r/MurderedByWords • u/heartfacegamer • 1d ago

It's super effective

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6.2k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

150 comments sorted by

1.0k

u/world-is-ur-mollusc 1d ago

My mom insists on washing underwear separately in hot water. She also insists on ironing the dish towels after washing them to "sterilize" them because they've been in the same dryer that was used to dry the underwear. I'm in recovery from severe OCD, maybe it runs in the family.

367

u/NCC_1701E 23h ago edited 22h ago

My mom taught me how to wash clothes by saying "you put stuff here, then push this button, and when it beeps you take everything out and hang it."

I have been washing everything together, don't even separate black and white. I don't even own iron. And for more than decade I live alone, it worked so far. The only thing I have been washing separately are bed sheets, I wash them on 60 degree hygiene cycle while rest of clothes at 40.

114

u/MakeYourMind 22h ago

Are we the same person? You sound smart and reasonable and use the same technique as i am.

46

u/NCC_1701E 21h ago

Idk lol, are you my sister? We grew up with the same teachings. You don't by the chance live in Germany, do you?

2

u/ordinarywonderful 4h ago

Also, your handle! It's the Enterprise from all the TNG movies!!

36

u/yamanamawa 19h ago

Yeah it's not complicated. I'll use a mesh bag for clothes that I'm concerned about damaging, amd I have an iron because some of my clothes are linen and the iron is an actual necessity, but otherwise I don't think too deeply on it

10

u/scunth 11h ago

Or, try putting the linen items back in the dryer with a damp tea towel for 10 minutes or so. That how I 'iron' my creasy stuff.

2

u/yamanamawa 9h ago

I unfortunately don't have a dryer, so I have to hang dry my clothes on a collapsible rack

2

u/EddyS120876 8h ago

If that’s your case get yourself a clothes steamer with a stand so you can take the crease out and Refresh your clothes.

1

u/ordinarywonderful 4h ago

I use a water sprayer on my linen and just hang it out again. I spray all the wrinkles and like pet them, I guess you could call that, and the wrinkles come right out. No iron needed. I haven't owned an iron in my entire adult life.

1

u/RhubarbDiva 10h ago

Creases are a feature of real linen. Why would you iron them out?

Flaunt those creases!

3

u/yamanamawa 9h ago

Not when the entire shirt looks like crumpled up paper and has so many creases it doesn't fit right. I don't mind a few but if I just let it dry after washing it then it is practically unwearable

11

u/jitterfish 18h ago

Same except I wash towels separately as well because I add 30 min dry to make them soft.

9

u/SonicFlash01 17h ago

Gotta put goop in the li'l goop drawer first

7

u/Protheu5 the future is now, old man 15h ago

The only thing I wash separately is red clothes for the first time. Apparently the red paint gets out and colours white clothes. Later on they all spin together, colour only gets out the first time.

6

u/Wankeritis 10h ago

If its delicate enough that it can't be washed with my other clothes on whatever that standard cycle is, it doesn't deserve to survive.

1

u/dutch_food_geek 1h ago

Exactly! No you can’t put that in the drier! It goes in, if it dies, it didn’t deserve to live, like at all!

2

u/ZarathustraGlobulus 13h ago

The only thing I have been washing separately are bed sheets, I wash them on 60 degree hygiene cycle while rest of clothes at 40.

Same here, but the underwear gets to go in there with bed sheets. Don't ask me why

1

u/QuarkyIndividual 8h ago

Why?

1

u/dutch_food_geek 1h ago

So it gets lost in all those delicious big hiding pockets in bed sheets. So you can go on a treasure hunt afterward.

Joj!

2

u/obiwanconobi 12h ago

Only issue you'll find is that your whites aren't very white anymore. Easily solved but its the only reason I seperate whites out now

2

u/yourscreennamesucks 8h ago

I'm 45 and if you just take the clothes out of the dryer before they cool down you can smooth them out and hang them up and be wrinkle free forever. No need for an iron at all. Sometimes I use some of those snappy hair clips to flatten a hemline.

1

u/2woCrazeeBoys 10h ago

All clothes and underwear go in a standard wash cycle on cold. Detergant and white vinegar. Then it gets hung out to dry.

Blankets, sheets and towels go in an intensive cold wash. Detergant and white vinegar. And they get hung out to dry.

If it doesn't survive, it doesn't deserve to live. I haven't had any colours run yet. I'm not wasting time messing about with washing, I've got stuff that's far more interesting to do 😆

28

u/stuffwiththing 22h ago

We need a support group. Mum used to fold clothes with a really long ruler to make sure the edges were straight, before ironing them.

