) a few times. You do have to apply individual judgements to some things with respect to fading/bleed.

A few things still are a little more "fragile" and need gentler agitation, and to avoid being pulled apart by tangling with other stuff - even stuff of the same kind - may need to be washed in smaller loads (and with more water in the tank to maintain separation between items).

There still are some things - mostly stuff that "ladies" wear(?) - that it's safer to wash in cold water.

The "additives" that are supposed to "make your detergent work better" are of questionable value, and testing doesn't generally show much benefit. The amount of help they might provide could depend on the specific kind/brand of detergent you use them with, so there's no way to argue with anyone who's found a combination that they think works for them.

For heavy soil, pretreatment of the spots by rubbing a little of your regular detergent into the "spots" and letting it soak in for an hour or so may work better than trying to "add something extra to the wash."

1. Separate heavy stuff from lightweight.
2. Separate dark colors from light/white stuff.
3. Normal agitation and Warm wash for nearly everything.
4. Cold wash for the very dainty stuff, and normal agitation for most.
5. Cold wash and delicate agitation for those few things what need it.
6. Cold Rinse for everything.

Some machines allow a separate "delicate spin" that you can select for #4/#5 items; but with many, if the wash cycle is "delicate" the spin cycle automatically is too.

Some machines allow you to select how much water to use for the wash cycles. More water helps keep things from tangling during agitation, so my recommendation would be to forget about the "small load" setting unless (a) you're one who likes washing each item as soon as you take it off (very small loads), (b) you have very limited water available, (c) water is extremely expensive or (d) you're supporting the community conservation efforts during a sever drought.

(Daddy ran a dry-cleaning/laundry shop for some years, and may have married my mom because she knew how to do it all and her six sisters didn't. They passed on a few hints.)

John

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: gnu
Date: 25 Jul 12 - 09:43 PM

aPPARENTLY, SOME MEN KNOW WAY TOO MUCH ABOUT WASHING MACHINES.

I can't be arsed to fix that.

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: GUEST,999
Date: 26 Jul 12 - 01:34 PM

Apparently, some men know way too much about washing machines. (There ya go, Gnu.)

I wish I'd known that when I washed a new bright red t-shirt with my underwear. I was wearing pink for a while, although the only people who ever saw it were at the fire hall. I managed to keep my aplomb by ignoring questions like "Uh, is there something you're trying to tell us?" and statements like, "That'll really clash with your bunker gear and already does with your lid." Finally, one of the guys showed up wearing Donald Duck pyjamas and the focus shifted.

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 26 Jul 12 - 03:52 PM

I remember when somebody came out with Cold Power detergent, which supposedly worked in cold water. Then I learned that their definition of 'cold' was 'lukewarm.'

Apparently some people have no idea how cold the water can get in regions where it might be 20 degrees below zero outside.

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: Gurney
Date: 26 Jul 12 - 05:01 PM

I don't mind fixing them, but Her Indoors always tidies away the manual, so if I come to use one, I have to 'nut it out' from principles.

Our current machine is a Maytag, a long way from home. Don't buy one if you have low-pressure plumbing. It is fixable though. No electronics.

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: Bobert
Date: 26 Jul 12 - 07:24 PM

Bad 'nuff that the washing machine has 5 dials on it but then there's...

...the rules... Colors, fabrics, heavy, light, bleech, detergent, softeners, etc., etc....

One day yer gonna need a PhD to wash yer clothes...

Beam me up, Scotty, dirty jeans an' all...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: Wesley S
Date: 26 Jul 12 - 07:28 PM

I do ALL the laundry in our house and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 27 Jul 12 - 10:23 AM

Bobert, it seems to me that between the bats, the fallen trees, the pond and all the other things you do, that you can leave the laundry to somebody else without being seen as a shirker.

Besides, you have to investigate the 788 dylan songs.

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 27 Jul 12 - 02:03 PM

It is entirely possible that we've mostly missed the real problem that Bobert (and some of the rest of us) may have.

One of the biggest difficulties for men who do the laundry is not whether they've done it right.

The problem is whether they've done it the way SHE wants it done, when they have to do it when she's not there to tell them how.

About the only hint I can give for that aspect of the problem is that leaning on the dryer until it's done is much less effective for most men than for (some of) the ladies.

John

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: Bobert
Date: 27 Jul 12 - 02:58 PM

John's got it... The P-Vine loves micro-managing and seein' as she considers herself the ultimate Irish washer woman, all I see is conflict... Heck, she grades me on hangin' the clothes on the stenkin' clothes line... Bad as the Mennonites who have hundreds of laundry rules...

