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Thu 28 Sep, 2023 02:45 am
Got several questions and would appreciate if people could give advice here. There are a few self serve laundromats where I'm located and back then when I did, I literally put all my clothes in one machine... then used one dryer afterwards. So this would mean I was include my boxers, shorts, t shirts, regardless of color, bed sheet, pillow case, jeans, socks and everything into it. I had heard of the you are suppose to not mix white and colors in the same washer but because I usually have like 5 items or less w t shirts or socks, I just put them all in together. Was that an issue? Now I mainly been doing laundry at home by hand washing and it is very tiresome so I want to go to the laundromat for this but have several questions.
1. I have a white mattress bed protector cover for my bed. It isn't thin but also isn't like real heavy duty. It also is stained and yellow and I have to wash it. If I go to to the laundromat for this, would I just put only this in the washing machine separate from everything else? Also, what would I pour in to whiten the stains? So I would need to put both detergent and something like oxiclean? I think it might even have mold so what liquid would I put in it? Am I allow to mix this with any other things I want to clean like pillow cases or bed sheets or this should be on it's own? What cycle do I have to put this on? I am also pretty sure that the laundromat doesn't offer hot water as an option and any wash is cold water?
2. I also have to clean my bedsheet. This bedsheet is very yellow. It is an extremely thin bedsheet. It also got really dirty as well as it dropped on my floor and my floor is not clean. Now I would put detergent and also oxiclean? Also if there is mold on it, what could I put in it? Would I use a separate machine for this or that would be silly? Now the issue is this has gotten on the floor though in my apartment and the floor is very dirty. So I kind of don't want to mix it with my boxers.
3. I have another old extra bedsheet. The issue however is a long time ago, when I was away, there was painting done in my apartment when I was away. By the time I came back, I notice there was some white paint in a certain area in my bedsheet. I never tried removing it as it seem set in. But I have many times hand washed it inside the apartment with detergent and even oxiclean before then hanging it inside to dry. Now the issue is... should I discard this old bedsheet because it has old white paint on it. This white paint got on the bedsheet when the painters was painting the apartment a while back. Now... I never washed this bedsheet in a washer ever after that... so it was never mixed in with my other clothes. But is it still safe to use this bedsheet? I know bedsheets aren't expensive.
4. I have 8 boxers, 8 shorts (gym shorts and khaki shorts), 8 t shirts (3 are white), pair of jeans and one button up shirt. I also have a white bathroom towel as well. I also have 2 pillow cases and 2 pillows. Now a few of these t shirts are white. However, they have stains there. Also, it had mold on it and I used some oxiclean on it. This is like putting water in a bowl and pouring oxiclean and putting few dirty white t shirts on it and previously this would get rid of the mold. Now if these shirts are still like this, I should use a separate machine for these t shirts? I literally have like 3 white t shirts.
5. Based on all these things I described, how many washing machines would I have to use at the self serve laundromat? Seems like I should use 1 specifically for that 1 bed mattress cover protector? Then a 2nd machine would be used for my bedsheet that is stained yellow and dirty? Toss out the old bedsheet that has paint in it? Then a 3rd machine would be used for my shorts, non white t shirts. jeans and possibly button up shirt? Or should I hand wash that button up shirt myself? What about my 2 pillow cases? Can those be mixed with these or should I put it with the 2nd machine with the bedsheet that is stained and dirty? The 4th machine would be for my 3 white t shirts that are yellow and moldy? Or just do that on your own? A 5th machine would be for my 2 pillows? Now... how many dryers would I need for this though? I assume at least 2? One for the 2 pillows? 2nd for for my clothes. A 3rd one for the thin bedsheets and pillow cases?
I feel like I would have to take 2 or 3 trips to the laundromat for this? I don't have a car. The thing is I know there is drop and pickup laundry but I'm not sure I want to do this because I would be embarrassed at how nasty looking my clothes, bedding and everything are. Also... since I'm a germaphobe I'm not a fan of having something touch my clothing. Like I know the people there fold your clothes but when they touch your clothes and money and then touch your underwear, it would seem too much for. Thoughts on this?
@Theojerry,
This time, you can fill your bathtub half-full and add some bleach to it, mix it around and throw your sheets, mattress cover and other whitish things in there and leave them in there for 2 - 3 hours before you go to the laundromat. Read the directions on the bleach bottle for how much to use.
At the laundromat, wash them separately from your darks. You can dry everything in one machine.
Next time you go there, though, you can throw everything in one machine since it's only cold water.
@Mame,
Also, how are these things getting mold on them??
