Usefull Advice

[Easy Bakes 253]

Never put a paperback book in the washing machine.

[SimRabbit 48]

UHH???

ok, i will never put a paperback on a washing machine.

[beebs 129]

Originally posted by: Easy Bakes Never put a paperback book in the washing machine.

quote>

I expect to hear the story behind this.

[coolotter88 2]

you can actually put a flash drive in a washing machine, but it won't survive the dryer...sometimes.

[topcliff 1]

Here's one: never take a picture of the sun with a digital camera. Don't ask.

[Easy Bakes 253]

Originally posted by: beebs

Originally posted by: Easy Bakes Never put a paperback book in the washing machine.

quote>

I expect to hear the story behind this. quote>

 

Spent the wekend gaming at a friends house.

took a book to read cause i always  read some before bedtime.

put the book in the bag with dirty cloths. dumped bag in washmachine.

made a huge mess with little bits of gray paper on everthing.

The book did not survive.

[___idiotbox 0]

Originally posted by: Easy Bakes made a huge mess with little bits of gray paper on everthing.

The book did not survive.quote>

This sounds like when you leave a tissue in your pants pocket and it goes through the washer and dryer. It leaves little white fuzzies everywhere. They don't come off with a lint roller, so you'll have to wash them again

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: ___idiotbox 

Originally posted by: Easy Bakes made a huge mess with little bits of gray paper on everthing.

The book did not survive.quote>

This sounds like when you leave a tissue in your pants pocket and it goes through the washer and dryer. It leaves little white fuzzies everywhere. They don't come off with a lint roller, so you'll have to wash them again quote>

 

Putting them in the dryer, even on the "air only" cycle, usually manages to gather most of the fuzzies up.

[Voar Tok 4]

Originally posted by: Easy Bakes

Originally posted by: beebs

Originally posted by: Easy Bakes Never put a paperback book in the washing machine.

quote>

I expect to hear the story behind this. quote>

 

Spent the wekend gaming at a friends house.

took a book to read cause i always  read some before bedtime.

put the book in the bag with dirty cloths. dumped bag in washmachine.

made a huge mess with little bits of gray paper on everthing.

The book did not survive.

quote>

 

Reminds me a bit of the time I ran a couple of one dollar bills through the washer and dryer by accident.  By the time they came out, they were crisper than fresh money, they smelled nice and clean ( ) and I had given a new definition to money laundering.

[Meg 368]

Another few bits of laundry advice:  

Don't wash red clothes with white clothes or you could wind up with pink clothes.  After a while, all of red dye that is going to bleed out will have bled out, so after several washings it can be safe to wash the red clothes with other clothes.

Many of the powder detergents are harsh and will cause colors to fade.  The liquids tend to be gentler.

Putting t-shirts, bras, and most knit clothing in the dryer will cause them to shrink.  Hanging them on a wooden rack to dry will prolong their life.

[hamsterTK 93]

my cell phone survived the washing machine

I took the battery out and took apart the case thing leaving two halves with circuit stuff exposed. Then I let it dry.

Next morning I put it back together and It worked!

[Easy Bakes 253]

Originally posted by: SkiGeek Another few bits of laundry advice:  

Don't wash red clothes with white clothes or you could wind up with pink clothes.  After a while, all of red dye that is going to bleed out will have bled out, so after several washings it can be safe to wash the red clothes with other clothes.

Many of the powder detergents are harsh and will cause colors to fade.  The liquids tend to be gentler.

Putting t-shirts, bras, and most knit clothing in the dryer will cause them to shrink.  Hanging them on a wooden rack to dry will prolong their life.

quote>

 

I alway wash my black T shirts together.

[Voar Tok 4]

Originally posted by: SkiGeek

Don't wash red clothes with white clothes or you could wind up with pink clothes.  After a while, all of red dye that is going to bleed out will have bled out, so after several washings it can be safe to wash the red clothes with other clothes.quote>

I did that with my sheets and red shirts.  They now have a slight pink tint to them.

Many of the powder detergents are harsh and will cause colors to fade.  The liquids tend to be gentler.quote>

I didn't know that.  My mom swears by Cheer, so it's kind of the defacto standard in the family.  Anything you specifically recommend?

On a similar note, one of the things that I do with my t-shirts is to turn them inside out before I wash them so that the stuff on front or back won't take as rough of a beating.

Putting t-shirts, bras, and most knit clothing in the dryer will cause them to shrink.  Hanging them on a wooden rack to dry will prolong their life.quote>

I wish I could do that.  Most of my shirts have gotten noticeably smaller since I bought them.

[LarksTonguesInAspic 28]

Don't try to substitute laundry detergent with any other cleaning agent.

[Abc987 3]

SkiGeek: Only you would know =)

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: hamsterTK 

my cell phone survived the washing machine

I took the battery out and took apart the case thing leaving two halves with circuit stuff exposed. Then I let it dry.

Next morning I put it back together and It worked!quote>

 

You lucked out there.  My cell phone didn't survive being accidentally dropped into a glass of iced tea.   It came back to life long enough to copy the numbers and send the pictures and then it died for good.

Originally posted by: Voar Tok 

I did that with my sheets and red shirts.  They now have a slight pink tint to them.   quote>

And, generally, that pink tint doesn't go away.

Many of the powder detergents are harsh and will cause colors to fade.  The liquids tend to be gentler.quote>

I didn't know that.  My mom swears by Cheer, so it's kind of the defacto standard in the family.  Anything you specifically recommend?quote>

Personally, I use All Free & Clear.  All has been making laundry detergent as long as I can remember and the "free & clear" part avoids allergic reactions, which I'm very good at getting.  (If there is a way to get a skin rash from something, generally I manage to do so.)