But, yeah, what leeneia said... I mean, I've been out in 100 degrees a total of 4 hours already today working on wiring up the garden house I've been building for her off-'n-on for the last 3 months... And tomorrow I 'll be back out in that steamy 100 degrees cuttin' on trees...

Plus, yeah, 7000 Dylan songs to learn up...

B;~(

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 27 Jul 12 - 05:06 PM

Even hanging clothes on the clothes line requires some learned skills.

I've even known a couple of guys who forgot to wipe down the line before hanging the stuff.

(Birds roost there sometimes.)

My mom used to send us kids out to do the wipin' before we got tall enough to handle hangin' even the towels and other short stuff. (One reason wire clothes lines are better than ropes. Easier to clean.)

John

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: Bobert
Date: 27 Jul 12 - 07:13 PM

Yo, John...

Do you know that socks have to be hung from the toe and with their mates???

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: GUEST,999
Date: 27 Jul 12 - 08:28 PM

"I've even known a couple of guys who forgot to wipe down the line before hanging the stuff."

Since when? John, I'm starting to think you're making this stuff up.

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: Bobert
Date: 27 Jul 12 - 08:38 PM

He ain't, brucie...

Back in Virginia we lived in Mennonite country and them people got a gazillion laundry rules... They even have "laundry day" and they all do it on the same day... You drive thru them farms and every line is hung exactly the same in order of the kinds of clothes that are hung on the left or right... They all have these pulleys that run from the house to the barn and they hang the clothes on these long lines...

I mean, you could take a 100 pictures of the lines and compare them and they would all look identical...

I swear it's that way...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 27 Jul 12 - 08:42 PM

If'n ya want names, a couple of them are still alive. They might still be willin' to 'fess up.

A couple of them got whuppin's for it that were the kind of things old-timers tell about sometimes when the talk gets 'round to "kid raisin' stuff." - (The "'tain't like it wuz back when" kind.)

John

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: Ebbie
Date: 28 Jul 12 - 02:50 AM

"I've even known a couple of guys who forgot to wipe down the line before hanging the stuff.

(Birds roost there sometimes.)"

Ah. John, a roosting bird is, ipso facto, not physically able to 'hit' the line.

We never wiped down cloth lines. Wire lines, yes. Not because of birds but because of the oxidation of metal that comes off onto clothes.

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: GUEST,Eliza
Date: 28 Jul 12 - 05:16 AM

My friend's husband once offered to 'help' with 'her' laundry (cheek!) He hung a number of shirts up by one cuff. The crafty devil knew what he was doing - she never accepted offers of 'help' again!

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: gnu
Date: 28 Jul 12 - 06:09 AM

Ebbie... not if they sit on the bottom wire, which they don't. I haven't seen a clothesline that didn't incorporate pulleys for about 40 years.

As for women having specific ways for chores to be done whether or not these ways affect the final results of the chores, that was the subject of my first post... "that's the way it's done".

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: Don(Wyziwyg)T
Date: 28 Jul 12 - 06:21 AM

Horses for courses!

My wife knows every detail of the washing machine's operation, also the cooker timing controls and the microwave.

She is absolutely clueless about the VCR, the DVD player and the television settings.

She can turn on the telly and change channels.......THAT'S IT!

She has as much interest in learning how to handle these things as I once had in learning about washing machines.

Since I retired, I have got to grips with the various kitchen and laundry room devices.

She can still turn on the telly and change channels!

Don T.

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: Don(Wyziwyg)T
Date: 28 Jul 12 - 04:51 PM

P.S. Don't anybody tell her I said that. I can't stand those fourteen day silences.

Don T.

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: ChanteyLass
Date: 28 Jul 12 - 08:57 PM

Wait a minute! Hang up socks by their toes? I never did it that way. I didn't want to put a clothespin on the part of the sock that wears out first. I hung them from their tops, singly, and used the clothespin on only one side of the sock so that a little more air could get at the fabric. I wanted them to dry quickly so I could bring them in before it rained!

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: Bobert
Date: 28 Jul 12 - 09:36 PM

I'm with you, C'lass, but I ain't got a merit badge in...

...Irish Washer Woman...

The P-Vine says that she and Al Gore invented laundry??? I donno??? Sounds far fetched to me, too...

What can I say???