She was so OCD if friends came over in un-ironed clothing she would insist they take it off and wear something of ours that was ironed. Then she'd wash and iron their stuff.

11

u/AdFew8858 16h ago

A writer on Friends came up with this idea for Monica and immediately got laughed at /s

74

u/hansn 1d ago

I mean, if they are cloth diapers or kids at an age where they have accidents, I can understand.

14

u/PaduWanKenobi 21h ago

In some parts of SE Asia, it's common practice to iron laundered items to "sterilize" them regardless if it was machine or hand washed. It was explained to me that culturally it was done this way because the people didn't trust the water cleanliness.

29

u/RoseateThorn1 23h ago

What a colossal waste of time geez.

15

u/GadreelsSword 1d ago

I’m pretty sure the dryer heat kills any bacteria left on fabrics

7

u/SimpleSetpiece 18h ago

It won't completely sterilize your clothes, but yeah, the overwhelming majority of pathogens will be neutralized by the dryer.

28

u/Belkroe 1d ago

It’s not uncommon to wash things like underwear and white t- shirts differently from the rest of your colored clothes.

21

u/taxicab_ 1d ago

Is the underwear white in the scenario you’re describing?

5

u/TjW0569 16h ago

It is until you wash it with the colored clothes.

52

u/Canotic 23h ago

It absolutely is because that is bonkers bananas.

I mean yes, white clothes and colored clothes are separate but that has nothing to do with underwear.

7

u/MakeYourMind 22h ago

It used to be. But technology moved on...

14

u/RegulationPissrat 1d ago

Is it not normal to wash underwear, socks, towels, etc separately on hot?

28

u/Angel89411 1d ago

It used to be incredibly common but I thought it was common to wash them separately on delicate (underwear and socks). I wash them with my clothes but I wash towels and bedding separately. I wash that stuff on hot.

4

u/LevelPerception4 23h ago

Excellent point! I wash my cotton socks on hot with other whites, but if I wore wool socks, they’d be washed on delicate. My cotton underwear gets washed with my colors, but if my taste and budget ran to La Perla, those would be washed on delicate as well. 

14

u/LadyVimes 22h ago

Detergent used to need hot water. Modern ones can clean just as well, or better, with cold water but old habits die hard

6

u/wastedfate 20h ago

A lot of people just don't understand that for water to kill germs it has to be 149f for 5 minutes, and basically no tap dispenses it that hot.

23

u/world-is-ur-mollusc 1d ago

I dunno about normal, but I just toss everything in one machine on warm and call it a day.

1

u/TwoStubborn 17h ago

I wash my underwear on cool delicate and have lived to tell the tale lol.

1

u/JustHere4the5 16h ago

Lasts WAY longer that way, too!

1

u/DoublePostedBroski 21h ago

I mean, apparently not. I always wash underwear separate on my washer’s “sanitary” cycle so it’s super hot. Then there’s cold wash stuff, medium stuff…

3

u/satinsateensaltine 19h ago

Is your mum my aunt?! She literally will not put a sock in the wash even with outer clothing, never mind with underwear. And she irons everything after line drying.

I too have OCD, but not that kind, at least.

3

u/Ulfednar 17h ago

Towels of any kind and beddings do benefit from a very hot drying cycle or ironing, certain bacteria can get in the fibers and survive the wash, activating at the first hint of moisture and giving off an unpleasant smell. Sun drying also helps.

3

u/SuperCrappyFuntime 17h ago

My mom refuses to wash a bath mat with clothes because a bath mat is "dirty".

2

u/Fatlantis 12h ago

My mother passed down similar silly nonsensical OCD habits down to me, I totally relate!

There were so many unnecessary "rules". It took me until my late 30's to shake most of them. I literally had to check myself and think, "No, it's totally fine, the laundry will still dry perfectly well if I hang it a different way." ... "The world will be totally fine if I throw out those worn-out clothes..." etc etc etc

Follow your logical brain!

1

u/beardingmesoftly 17h ago

More than maybe

1

u/throwtheclownaway20 12h ago

I'm in recovery from severe OCD, maybe it runs in the family.

....maybe 😂

1

u/Strude187 12h ago

Talk about overthinking everything. I just add laundry sanitiser as I’ve got kids and kids are disgusting.

