Tired of trashing "T's"

[ripley]

Hi - Recently the subject of washing machines, dryers, warm water/ cold water, soap powders, and other laundry related subjects kept popping up on a Topic about condos. Interesting as these posts were, they were very much off topic. But the posts were informative. So, I thought it would be interesting to start a new topic about LAUNDRY.

I'll kick it off by asking for advice on extending the life of my black shirts and T-shirts. Any takers???

[samsensam]

turn them inside out when drying in direct sunlight

[kannot]

dont wear them keep them in a drawer, take them out once a year to gaze at their newness

[samsensam]

oh, and buy decent quality t shirts in the first place

[NickJ]

Use a soap like Woolite. Its here saw it at Villa.....other soaps have color enhancers and bleaches....to harsh for expensive stuff.

[TooPoopedToPop]

...and I thought it was a topic about Thai-bashing.

[cyberfarang]

I never air my dirty laundry in public.

[55Jay]

Next Ripley Topic - Which scented bubble bath tablets are the best?

[AlexRRR]

Gees how long do you want them to last...go shopping with you honey.

[eldragon]

Hand wash.

[CharlieH]

1. Dont wear them so often (rotate)

2. Dont use a product that contains bleach.

3. Dont dry in direct sunlight.

4. Dont buy cheap crap to start with.

I Think that covers it.

[joeyg]

I wait to catch sales at Big C. My sleeveless 59 bhat and regular T-shirts 99 bhat are you doing just fine. I have a few more expensive T-shirts I've brought from the USA. They seem slightly tougher but the cotton is a little thicker and for me I like them as lightweight as possible so I usually only wear them when I go up to Issan during the winter months.

The evening and morning weather up there now there's absolutely gorgeous. Waking up at 7 AM the air is clear and crisp up in Yasothan. That cold water Bucket shower is a real eye-opener. Dry off fast and get on that good old USA T-shirt...

PS I remember I bought a bunch of Izod Lacoste golf shirts on the street in Bangkok 15 years ago. Knockoffs that were dirt cheap but I wore in clinic almost every day. The colors were unbelievable florescence and some other super wild colors. I'm not a golfer but all of my colleagues that were always had me bring them back some shirts they were crazy about them.

Some of those shirts we're almost as good as new 15 years later. I don't usually wear golf shirts here for me they're just too hot. If I've got a golf shirt on I'm really dressed up with a pair of jeans and even shoes. LOL...

[teatree]

Put them in a laundry bag before putting in the machine.

[Brit_Doggie]

As everyone knows black absorbs the heat so why bother buying in the first place unless you plan a long stay in a country such as Iceland.

[ripley]

"Next Ripley Topic - Which scented bubble bath tablets are the best?"

"Gees how long do you want them to last...go shopping with you honey."

"Honey"?? Perhaps the subject of laundry offends some people's sense of masculinity? Suggest they try living alone on a budget & then get back to me.

Meanwhile, sashaying back to the subject of laundry - some scorn the good old top loading manual machines ( "Ghetto" machines), but I find them invaluable for saving on water and detergent. Only drawback is that they tend to stress the clothes by twisting them up but a laundry bag takes care of that problem.

Someone mentioned, tho, that using a dryer gets rid of lint that clings to dark colours and also softens towels, etc. Tried it & they're right. Have to watch out for shrinkage, tho, (which you usually don't get if you dry on a clothes hanger indoors) and this is for top end clothing as well as market buys.

[ripley]

Forgot to mention what originally sold me on ghetto washing machines: After 5 minutes in the tub, take a look at the water. You'll see how much dirt these machines extract from sheets, etc. which you thought were basically clean.

[Youbloodybeauty]

Yeah it annoys me no end the damage done to my new (good quality) "T's" when visiting the in-laws for a month.

They own a crappy twin tub washing machine.

I see they don't fill enough water to wash OR enough to rinse properly. Also, these twin tubs they have a switch to divert the water into the spin tub, they never do that which gets loads of soap out ...but worst of all they pour loads of soap powder in!

They don't use the measuring cup

My way to keep clothes lasting is simple. Use a front loader and use the cup to measure the soap powder. "T's" will last.

[ripley]

I save a lot of water when the rinse water is reasonably clean. I add my detergent to that and use it for the wash cycle.

[h90]

dont wear them keep them in a drawer, take them out once a year to gaze at their newness

I always take the oldest TShirt to keep the newer good....my wife doesn't like that.

[h90]

As everyone knows black absorbs the heat so why bother buying in the first place unless you plan a long stay in a country such as Iceland.

I like black clothes and I have an aircondition...

[mmh8]

the most important advice I can give you is to train your maids and other household staff properly before letting these items get washed.

you may think that showing operation of washing machine and instructions on settings would be enough.

however, you need to explain washing should be taken out and dried in the air as soon as possible, not left for hours in the drum,

when hanging shake out, don't stretch, don't hang in a place wear birds shit - that should be obvious to anyone you usueuless <deleted>.

so I advise just take time to walk through the procedure with staff and any questions should be brought to your attention

[ripley]

If I had the dosh to afford "maids and other household staff" - or even a helpful girlfriend - I'd buy new clothes as soon as the others got dirty! Problem solved. But then, of course, there is the care and feeding of beloved old pants and shirts which have nicely conformed to my shape and can't be replaced...

One reason I avoided buying a front-loader is my notion that our tropical weather plays hell with the rubber gaskets. True?

Any brainy ideas out there regarding softness - especially towels - for those with no access to a dryer?