B;~)

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: Ebbie
Date: 28 Jul 12 - 10:14 PM

"Ebbie... not if they sit on the bottom wire, which they don't." gnu

I'm missing a vital ingredient here, guhnu. "Not" what? "Don't" what?

FWIW, when I lived at home we never had a pulley line.

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: Bobert
Date: 28 Jul 12 - 10:25 PM

Come on, Eb... You didn't have a pulley line??? Okay... You weren't in the groove... But, hey, that's why I loves ya'...

I think gn-ze has one of them inverted umbrella style pole clothes line and, yeah, a bird could set up an do da' doo on a lower line... I mean, it might take some practice and ain't chickadee kinda challenge... Maybe a catbird... Or starling... Yeah they could pull it off...

B:~)

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: Bobert
Date: 29 Jul 12 - 11:30 AM

***************************STOP THE PRESS***************************

The P-Vine not only permitted me but asked me to hang 7 tee-shirts on the clothes line this morning...

*************************DETAILS @ ELEVEN***************************

B;~)

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: GUEST,999
Date: 29 Jul 12 - 12:05 PM

Good job, Bobert.

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: gnu
Date: 29 Jul 12 - 03:01 PM

Ebbie... we agree they don't hit the wire they are perched on. They don't perch on the bottom wire.

I have a pulley line.

I prefer the dryer... someone has to pay for the Nuke power plant.

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 29 Jul 12 - 07:23 PM

Pulley lines are necessary when you need to run the line over a place you can't walk on. They're the main method used between tall buildings if the landlords agree to the reciprocal permissions, and might have some use for people who want a garden under the line or have some other obstruction.

They've NEVER been common in my area, because the weather (mustly the sun exposure?) rots any kind of flexible ropes so fast it's not worth putting one up except when there's a good reason for it.

Here, solid wire is the rule, with either two or (usually) three wires strung between "T-posts" that are commonly made out of worn out well-casing pipe.

A few people with very small yards have used "pivot wheel" lines, but they generally only last a couple of years before being abandoned in favor of a gas/electric indoor dryer.

Most newer "developments" in the immediate area have zoning or "covenant" rules that prohibit any kind of outdoor clothesline - but that's sort of a different matter.

And opinions not withstanding, birds CAN AND DO shit on the same line they're sitting on. (But maybe some places have clumsy birds that can't perform to the same athletic standards as ours.)

John

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: gnu
Date: 29 Jul 12 - 08:49 PM

"birds CAN AND DO shit on the same line they're sitting on"

Maybe our birds are just polite.

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: Bobert
Date: 29 Jul 12 - 09:02 PM

Listen , ya'll...

This ain't about bird shit... I mean, don't egt me wrong here... I appreciate bird shit as much as the next guy but...

...geeze louise...

Can we get back to washing machines...

BTW, remember the tee-shirts I hung today??? I hung them all wrong and they still got dry... Wearin' one now...

Whaddaya'll think about that??? A miracle, I guess...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: Gurney
Date: 29 Jul 12 - 09:44 PM

Even birds too polite to shit on clothes-lines are remiss about wiping their feet before landing there.

Chantylass, socks wearing out toes first? Nag the man to trim his toenails! Socks should wear out heel first, as God intended!

I used to hang most shirts out by folding them over the line, pegs over just two layers of cloth. My logic was that they were less likely to blow off in gusts and the fewer layers trapped, the faster drying. Seems that I was wrong, in some opinions.
You do need to wipe the line, though, my way.

When I was single and used a laundrette, shirts went from spinner onto coathangers and were carefully folded into a suitcase. Then I hung the coathangers on the clothesline, with a single peg to keep them spaced.
Less ironing required at home, and I was waiting for the dryer at the laundrette.

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 30 Jul 12 - 06:35 AM

Continuing the thread drift away from the subject of washing machines purely for the sake of cranking Bobert up a bit ...

The reference just above to "pegs over just two layers of cloth" suggests the use of the split-peg push on clothespins. These work well on most things, but on some "stretchy" materials, the pins "bunch" a little bit of cloth when you slide them down onto the stuff on the line. After your T-shirts are dry and you put one on, a serious case of "the bunchies" can make it look like you've got an extra set of two of misplaced nipples in the shirt - at least until the pinch marks "hang out" enough to be less obvious.

Surprisingly, this may be more of an embarrassment to some of the male gender (once it's pointed out to them - usually rudely) than to some of the females, but that may be only 'cause some of the girls sort of stretch the wrinkles out (nicely) when they put 'em on.