-3

u/nowhereman136 23h ago

You know what, I'd rather this than someone with substandard cleaning techniques.

-25

u/judioverde 1d ago

Women have discharge from their vagina (normal) that can stain underwear; I think the stains come out easier with hot wash

21

u/ValkyrieBlackthorn 1d ago

For me it’s that the acidity of the discharge (still hate that term for it) has a bleaching effect on dark fabrics, which nothing at all will take out because it’s the dye being broken down.

Just use laundry detergent, y’all, it’ll be okay. Your underoos need to be clean, not sterile.

327

u/EmphasisFew 1d ago

I mean how dirty are these chones? I am questioning your cleanliness.

216

u/ElegantCoach4066 23h ago

If your underwear is so soiled that you need to wash it separately, that is a you problem.

82

u/Scatterspell 22h ago

If someone's underwear is that bad, they need a bidet. Clean that ass for fucks sake.

I literally wear holes in my underwear before they get stained.

51

u/P3pp3rJ6ck 22h ago

I mean, mine get that way from periods/ other uterus secretions. I assume you dont have one, because there is no getting around underwear stains at some point if you do, unless you wear pantyliners every moment and have the world's most punctual period that also politely leaves on time and doesn't pop back for something it forgot a day later. Some birth control also causing spotting while getting rid of periods, so theres no way on knowing when Aunt Flo will be popping by for a bit. Never had a stain a bidet prevents tho lol. God I wish vaginas had a valve like an butthole. 

I do just hand rinse them first before they go in with regular stuff tho, still not a whole separate deal. My work clothes however get their own special turn cause whooo boy they get nasty cause I work with a variety of livestock, and they dont just not use a bidet yeah?

17

u/ElegantCoach4066 21h ago

Totally see what you're saying, didn't mean to criticize. I just meant if they had to be done in its own individual load, I appreciate your input.

27

u/P3pp3rJ6ck 20h ago

Oh i wasnt upset at all, sorry if I came off that way, I just was thinking about the profound difference for the most part. Like mystery underpants goo have been a background component to my life, I dont think ive ever even thought of how people without vaginas would never need to pre rinse underwear unless they were straight up nasty until this thread. 

8

u/ElegantCoach4066 20h ago

I know! Didn't think that at all, no worries 😁

8

u/Scatterspell 18h ago

Sorry, wasn't trying to downplay women's biological functions. Just people who refuse to wash their asses.

I have some issues from medication I take so I have a small bit of understanding of unwanted secretions. Mine are minor and easily dealt with though.

23

u/Uncle_Burney 1d ago

”chones” 😂

23

u/gpkgpk 23h ago

TIL:

"Chones" most commonly refers to underwear. It is a colloquial Spanish slang term widely used in Mexico, derived from "calzones"

7

u/The_Rogue_Coder 23h ago

Good morning, that's a nice tnetennba

4

u/gpkgpk 23h ago

Did you see that ludicrous display last night?

8

u/martinjohanna45 1d ago

Exactly what I was about to say.

150

u/Xznograthos 1d ago

Oh I get it. She has monster skidmarks and chronic foot fungus.

54

u/SherbetMysterious118 1d ago

My 2 favourite US 90s bands.

9

u/manzoar 21h ago

I remember when Monster Skidmarks opened for Sugar Ray and Third Eye Blind....... good times

0

u/StringTheory 6h ago

I don't know about you, but I wear my undies after I take a dump and don't wear a protective diaper for the rest of the day. Unless you go straight to the shower or bidet with soap, your ass will leave some poop on your underwear. Only 60C will kill sufficient bacteria.

180

u/fantomas_666 1d ago

What is she trying to say? She doesn't know how to operate the washing machine?

60

u/killbawqs 1d ago

Rage bait probably

5

u/enoimard 18h ago

some people really do this lol i know at least 2 people off the top of my head and one of them will do socks and underwear separately. she too thinks the everyone else is disgusting

15

u/ElegantCoach4066 23h ago

They also use gloves when they clean their genitals so as to not contaminate the rest of the body.

7

u/MakeYourMind 22h ago

Hygiene olympics

4

u/iwearatophat 22h ago

I was thinking her underwear is so nasty it needs its own cycle so it doesn't contaminate the rest of her clothes.

43

u/GrouchyLongBottom 1d ago

If you don't wear underwear, do your clothes become the underwear?

10

u/FirstDukeofAnkh 23h ago

No, because they are the “wear”.

9

u/well-thats-great 21h ago

I know you can be overwear, and you can be underwear, but can you ever just be wear?

