Kenny202 Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 We're up country here and noticing my washing coming out like shrivelled scrotums. Also the elastic around my undies etc seems to be deteriorating. Feels like my clothes are shrinking too but maybe thats all the rice and good food. I know the water here is <deleted>. The detergent we are using is very harsh. I put my hand in the washing water one day and removed most of my skin. It's attack 3D and is true to its name :-( We should probably be using some softener which I will buy but I still don't know why the detergent is destroying my clothes. Any of you country guys can help here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KhunBENQ Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 What kind of washing machine are you using? What is the quality of the water? We are using a "western type" frontloader. Washing mostly at 40 degress celsius ("warm"). We have a sediment filter for the communal water. The results are quite OK. Even the thin T-shirts live long. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post h90 Posted January 13, 2015 Popular Post Share Posted January 13, 2015 "The detergent we are using is very harsh. I put my hand in the washing water one day and removed most of my skin." Do you use battery acid? Use a normal washing powder and problem fixed. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post CharlieH Posted January 13, 2015 Popular Post Share Posted January 13, 2015 Too much powder and not sufficient rinsing. That will rot the fabric. 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toknarok Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 (edited) Too much powder and not sufficient rinsing. That will rot the fabric. Quite correct. In Australia I worked on a mining camp where they provided free washing detergent in the single quarters. Because it was free you would see people putting far too much detergent in the washing. This resulted in excess powder adhering to clothing even after spin drying and tumble drying. Consequently some poeple ended up with skin complaints. Nothing to do with the water quality, that was regularly tested. They tried to solve the problem by putting up notices indicating how much detergent you should use. Edited January 13, 2015 by Toknarok Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rijb Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Use vinegar, instead of bleach, to get rid of odors. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Costas2008 Posted January 13, 2015 Popular Post Share Posted January 13, 2015 OP, I've got the same problem. I noticed that my clothes started deteriorating after 7 years of washing them here. Must be the water or the detergent........must look into it 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonobo Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Actually, I have the same problem. I have an LG front loader, and it takes forever to fun through a cycle, but it seems gentle. I use liquid soaps as suggested to me here on ThaiVisa several years back. I don't know why this is rougher on my clothes than what I have back in the US, but it is, and I just accept that I have to buy clothes more often (this from a guy who still has T-shirts from the 70's in his drawer.) My biggest problem is with underwear with the elastic giving out in about six months or a bit longer. BUt even my shirts feel starchy and weird after they are cleaned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny202 Posted January 13, 2015 Author Share Posted January 13, 2015 Well after reading the instructions on the powder seems I been using a cup instead of a couple of spoonfuls. We have a top loader but training the missus not to cram in as much as will fit is hard :-( will get some softener too 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post CharlieH Posted January 13, 2015 Popular Post Share Posted January 13, 2015 Cramming the machine is the worst overall offender. The washing needs room to move and agitate the clothing properly, this gives more effective rinsing too. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ignis Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 I live out in the sticks, my clothes are fine, underwear and T-shirts + white dress shirts and trousers sometimes. all were not new when I came here in 2003, wash every 4th day the clothes so lots of things are washed 2x week for past 12 years.. wish my clothes would shrink, appear to have lost weight and many are far to big.. [had to drill another 5 holes in all my belts] Always used a bigger top loader, present one is a 14KG Toshiba non tangle 'Inverter', have my own long handled spoon but same size as what comes in washing powder bags.. 1x spoon per wash + softener 'Comfort' in every wash.. Never overload machine.. What sort/make washing machine ? do you set it on the correct cycle .. shirts and underpants are best done on Delicate [ I also use the soak option] worst top loader I had [lasted just over 1 yr] was Electrolux. Never used Bleach in washing machine.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisB87 Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Let your wife do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny202 Posted January 13, 2015 Author Share Posted January 13, 2015 Let your wife do it.She is / was doing it. That's the problem. Thais don't seem to look after their stuff too good. Clothes, appliances, cars etc. I don't understand? For a rural thai a car must be a huge purchase even though it's on a loan. Regularly cars here beaten up under 2 years old and it's more the rule than the exception 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uptheos Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Let your wife do it. By hand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beetlejuice Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 (edited) It`s to do with the crap quality of the clothing material. At one time I was forever buying new clothes, shirts, tee-shirts, underwear, socks, shorts and trousers. After only a few washes the colour dye would fade or become patchy and the clothes would shrink. My wife kept saying to me that I was putting on weight but I knew that wasn`t the case. Then later I changed the clothes washing technique and now they last and remain in good condition for much longer. We have one of those twin tub top loading washing machines, the type that is manually filled with water. What I do is fill the machine with cold water, then add only a quarter small cupful of washing powder. Then I add about 6 large squirts of cheap washing up liquid, the brands that can be bought from the local markets for 10 baht a bottle, not the expensive stuff. Then I run the washing machine for 2 minutes to ensure that the soap powder and washing liquid is well mixed in with the water. After that I throw in the clothes and then swell it all round with my arm for 1 minute. Then I leave it all to soak for a couple of hours. After that I drain the water and then begin running fresh water into the machine while rinsing the clothes by hand under the running water. Then I fill the tub again with cold water and leave the clothes to soak for 15 minutes. Then I hang the clothes outside in the sun and usually by the late evening everything is nice and clean, dry and ready to wear. If you do not have a twin tub manually filling washing machine, than purchase a large washing up bowl and wash the clothes by hand. The trick is not submerge the clothes in warm or hot water, do not run the clothes in the machine and do not spin dry as this process makes the dye fade, makes the clothes stretch and out of shape and shrinks them. If the clothes are exceptionally soiled or dirty then use a stain remover