Hanging the delicates with the pins placed on or at a seam, where the material is thick enough to not bunch (much) is one solution, in the rare cases where it's a consideration.

An alternative is to use the "spring clothespins" (local custom called them "snapper pins") but that leads to cross-invasion of personal property among the family members, since those clothespins are absolutely essential for holding the splines in the instrument he (usually?) is gluing up, while she (usually?) feels absolutely no guilt about "borrowing" a few from his toolbox when "a few" are needed on the clothesline.

Strangely, the one who hangs the clothes needs only a few of the fancy clothespins, but never has any in the pin bag, while the one building "stuff" needs them by the hundred(s). (And it's understood that no instrument builder, or a few other kinds of woodworkers, can possibly ever have enough clamps and will miss every one that disappears.)

John

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: Bobert
Date: 30 Jul 12 - 09:01 AM

BTW, I still have a cloth bag with about a 100 of the old-timely clothes pins in it... I don't use 'um 'cuase I figure they will collectors items some day and I can sell 'um and buy my own island in the Caribbean and won't need clothes...

B~

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: GUEST,999
Date: 30 Jul 12 - 09:41 AM

I expect if you don't use clothes you will then require sun screen.

Regarding which clothes pins to use: If you want to ensure none of your dainties blow away with the wind, use these. None of that sissy stuff.

They work well when you need to bundle about ten garments for the line. For example, I hung these using only five.

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: YorkshireYankee
Date: 30 Jul 12 - 11:48 AM

999, you made me LOL so much that my hubbie had to come see what was causing the giggle fit!

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: Gurney
Date: 30 Jul 12 - 05:32 PM

999, I only use those vicegrips to hold the sunlounge roof to the tent at festivals. I have 6 tiny ones that I used for aligning corrugated iron roofing when fitting it. (To houses, before anyone asks.)

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: GUEST,999
Date: 30 Jul 12 - 06:53 PM

Thank you, Yorkshire and good thinking Gurney. It is amazing what one can do with clothes pegs/pins.

It's the bleach thing that gets me mixed up. I just put everything in the wash at the same time: colours, whites, zebra-striped undies, all the normal stuff. I figure it this way. I have to add bleach to get the whites whiter and the white zebra stripes glistening. However, the colour shirt manufacturers say not to use bleach. Therefore, I estimate the proportion of white to coloured clothing and then delve into my memories of ratio and proportion. And here's what I do. If for example it's 3 1/2 out of 10 whites and 6 1/2 out of 10 coloured clothes, I use 3 1/2 cups of bleach to 6 1/2 cups water, but since the machine fills with water anyway, I just add another 6 1/2 cups of bleach to be sure. I am getting more and more white clothing as the months progress. Some of my t-shirts are falling apart. I think I should mix the bleach with the water first and THEN add the clothes instead of clothes, bleach then water. Always an adventure.

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: Gurney
Date: 30 Jul 12 - 08:16 PM

999, just keep adding bleach to the wash before the water. Everything coloured will eventually be leopard-spotted, including the striped trollys. It makes matching an ensemble so much easier!

Seriously, wash whites separately, if you want them to stay white, not grey. Been there, didn't done that, had ashen grey shirts.

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: GUEST,999
Date: 30 Jul 12 - 09:54 PM

Gurney, you a roofer?

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: GUEST,Eliza
Date: 31 Jul 12 - 04:13 AM

Vice-pins? Sounds like some equipment from Fifty Shades of Grey!

Subject: RE: BS: Men & Washing Machines???
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 31 Jul 12 - 04:25 PM

Not very useful for hangin' the laundry, but for hangin' up lightweight stuff in the campground I've made "camp clips" for years by gluing two "snapper" (spring type) clothespins together nose-to-toes. You can clip a row of them onto the awning on one side, and then clip a string of decorative lights or a light weight shade screen using the other clip (the other end of the pair), which is a lot easier when puttin' up the hanging than trying to hold things together to get a single clip on both, and also provides a little "stand off" in case a light bulb gets a little hot.

In Kansas, at almost every outing, there will be a time when you need to very quickly get all the trash off the awning to get the awning rolled up before the storm hits, and the "supervisor clips" (two faced - "goes both ways") clips come down with a quick "rip-yank" of whatever's hung on them.

Coleman actually sells fancy metal "camp clips" that are "double ended" - for about $1.25 per clip. I figure <$0.12 each (including the glue) for the home made ones is a lot better deal.

John