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Why does lemmy not have a laundry dedicated forum? How have lemmy been a thing for this long with no laundry dedicated forum?
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I live in an apartment where there are public washing machines available but the filter for the washing machines are DEFINITRLY not regularly cleaned (most of my laundry smells like vomit right now T-T) so should I just clean it all on my own? in the wash bin? What tyoe of wash bin should ? What else should I consider?
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If I do get a washbin do you have any suggestions as to what washbin I should get or sny special considerations I should consider? I plan on getting a steel one. Also I live in canada
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I have a lot of merino wool stuff to clean so does anyone have any advice on suirfactants that shouldnt be used on merino wool stuff other than enzymes and bleaching agents?
Thanks to anyone that helps.
When I lived in a place with shared laundry space I tried for a year to basically focus one machine that I tried to care about secretly so it didn’t get over used when people noticed it was better. Started off very gross, I tried a few different store bought items meant to clean your washer which helped a little and I’d empty out the dryer lint. It just sucked was very gross.
After a year I went to a Laundromat and just used there. Much better. Look for places with an attendant or employee working. Best advice I can give you.
As for the wool, idk man check YouTube?
I have a foot powered washing machine that is good for small loads but now that I have a house and my own machines I only use it for camping.
i was wondering about buying those foot powered ones.
It doesn’t fit a huge amount so you would still need to go to a Laundromat for sheets but it was very nice when I was in an apartment with 2 machines per floor. My 3 loads would cost me about 15 dollars or more while the foot powered one, a Drumi would take more smaller loads but I could do 1 or 2 loads a day while I watched TV instead of paying my landlord.
The drained soapy water would have dirt in it while the rinse water was relatively clear of dirt so it could be reused as my next loads soapy water.
Why does lemmy not have a laundry dedicated forum?
Because you haven’t made one yet. ;)
Mind you, for a topic like that, I’d expect it to take a good amount of effort to make it “active”.
Take them to a laundromat? I know that sucks but probably a good way to make sure everything is treated appropriately
- Probably not enough traffic or interest for one but you’re free to make one if you like. I wouldn’t mind having a comm for it.
- This is covered by your rent/strata fees. Put it to them in an email that multiple machines have a notable foul odour and require sanitising, filter clearing and general maintenance. If you’re renting and the property manager doesn’t action your request, email them 1-2 two more times before escalating it to the relevant government body. Here we can even get electricians/plumbing done and have the bill reimbursed by the property manager/owner if they take too long.
- Personally, don’t increase your labour/expenses to subsidise things other people are responsible for. If you’re getting this because of issue 2, get the property manager to sort it, it’s literally why you pay rent/strata fees. (See end).
- No idea here so have a lame “wool wash?”
Landlords must:
- Maintain the tenant’s home in a good state of repair and fit for habitation and at the landlord’s expense comply with health, safety, housing and maintenance standards.
https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/consumers/renting-a-home/i-am-renting/landlord-tenant-responsibilities
Canada seems similar to Aus in so far as there should some decent government resources to find your rights and obligations as a tenant and how to escalate an issue should you get an arsehole property manager that doesn’t do their job.
Thanks. TIL
Ill admit I have practically no knowledge when it comes to laws surrounding renting in toronto
I’d also start with a friendly conversation with the landlord - they may not even be aware the washers smell.
You can always escalate later.
It’s because people don’t do “whites” anymore.
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Run a load of white clothing and use bleach and hot water
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Put clothes in dryer
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Wipe the inside of the washer, takes 10 seconds
You have now cleaned a washing machine…
You can skip #3 and save 10 seconds, the hot bleach water will kill whatever is making that smell. But depending on how bad it is, you may want to do that a couple days in a row. Don’t do a normal load after, let it sit for a while.
The stuff that smells bad is stuff growing where water sits, so you want that bleach water to sit there and not be flushed out. One cycle will probably do it tho if it sits long enough.
Make sure your “white” are only white with no colors, texts and other designs you want to protect, before using bleach, it will damage them.
whites only with no colors?
FOUND THE RACIST
(I am being silly <3 )
Ah. Thanks for reminding me . Im not even joking I myself dont do whites anynore simply to save money on bleach. ALL my white everything has been donated.
Honestly you might want to run the hot bleach cycle with no laundry, or some cleaning rags, rather than anything you care about. Because you might find the hot water is rusty from disuse, so they come out beige despite the bleach.
As for your wool items, there’s several kinds of “wool wash” beyond Woolite you can use in your sink. Remember wool sweaters need to dry flat, so only do one or two at a time or you’ll have wet sweaters all over the apartment. Squeeze out excess rinse water but don’t wring. Roll in a clean dry towel and squash hard, (use a clean surface so the towel will be usable after it dries) then lay it on a mesh rack or another clean dry towel to dry.
Thanks for the tips.
Do you know the science as to why wool swesters need to dry flat? Have you ever tried drying them by hang , and if so what happened?
If you hang them they will stretch and not fit right. Nothing complicated, just gravity on stretchy knits heavy with water. To protect the wool when washing, don’t work too hard. Just swish it around a bit, and don’t soak more than about 5 minutes.
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Maybe we need a How To Adult… oh look !adulting@lemmy.world
Ok Ill ask there too . Thanks.