and soak the clothes overnight. This may appear to be an arduous process but is easy once you get into the routine. Edited January 13, 2015 by Beetlejuice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willyumiii Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 If you use too much detergent, your clothes will not get as clean as if you use the recommended amount. As others have stated, overloading the machine reduced the cleaning as well. Follow the instructions on everything you use! Bigger or more is probably not better. Companies spend millions on R&D and want you to get the best results possible so you will purchase their products again. Following the instructions on the package will give you the best results! Think about it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATF Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 What's wrong with the lot of you? You sound like a Persil advert. Get a life or a woman to wash your clothes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suradit69 Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 (edited) "The detergent we are using is very harsh. I put my hand in the washing water one day and removed most of my skin." Do you use battery acid? Use a normal washing powder and problem fixed. Yes, I use one of the liquid detergents that seem to be widely available for the undies and the local laundry for most everything else and most things seem to be holding up pretty well. my washing coming out like shrivelled scrotums. Sounds like someone needs to switch detergents. Interesting & somewhat disturbing analogy though. Maybe the shrinkage is due to immersion in cold water, or at least that's a popular excuse ... though nothing to do with the laundry. Not much available in the way of entertainment up there in the boonies ?? Edited January 13, 2015 by Suradit69 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thhMan Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 (edited) I found that buying new clothes instead of trying to get multiple years out of them has proved a success. When my undies start getting worn down, I buy new ones... Its not meant as a sarcastic comment, but more a comment on the product However... I get sent undies, tshirts and socks from my mom back in Australia (Yes Im bordering 50 and she still does that) and find that my Aussie bought clothes tend to last longer. They are more than likely coming from the same chinese factory, except I would guess that the product going to Oz maybe superior quality to the products delivered to Thailand by the manufacturer Edited January 13, 2015 by thhMan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utley Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 We also live in the sticks and have a problem with the municipally supplied water - contains a lot of sediment and a lot of calcium. We purchased a three stage whole-house water filtration system from Home Pro (Filtrex Model FT-228). Problem solved! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
realenglish1 Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 I have never had that problem. Seems to me you have cheap cloths Maybe made in China Actually your detergent is harsh Change the detergent and ad softener that will help the problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkey dog Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 currently there are twenty baht (i think) washing machines less than 50 m from the front door. but i do my washing in a bucket in the hong nam, just got into the habit after dealing with too many sharks (washing ladies) and getting bad bad results. put red breeze in bucket, fill, immerse clothes walk away for a hour or two. come back empty the bucket. put the clothes on the floor under the fast running tap. put the clothes back in the bucket fill walk away for two hours. put wet clothes onto drying rack or hangers. done. if you dont bash em up they dont get too crinkled. can also do the job while sitting on the toilet. i dont have any fashion parades to win. clothes last forever except the crotch of the pants from all the walking. some pants the sewing ladies have fixed three times from that and they do do a good job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve73 Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 If you dry your stuff in the sun it will damage the fabrics - especially elastics. Better to dry under cover in the shade, but with plenty of air circulating - eg a car-port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AjarnMartin Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Don't know about the fabric itself but anything rubber deteriorates in the temperature and humidity here. Just try putting rubber bands round anything and see how long it takes to disintegrate. Waistbands on trousers and boxers suffer the same fate, unfortunately. I've also experienced plastic doing the same. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
attrayant Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 My inlaws do this too - use so much detergent that the clothes absolutely REEK of the detergent fragrance when I wear them. I've instructed them to either let me do my own laundry or use just a drop of detergent instead of three or four of those big scoops. Just the tiniest bit of detergent is needed to soften the water and lower its surface tension. If you don't have any nasty stains on your clothes, you could probably even get away with using no detergent at all. But I've not had the problem of disintegrating laundry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jobsworth Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 next time do not use any detergent at all. the residual detergent in the clothes may be enough to wash them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny202 Posted January 13, 2015 Author Share Posted January 13, 2015 Sound like a lot of old woman but I have found many basic things like this the locals don't seem to really know either. everything in Thailand over the top. Like any cooking....more chicken powder more chilli....Sabai sabai :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moonlover Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Cramming the machine is the worst overall offender. The washing needs room to move and agitate the clothing properly, this gives more effective rinsing too. Yes Charlie, agree completely. Kenny, We have a top loader as well. It's rated at 10Kg, but I never put more than 7 in it, plus 2 caps of liquid detergent. And I do a cold wash only. The clothes come out beautifully clean and fresh. I watched the wife's 1st attempt at using it and decided that she didn't have a clue. I've been doing the laundry ever since. And hey, I actually enjoy it. I know, that does sound a bit anorak doesn't it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beetlejuice Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 What's wrong with the lot of you? You sound like a Persil advert. Get a life or a woman to wash your clothes. You mean hire the services of an old scrubber? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carib102 Posted January 13, 2015 Share Posted January 13, 2015 Stop buying cheap clothes at Thai markets and get some proper clothes made to Western standards. Like the poster above said, the clothes sold in Aus, UK, US are probably made in the same Chinese factories, but to higher quality standards. I actually buy almost all my clothes on our yearly trips back to the U.S. and have had no problems even when I send them out to be washed and ironed. And they are far cheaper in the U.S. as well thanks to sales and outlets and such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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