On a similar note, one of the things that I do with my t-shirts is to turn them inside out before I wash them so that the stuff on front or back won't take as rough of a beating.quote>

A very good idea. 

Putting t-shirts, bras, and most knit clothing in the dryer will cause them to shrink.  Hanging them on a wooden rack to dry will prolong their life.quote>

I wish I could do that.  Most of my shirts have gotten noticeably smaller since I bought them. quote>

 

Well, they make this nice free standing racks that fold up.  Some wooden, some metal.  But they can take a day or more to dry, at least in the humidity around here.  Might be a hassle in a dorm room.  

try drying the t-shirts on as low a dryer setting as possible.  Tossing them around in cool air will dry them eventually and won't shrink them as much as hot air does.

Originally posted by: jrhnemo 

SkiGeek: Only you would know =)quote>

 

Well, that's what cyber-moms are for 

[Voar Tok 4]

Originally posted by: SkiGeek

Originally posted by: Voar Tok 

I did that with my sheets and red shirts.  They now have a slight pink tint to them.   quote>

And, generally, that pink tint doesn't go away.quote>

I'm cool with that.  You can't see the red tint unless you bunch them up, and on top of that, they weren't particularly expensive, so in less than a year's time, I'll have saved more money washing them that way than it would cost to replace them.

Putting t-shirts, bras, and most knit clothing in the dryer will cause them to shrink.  Hanging them on a wooden rack to dry will prolong their life.quote>

I wish I could do that.  Most of my shirts have gotten noticeably smaller since I bought them. quote>

 

Well, they make this nice free standing racks that fold up.  Some wooden, some metal.  But they can take a day or more to dry, at least in the humidity around here.  Might be a hassle in a dorm room.  

try drying the t-shirts on as low a dryer setting as possible.  Tossing them around in cool air will dry them eventually and won't shrink them as much as hot air does.quote>

quote>

[beebs 129]

Dude, don't buy a rack. Anything I air dry, I just hang over my chair or something. Simple, effective.

Oh and we use Tide. Seems to work just fine.

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: beebs 

Dude, don't buy a rack. Anything I air dry, I just hang over my chair or something. Simple, effective. quote>

 

Well, some of us have fewer chairs than articles of clothing that need to be air dried. 

[hym 358]

Another option that I've used is simply hang them up and use a fan to aid the drying process.

[beebs 129]

Originally posted by: SkiGeek

Originally posted by: beebs 

Dude, don't buy a rack. Anything I air dry, I just hang over my chair or something. Simple, effective. quote>

 

Well, some of us have fewer chairs than articles of clothing that need to be air dried.  quote>

This is true. In this case, I start using the end of my bed. That side isn't used anyways, might as well make it useful!

[BlondeTwiggy 43]

I put a chapstick through the dryer once...

Needless to say, it didnt survive lol

Like half of my clothes have to be air-dried, the rack isnt big enough lol

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: BlondeTwiggy

Like half of my clothes have to be air-dried, the rack isnt big enough lolquote>

 

That's what I'm saying.  I'm debating getting another one.  but doing a better job of timing the laundry seems like a more efficient idea.

[BlondeTwiggy 43]

Lol yeah, but I always forget and leave the clothes on there for like 3 days, long after they've dried..

Or I just use the beebs philosophy and put them over the end of my bed, computer chair, fan, etc

[ilikehotdogsalot 307]

for those who wear contacts: make sure you are wearing contacts before you start poking your eyeballs, long story, i was very tired the other night

edit: also, make sure to take out your cellphone and electronics and things out of your pockets before using the toilet, i was very tired that day too

[Easy Bakes 253]

Voar Tok 

I did that with my sheets and red shirts.  They now have a slight pink tint to them.  

And, generally, that pink tint doesn't go away.

I'm cool with that.  You can't see the red tint unless you bunch them up, and on top of that, they weren't particularly expensive, so in less than a year's time, I'll have saved more money washing them that way than it would cost to replace them.quote>

 

Are the sheets white?

A  little liquid bleach will take care of the tint if they are.

I once  put a blue  t shirt shirt in with my socks and other whites and gave them a blue tint.

 rewashed with a  little bleach and they were white as could be.

[Rymac91 15]

To continue this thread that somehow is now focused on mostly laundry and water based tips, If you want your money to go into vending machines or any bill accepting machine, take the bill, starch it and then iron it. My grandma does this to all the bills she gives to everyone and they almost always go into the vending machine(only exception is when the bill accepter is broken and rejects all bills).

And a warning, ALWAYS use the amount of bleach listed on the bottle, if you use too much...even just a little, your clothes may begin to dissolve or rip(this is what happend to my undies and socks, which is incredibly unpleasant to find out.

And a weird tip, If you have washed your clothing at least more than 6-7 times, the clothing will not bleed colours as much as they did in previous washings(though group like colours so if they are still bleeding colours that they don't bleed on something noticable)

--------

In other advice, when microwaving something, always adjust the amount of time and power to your microwave(most directions use either a 500 watt or a 900 watt microwave)

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: Rymac91 

In other advice, when microwaving something, always adjust the amount of time and power to your microwave(most directions use either a 500 watt or a 900 watt microwave)quote>

 

and if you don't know how many watts your microwave has, you can find out it by seeing how long it takes to boil a cup and water and using this chart.

[GingerBlokey 30]

Don't spell useful with two ls

But seriously, my advice would be:

Don't be so fussy about laundry. No-one will ever notice your wearing odd socks and no-one cares if your jeans are perfectly ironed.

[coolotter88 2]

I think you can re-stretch cotton shirts if you wash them and hang them up, otherwise, buy shirts that are too big for you and wait for them to shrink.