Do you separate?

Stained socks, grubby cloth nappies, muddy rugby gear, smelly fishing clothes and greasy chef’s uniforms – just a few of the culprits that give us the washing day blues. But the real question that lies beneath this grimy surface is – do you separate out badly soiled clothes or chuck it all in and hope for the best?

For some this is a no-brainer - for others, one fuss too many. So where does your family sit on the ‘to separate or not to separate’ continuum?

We’ve found that most of us wash the way our mothers taught us, applying the same degree of care or caution thrown to the winds. For both sides, their way is a ‘no brainer’ which just shows how differently we are all wired.

In the ‘separate’ camp, many soak heavily soiled laundry in buckets, sinks or shubs to get rid of the excess detritus before separating again into colours and whites and then washing. Reasons for doing are varied and colourful:

• “Sweaty, dirty boys need special treatment for washing.”
  
• “No-one wants baby vomit washed with a nice dress.”
  
• “I’ve learnt the hard way that I should wash my taekwondo uniform separate, as I’ve accidentally dyed it pink once – had to soak it in whitener several times to get it back to white.”
  
• “I wash all my boys’ sports stuff separately because otherwise it is simply a quick way to dirty the rest of the wash.”
  

In this self-selecting group of more than 250 Earthwise fans, the separators far outweighed those who took a more inclusive approach. However, this small but vocal minority have a distinctly pragmatic approach. Most cite time pressure cause by family and work commitments as the reason to throw it all in and get it done. For others, the pre-wash is more of a hose down in the yard – with the clothing still on the back of the wearer!

• “With four kids and a partner who works away, I don’t have time. It all gets thrown in.”
  
• “I soak them overnight and then put them in with the normal wash.”
  
• “I usually thrown them all in the wash together. If the mud is really bad, I’ll rinse it off quickly before washing. I am all about convenience and ease especially when it comes to cleaning!”
  
• “Bows head in shame. Together.”
  
• “Nah, chuck it all in and hope for a good outcome.”
  

Whether it’s work uniforms, sweaty sports and gym gear or any other casualty of our increasingly busy lives, the one thing all our fans agreed on was the product! Earthwise Oxy Whitener was seen as a reliable ‘go to’ product that deals with stubborn stains – even for families with sensitive skins and contact allergies.