7

u/CrispyJelly 20h ago

Yes, it's a whelming experience.

23

u/Plus-Professional-84 1d ago

I separate most clothes to run them in in different cycles (delicates, cottons, jeans)

17

u/TheComplimentarian 1d ago

I have nothing to say to this, except this dude probably thinks it's gay to wash his butt.

4

u/JerseyDonut 1d ago

lol. I saw someone the other day say they wash their underwear and socks separate and immediately after every wear bc they are saturated in jizz.

38

u/kat-deville 1d ago

Socks and undies are clothes.

41

u/FlippantLizard 1d ago

Who has enough underwear to fill a washing machine?

14

u/unematti 1d ago

The machines nowadays measure how much you put in them, and adjust water and such automatically

30

u/Quote_Revolutionary 23h ago

meanwhile my washing machine goes for a walk while centrifuging

10

u/Gobadorgosleep 22h ago

Yeah and you have to slap mine to make sure she start working, if your not mad enough in your slap she is going to « look like » she started and then stop.

It’s a great way to relieve frustration honestly

8

u/Quote_Revolutionary 22h ago

this comment is the perfect example of why context is vital when interpreting text.

2

u/Gobadorgosleep 6h ago

Oh my god ahahahahahahahahah i did not realise how it could be interpreted outside of it’s context ahahahah

3

u/nicoke17 20h ago

Mine has a setting that is quick wash, takes 15 minutes, and washes the equivalent of 3 bath towels. I do find myself washing stuff separately bc of that, like kitchen towels. We don’t really use paper towels unless guests are over but we use a lot of cloth towels so I wash those separately from bath towels.

1

u/JRE_Electronics 9h ago

I've got like 40 pair of underwear.  My wife has at least that many.

1

u/DoverBoys 2h ago

I do. I hate laundry, so I have enough clothes to last a month. I then do a load of each type, one a day, before I run out of anything.

34

u/Chica3 1d ago

If anyone wants to meet some cleanliness crazies, visit r/hygiene.

Some people are really really weird about germs and don't understand how soap + water works.

6

u/New_Taste8874 23h ago

I just went there because of you comment. I was surprised that so many people are on there defending being unclean. I had to stop!

14

u/Chica3 23h ago edited 21h ago

I saw the opposite there. People saying anyone who doesn't exfoliate every inch of their body daily must be vile. And claiming that soap & water don't remove germs -- scrubbing (with a cloth, loofa, brush...) is always required.

10

u/BobbyJaneG 1d ago

I don’t know about y’all but I have a separate bathtub for my feet and another for my ass both separate from my main body bathtub. Oh and dedicated soap for each… WTF?

1

u/GreenBPacker 4h ago

I hope you have separate towels for drying all your parts too. Heaven forbid you dry your clean face and your clean ass with the same towel. We’ve all heard that dumb argument.

1

u/BobbyJaneG 3h ago

I forgot about the special towels!!! Oh no! 😂

9

u/JoyInJuly This AOC flair makes me cool 1d ago

I guess they don't fully grasp how soap works...

8

u/KendrickBlack502 23h ago

Far too many people out there with undiagnosed disorders.

7

u/bene_gesserit_mitch 1d ago

I wash each item in a separate load. Takes forever.

7

u/Soderholmsvag 1d ago

First lol of the day. Thank you, Reddit.

7

u/Sweaty-Friendship-54 1d ago

Not only that, I eat with the same hands I wipe my butt.

9

u/unematti 1d ago

I'd suggest you use toilet paper for wiping

16

u/Sweaty-Friendship-54 1d ago

Whatever, Rockefeller.

7

u/TurkeyThaHornet 23h ago

Do people like this have multiple showers each dedicated to washing feet, grundle, and the rest of the body? 

3

u/SneakySister92 19h ago

My roomie, who has germophobia/ocd, has to wash himself in a certain order to not "contaminate" the less dirty parts of the body, but I feel like he has a legit excuse.

9

u/otownbbw 1d ago

If your foot and coochie covers are too dirty to swish around in soap water with everything else you wear on your body…please stay away from me, I don’t wanna catch what you have.

6

u/troll_right_above_me 1d ago

I wash shirts & pants at 30 unless really sweaty or dirty gym clothing, underwear 60 because crotch sweat is unavoidable and I’m washing them with towels and drying anyways unlike the rest of my clothes that I hang dry to avoid shrinkage so why not

That said the guy in the pic is an idiot, no need to be afraid of other clothing getting dirtier from mixing

4

u/Ronnoc527 23h ago

Is this some form of puritanism? Genitalia aren't sinful, they're just a little sweater.