I don’t know much about it, but if I was in your shoes I’d question what those compact electric ones are like. Apparently you can get them as cheap as $160 and they don’t all need water lines, like you can take a pitcher and fill some from the top, then empty the water in a toilet or such. Maybe they are junk, but maybe not 🤷. Things like this: portable mini washer
Damn I think the page glitched on me cause it simply says ‘Details not available for this product’
All the links were a mile long and a url cleaner did shit for me lol
For most links you can delete the question mark and everything after. No URL cleaner needed.
Thanks!
If you can’t wait for your landlord to fix it for now. Why not just look for a coin laundry shop in the neighborhood?
the closest coin laundry is quite a distance away from where I live. Like a good 3 or 4 km away lol.
Laundry and a little workout!
I used to think hand washing was easy and required no strength or cardio… I was wrong.
Where do you live? Just curious. 2-4km would be like… my neighbor, so I don’t exactly view it as long distance.
toronto
Definitely get a detergent made for wool. I use Heritage Park Silk & Wool laundry detergent (for any animal sourced fibers).
ya but do you know if the surfactsnts in that brand of detergentt is REALLY good for your wool?
Like the brand woolites has enzymes in some of their products despite the fact that we know that enzymes completely fuck up wool… how do you know that heritage park silk and wool doesnt have these same ingredients?
Also surfactants. Like we know that enzymes fuck up wool as I just said…do surfactants ALSO do that? And in what ways? Also what surfactants destroy which fabrics?
Well they claim no enzymes and list their ingredients. I’ve used it on merino for a few years without problems.
Where you at? Continent is close enough.
Wool clothing really does need a special detergent. Surficants are one part, of course, but the pH shouldn’t get too high, and a lot of detergents tend to have high pH since that helps clean. The high pH is not good for the wool and will make the scales on the hairs open and become brittle, which is the opposite of what you want.
You also want to avoid the enzyme protase/substilin. They both are effective against proteins, which is great for a lot of soils, but bad for hair, which is made out of protein. Other enzymes like lipase, cellulase, amylase, and mannanase are all perfectly fine and won’t damage the fibers.
It’s just next to impossible to find a detergent with enzymes but without protase. There are a couple manufacturers in Europe, but none in the US. There is one US company reselling an EU detergent (The Steamery) but it’s pricy and is scented.
im in canada . toronto specifically.
And when you say pH shouldnt get too high what type of pH we talking about here? 12 ? 13? 18? Also where did you learn that pH shouldnt get too hiigh please? (I just need something to cite and loook back to cause I have awful memory and cognition)
Also how do we know FOR SURE the specific surfactants dont affecr wool? As youve just said lipase, amylase, cellulase, etc… dont have much of an effect on wool BUT protease does…how do we know how this specifically works for surfactants used in wool washes?
Why does lemmy not have a laundry dedicated forum? How have lemmy been a thing for this long with no laundry dedicated forum?
Because you haven’t created one
The washers probably stink because people leave the lids down all the time.
I’ve also never seen a filter on a washing machine, so…
Let’s think about this - it fills with treated water - water that’s drinkable. Then detergent is added. Clothes get washed, dirty water drained, fresh water used to rinse, twice.
What purpose would a filter serve other than to be a maintenance item?
Laundry machine filters are in the bottom of the machine and are for the water leaving the machine. They catch things like lint, and pet hair. When the filter is full it becomes a habitat for mildew
A full filter can also make the washer drain more slowly which means the tub becomes a habitat for mildew and the rinse cycles are mixed with old, dirty water.
I would create a community but I dont know if I could moderate it. I am busy most of the day for most days . Also Im a lemmy noob so I have no idea how to create a community or even if Im allowed to make it lr allowed to moderate it.
Amd yes , people do leave tbe lids closed most of the times when theyre not in use.
Also I thougjt thatt most front loading modern washing machines had a filter thingy like this: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea6ZQhIJHfU&t=58s&pp=ygUcd2FzaGluZyBtYWNoaW5lIGZpbHRlciBjbGVhbg%3D%3D Am I wrong?
Most front ends have a drain pump filter to catch any debris from your clothes (hair, pocket lint, etc) so they don’t clog the drain hose. I don’t think they’re super common in top loaders though I’ve seen those have similar lint filters as well.
Top loaders with the central agitator usually have one in the middle on top of the agitator itself, under the bit where you put fabric softener - that whole piece pulls out and there’s a little mesh basket to catch the lint.
Either that or they will have one as a panel in the side of the drum.
It’s normally a small door on the bottom corner of the front of the machine. MAKE SURE WASHER IS DRAINED AND EMPTY BEFORE OPENING. Most are reusable and you basically remove it, wash it in a sink and reinstall. If your washer won’t drain this is a quick and easy thing to check and repair but have plenty of towels around, once you pull out filter water will drain out of it and go everywhere (several gallons).
Sure, if you own it. If it’s a shared use machine like alluded to in OP, you leave it because it’s not your responsibility to maintain.
True. But still useful knowledge a lot of people don’t know if you own your own machine. One time my washer stopped draining, no matter what it stayed full. Someone one of his baby socks got stick on the filter and clogged it. I had to call a repair company, they guy was like “let me check something before I start working on it”. He pulled the filter, found the sock and put it back it. I was expecting a 200 dollar fee for repair + parts. He said it was only 40 dollars for his travel time. Later on noticed I got a “statement” from the company. He marked it as “owner was not home, unable to access machine” which had a fee of 40 dollars… They included a statement that the ticket was closed and if services were still needed a new ticket would need to be created.
Mommy still does laundry for a lot of Lemmings.
Sad truth 😂🤣