@Mame,
Hi. I do not have a bathtub in my apartment. The only thing I have is a bucket. I have used this whenever I wanted to dip some t shirts into it with oxiclean to whiten it.
The thing is I want to do all this at the laundromat. So what would I do with the bed cover protector... the current nasty and dirty bedsheet that is stained and yellow... and my old bedsheet that has paint on it? The paint has been in it for years... this was due to me not being in my apartment and paint work was done and then notice some white paint on it. So because of that, I never put that old bedsheet with some paint in a washer ever. The bed cover protector also has mold.
I have mold in my apartment because where I'm located, it's very hot and humid.
@Mame,
You are saying the laundromat only has cold water right? I recall there were several settings you could choose from when I went there a long time ago and recall there wasn't a hot water setting. It was cold, normal and delicate and several others. So wouldn't I need several machines for this? I mean... 1 is for the bedsheet protector that is dirty and has mold... 2 is for my dirty stained yellow bedsheet and some mold. 3 is for my underwear, shorts, non white t shirts. 4 is for 2 pillows? 5 is for 3 white t shirts?
But wouldn't I need at least 2 machines though? One for the 2 pillows and one for everything else? For some reason I kind of don't want to put my mattress bed cover protector and currently dirty bedsheet even when cleaned with my underwear and shorts and t shirt though... or is that silly? I obviously have no issue putting both the bedsheet protector and bedsheet in the same dryer.
@Theojerry,
Who cares how many machine loads you need - they have plenty of wasching machines at the laundromat.
Wash the bed sheet protector separat, toss the sheets and buy new ones - they cost you $20 and wash them before using them. Everything white goes into one wash on hot. All other colored clothes go into another machine and wash warm or cold. Never put whites and colored laundry together!!
Wash your bed sheets at least every other week and your towels every week!
Ask at the laundromat if you can use bleach and then use it on whites only!
@Theojerry,
Are you washing the entire pillow or just the pillow cover?
@CalamityJane,
Well the thing is usually there is people there so rarely could I get more than 2 machines at once unless you go there really early. The bed sheet protector... what detergent do I use on it? Again it has some mold on it as well. I recall back then I was able to remove most of it with oxiclean a while back. I did this while soaking it in oxiclean in a bucket and then just letting it air dry. Then after a while it got very dirty and some mold.
I only have 3 white t shirts. I have nothing else that is white. So would you bother using 1 machine just for the 3 white t shirts? The issue is many times these white t shirts would get yellow and some mold and what I would do is put it in oxiclean and then hand wash it with detergent later on and then it would look okay.
Well at the moment I have 2 bedsheets only. One that is my current one but it is dirty and yellow. Another one is a clean one from a while back but it does have paint on it... i mentioned how it got paint on it years ago... but it is fine to use that one or toss that away as well? I only hand washed that bed sheet with paint set into it as I never wanted to combine it with any other clothes in the washer once it had paint on it.
Why would I need to ask the laundromat if I can use bleach? The last time I was there years ago, people just pour whatever they wanted to... I don't think any attendant there asked or checked. So should I use oxiclean or bleach on the white bed sheet protector that is dirty and has some mold?
@glitterbag,
I want to wash both my 2 pillow and 2 pillow cases as well.
@Theojerry,
How the hell do you get mold on your bedsheets and clothes? Where do you live??
So what you do with all the bedding that has mold on it. Do as you did before,
put bleach in it and lemon juice, then hang it out in the sun to dry. The sun is a natural deterrent of mold and yellowing, it whitens your wash and it will smell good.
Your 3 white t-shirts put in the sink and wash there with a bit of bleach and lemon juice. Hang it outside in the sun to dry, they will come out white and smelling great.
Again: you need to wash your stuff EVERY WEEK!!!!
@Theojerry,
Theojerry wrote:
I want to wash both my 2 pillow and 2 pillow cases as well.
THe pillow cases you can wash in the machine (laundromat) and the pillows - how old are they?? You should replace them at least once a year.
@CalamityJane,
Old pillows are likely to fall apart in a washing machine and/or dryer so just toss them because you're most likely going to have to replace them, anyway.
@Theojerry,
It seems weird to me there is no other temperature setting than cold? Do you know for sure there is not any? I would wash that nasty white bedding in hot water and then use bleach; there is usually a separate little place to pour bleach in.
If you have like the oxyclean spray or some other stain spray soak spray those stained areas good maybe even right before you go to the laundry so it can start working before you put it in the wash.
Bleach should kill the mold - it kills almost everything - now make sure you dry things thoroughly; this is probably why you got mold on your sheets, it got damp and was covered allowing mold to grow. Make sure your stuff gets enough clean dry air around it.
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