This machine warps clothes and applies a layer of lint. Why oh why?
January 23, 2016 6:28 AM Subscribe
I've just moved to Colombia and am doing laundry without a dryer for the first time. Why are the results so terrible?
My first load of laundry in Colombia was a disaster. My clothes became warped, faded, and tons of lint was applied on my cotton socks.
Photos here, including of the offending machine.
Why is this happening? What can I do differently?
Facts:
-- It's a top-loader. I'm accustomed to using a dryer but don't have one here.
-- Detergent: "Fab", a Unliever product available locally (not the cheapest nor the best). No fabric softener used.
-- I used cold water, medium detergent level, all other options on by default
-- I indoor line dried, having removed the clothes ASAP when the load was done
-- Here in Medellin, it's warm (around 25 celcius) with low humidity. Things dry pretty fast being hung up indoors with the windows open. Water is potable, and I assume "hard"
I'm specifically interested in how to avoid warping more clothes, and how I can prevent that nasty layer of lint on my black socks. Thank you!
My first load of laundry in Colombia was a disaster. My clothes became warped, faded, and tons of lint was applied on my cotton socks.
Photos here, including of the offending machine.
Why is this happening? What can I do differently?
Facts:
-- It's a top-loader. I'm accustomed to using a dryer but don't have one here.
-- Detergent: "Fab", a Unliever product available locally (not the cheapest nor the best). No fabric softener used.
-- I used cold water, medium detergent level, all other options on by default
-- I indoor line dried, having removed the clothes ASAP when the load was done
-- Here in Medellin, it's warm (around 25 celcius) with low humidity. Things dry pretty fast being hung up indoors with the windows open. Water is potable, and I assume "hard"
I'm specifically interested in how to avoid warping more clothes, and how I can prevent that nasty layer of lint on my black socks. Thank you!
Don't overload the machine. Use about .25 of the recommended amount of detergent.
You may have to iron to get things crisp like they would be from a dryer.
If you have hard water, look into getting some Calgon for softening the water.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 6:38 AM on January 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
You may have to iron to get things crisp like they would be from a dryer.
If you have hard water, look into getting some Calgon for softening the water.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 6:38 AM on January 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
A cup of white vinegar with each load helps with the fading.
posted by CrazyLemonade at 6:40 AM on January 23, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by CrazyLemonade at 6:40 AM on January 23, 2016 [2 favorites]
Experiment with putting far less clothes in there.
The amount of detergent you use is probably going to be far less.
Also there are possibly a ton of different settings. Ask your landlord/lady for some suggestions. Maybe also try googling your model.
I'd keep a notebook and experiment with the settings until you find the right one.
posted by k8t at 8:15 AM on January 23, 2016 [2 favorites]
The amount of detergent you use is probably going to be far less.
Also there are possibly a ton of different settings. Ask your landlord/lady for some suggestions. Maybe also try googling your model.
I'd keep a notebook and experiment with the settings until you find the right one.
posted by k8t at 8:15 AM on January 23, 2016 [2 favorites]
Drying also removes a lot of lint, so you probably wanna be more careful about separating lights and darks to avoid you sock situation.
posted by amileighs at 8:17 AM on January 23, 2016 [6 favorites]
posted by amileighs at 8:17 AM on January 23, 2016 [6 favorites]
Best answer: As far as I can tell, the critical part of this question is "doing laundry without a dryer for the first time." It's likely that none of these things are caused by your washing machine, and your clothes are just fine.
Dryers fluff up clothes, beat them up a little, shrink them a bit, and remove lint. Your clothing isn't warped, it just wasn't fluffed and shrunk by the dryer, and may be a little deformed by having dried while hanging. This is more of a problem for knit fabric than woven (I noticed that your example shirt is cotton jersey), and if the climate is dry enough you can probably get away with laying your knits flat rather than hanging, though above ~30% humidity things might dry too slowly. This also uses more space, of course.
