I am clueless in the laundry room. I know nothing about stain removal and very little about sorting, what settings to use on my washer, what needs to air-dry, how to prevent things from shrinking, etc. Teach me how to do laundry like a grownup! [more inside]
posted by beandip on Sep 19, 2009 - 30 answers

How do I remove awful, greasy restaurant smells from my clothing? I work eight hours a day at a small, enclosed cafe. I come home smelling of this particular mixture of grease and cafe food (not in a delicious way). It comes off of me in the shower--but after eight months of this the smell seems to be inexorably attached to my clothing. How do I get rid of it? [more inside]
posted by schroedinger on Sep 3, 2008 - 23 answers

The communal washing machines in my apartment building are worthless. They don't remove any sort of stain or spill, regardless of solubility or severity. When I remove the wet clothes from the washer, nasty stripes and splotches of lint cover my clothes (especially obvious on darks). Is there a specific complaint I can make to my landlord, or should I just give up and go to a laundromat? [more inside]
posted by sararah on May 9, 2008 - 18 answers

A treasured white T-shirt (with logo) has gone from bright white to dull blue thanks to an errant blue T-shirt... [more inside]
posted by badlydubbedboy on Aug 8, 2006 - 6 answers

Why are my darks fading? Is it the washer, dryer, temperature, detergent??? [more inside]
posted by traderjoefan on Mar 15, 2006 - 16 answers

I've got several pairs of lightweight wool dress pants from Ann Taylor. They are marked dry clean only. Suppose I hand-wash these pants in cold water and lay them flat on a towel to air-dry. Will the laundry gods punish my impudence?
posted by naomi on Feb 14, 2005 - 12 answers