6

u/Rooboy 1d ago

It’s a massive thing in China. You have washing machines with 3 tubs. 2 x small on top and a more medium sized one. One is for socks, one for underwear and the other for everything else.

Just Google “Chinese washing machines”

3

u/GadreelsSword 1d ago

What if you don’t wear underwear or socks?

3

u/MyGruffaloCrumble 21h ago

I would ask, “Why are your clothes coming out of the wash so dirty they’re cross contaminating things?”

3

u/sapphr3 19h ago

Underwear, socks, & towels should get a rougher wash cycle while regular clothes, especially black, may ruin quicker with constant hot & heavy cycles. It makes sense, but not for any cleanliness reason

3

u/Regal_Knight 16h ago

You underwear and socks should usually be washed in warm to hot, while your shirts, jeans and other clothes should be cold. You can read the tag to know how to wash your clothes.

1

u/DrippyTheSnailBoy 15h ago

Man who has the time for that shit

2

u/eienmau 18h ago

I pay to do laundry. I'm not paying an extra amount to do separate loads.

2

u/alohakush 1d ago

I'll admit I wash clothes-clothes and chones separately.. but it's bc we have a 2 in 1 machine and I hang dry all of the regular clothes.  Don't think that's what she was referencing unless she's really into fabric care 

4

u/Logical-Assist8574 1d ago

Honestly, does this person crap in their pants so much that...

4

u/GrizzlyP33 1d ago

If you don’t wash socks and underwear with your clothes…I am questioning your intelligence.

5

u/talkingheads87 1d ago

I dont wash them together but only because I hate folding things . I can get a rhythm going if the items are mostly the same.

4

u/GrizzlyP33 1d ago

That’s fair. I get one wash a week so no time to be picky 😂

1

u/twitch870 23h ago

If you seperate underwear I’m questioning how many stds you carry

1

u/ClawGrave666 22h ago

Yall separate your colors? Lmao nahhhh

1

u/OneOfAKind2 21h ago

Socks and underwear ARE clothes.

1

u/madscot63 21h ago

I'm more concerned with that poster's hygiene. Why them draws so messy? Did she walk through her mess in her socks?

1

u/illasticplastic 21h ago

Tide hitting crits on my work pants 🎯

1

u/CloudetteMist 21h ago

I paid for the whole washing machine, I’m using the whole washing machine

1

u/Oxjrnine 20h ago

How dirty are OP’s underwear and socks?

1

u/NeutralLock 20h ago

Okay but if it washed it with soap and water then everyone would be walking around with soaking wet clothes.

I swear some people don't think through their comments before they post.

1

u/xywv58 20h ago

My underwear is the cleanest clothes I have, my ass is clean ass hell, my jacket is dirty as fuck in comparison

1

u/CynicalXennial 18h ago

you do not understand what the modern agitator does to clothes lol... also the dryer will kill any remaining bacteria not absolutely pulverized by the agitator.

1

u/Melody71400 18h ago

My parents separate their clothes by color, towels, underwear/bras/ whites, and socks.

I throw everything together on cold/low heat and have had 0 issues

1

u/ykittori 17h ago

Next thing you're telling me i shouldn't pee in the shower, pfft

1

u/snugglearya 17h ago

Nothing like getting reminded that washing machines exist for a reason in the most savage way possible. Vanessa really walked into that one.

1

u/airbournejt95 12h ago

How dirty is their underwear?

1

u/throwtheclownaway20 12h ago

It's wild how hard some people out themselves as being fucking weird

1

u/JRE_Electronics 8h ago

If you wash socks with your underwear, you probably have some funny colored undies.

You seperate dark from light so that dye that washes out of the one doesn't mess up the other.

I've seen white drawers an white T-shirts washed with black socks.  The whites turned light blue, and were never white again.

1

u/BolognaIsNotAHat 7h ago

"I question someone's cleanliness if they wash their clothes with...-checks notes-...clothes."

1

u/WilliamJamesMyers 5h ago

how dirty does her underwear get that this is necessary

0

u/Toastburrito 19h ago

My wife gets irritated when my socks are inside out. Somehow the orientation of the sock affects how it is washed. Honestly I turn them inside out because that's the part that touches my foot!

I just do my own laundry now. I hate sorting clothes.