In my experience, you won't even be able to tell that your clothing was line-dried after you've worn it for an hour--the warmth and motion of your body will loosen up the fibers and work them back into shape. In the long term they may actually last longer. I started line-drying my most of my laundry a long time ago (for largely environmental reasons) and noticed that my clothing fades less and takes dramatically longer to wear out.
One possible exception to this is the lint--washing machines can harbor lint, as noted above, and even when clean will transfer light-colored lint to dark clothing when washed together. The classic solution is to wash light and dark clothing separately.
Don't use fabric softener, it slowly coats your clothing in disgusting scented slime.
posted by pullayup at 9:01 AM on January 23, 2016 [17 favorites]
Dryers fluff up clothes, beat them up a little, shrink them a bit, and remove lint. Your clothing isn't warped, it just wasn't fluffed and shrunk by the dryer, and may be a little deformed by having dried while hanging. This is more of a problem for knit fabric than woven (I noticed that your example shirt is cotton jersey), and if the climate is dry enough you can probably get away with laying your knits flat rather than hanging, though above ~30% humidity things might dry too slowly. This also uses more space, of course.
In my experience, you won't even be able to tell that your clothing was line-dried after you've worn it for an hour--the warmth and motion of your body will loosen up the fibers and work them back into shape. In the long term they may actually last longer. I started line-drying my most of my laundry a long time ago (for largely environmental reasons) and noticed that my clothing fades less and takes dramatically longer to wear out.
One possible exception to this is the lint--washing machines can harbor lint, as noted above, and even when clean will transfer light-colored lint to dark clothing when washed together. The classic solution is to wash light and dark clothing separately.
Don't use fabric softener, it slowly coats your clothing in disgusting scented slime.
posted by pullayup at 9:01 AM on January 23, 2016 [17 favorites]
Although I do have a dryer, I air dry a lot of my clothes to make them last longer/keep them from shrinking.
Rather than hanging them up with hangers or clothes pins to let them dry, I use a drying rack similar to this. Laying the clothes over the bars of the drying rack doesn't seem to distort the fabric in the way that drying them on hangers can.
Alternatively, you can use a hanger but just drape the shirts/sweaters/etc over the horizontal bar, as opposed to putting it through the neck of the shirt. Same thing for pants or shorts.
But also, as pullayup notes, often clothing will bounce back after you wear it for awhile.
posted by litera scripta manet at 9:57 AM on January 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
Rather than hanging them up with hangers or clothes pins to let them dry, I use a drying rack similar to this. Laying the clothes over the bars of the drying rack doesn't seem to distort the fabric in the way that drying them on hangers can.
Alternatively, you can use a hanger but just drape the shirts/sweaters/etc over the horizontal bar, as opposed to putting it through the neck of the shirt. Same thing for pants or shorts.
But also, as pullayup notes, often clothing will bounce back after you wear it for awhile.
posted by litera scripta manet at 9:57 AM on January 23, 2016 [1 favorite]
Your clothes aren't "warped", they just hung to dry. Get an iron and iron them - they will straighten right back out. A+ to other comments about small loads, lots of water, rigorous separation of whites and blacks, and some vinegar.
posted by some chick at 1:19 PM on January 23, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by some chick at 1:19 PM on January 23, 2016 [2 favorites]
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The loads need to be smaller than what you'd put in a regular washer. Clothes need to stay down in the metal drum and not heap above it.
Make sure the water level is set to max.
Make sure the washing speed is slow.
MAKE SURE THE LINT TRAP IS CLEANED. Check around the inside plastic bit. In that picture, you see that notched area where there's a thing with a lip? Pull it out and empty it. It's a little mesh bag that collects lint (and in my case dog hair) and needs to be emptied every load.
I also like to run the rinse cycle twice to make sure all the detergent is out.
posted by phunniemee at 6:36 AM on January 23, 2016 [1 favorite]