Doing laundry at DVC accommodations

[mrsminniemouse]

Hi!
I am sure you will all think I am nuts for asking this question...but here goes.

Do you dry ALL of your laundry in the dryer when staying in a DVC villa? Here in England I use my 'tumble dryer' as we call it, but only for towels, underwear (not bras), socks and bedding. I always think it will shrink other stuff or cause it to go out of shape. I dry my washing outside on the line or on a drying rack indoors, but obviously I cannot do that at SSR. So really, does using the dryer ruin t-shirts, trousers, baby clothes and other stuff?

Maybe this is an odd English thing, but many of our clothes labels state 'Do not tumble dry' so I don't!!!!

Any words of wisdom?

Also I have read of colour catcher sheets so you can mix colours in the wash. What are they called and do they really work? You cannot buy them here.

Mandy Who is very excited to get to an American store to buy some cool stuff we cannot get here!!!

 

[rpink58]

I know in my household and I believe most american households use the dryer to dry all clothes. Most dryers have the delicate cycle . When at DVC we wash and dry all our clothes.

 

[OneMoreTry]

All-cotton pants will shrink in a dryer -- mine lose an inch or more -- if they've not been dried before. T-shirts are OK (cotton shrinks again) unless they have pressed-on pictures/words which can dry and crack after several dries.

Most of our clothes don't say "do not tumble dry." At least we don't buy many that say that 'cause we use our dryer.

 

[Chuck S]

Is there a reason the British clothes say Do Not Tumble Dry? The dryers work fine for cottons and synthetics, but certainly don't use them for anything that has wool, silk, or ramie (sp) fibers. You don't see ramie too often, it is a natural plant fiber, but it doesn't do well in the dryer. Linen (flax) products usually dry fine in the dryers, but they often need ironing.

Sorry, I can't answer your color catcher sheet question, I've seen them advertised, but never used one.

 

[pklein09]

I dry everything except bras in the dryer. If you're not sure about drying certain things in the dryer, there should be a retractable clothes line in the master bathroom. You can drape your clothes over that.

As for the color catcher sheets, I remember them being advertised a while ago, but I haven't seen them lately. I've never used them, so I'm not sure if they're still available. I typically sort my laundry, but on vacation, I just put everything from the end of the day in the washer. I washed and rinsed on cold, and I didn't have any colors bleed.

Hope this helps. Have a wonderful trip!!! And pack and extra suitcase for all your buys at American stores!!!

 

[Deb & Bill]

I dry them all in the dryer (except pantyhose, they tend to melt). But I use different temperatures. Lots of times I use low or no heat cycle for some of those delicate type things.

 

[amee]

I just saw the color catchers at Target here in Seattle. i haven't used them, but have read several posts on people who have done it.........

 

[Regina]

I see that you'll have a 2 bedroom. We usually use one closet as the "clothes dryer". We simply hang the items that we don't put in the dryer on hangars in that closet (leaving the door to that closet open), and it works fine.

I have the worst luck with laundry in the DVC units. I wash everything in cold water but there's a big difference with cold water in NY than what comes out of the tap in FL. I always seem to shrink something, even when it's hung to dry. (Our clothes not fitting has nothing to do with eating out every day. ) That's my story and I'm sticking with it.

 

[dis-happy]

I'm with you---most of my clothing is 100% cotton and it never goes into the dryer. I was going to suggest (as above) that you hang your things up on hangars and hang it to dry on the bathroom shower bar. Because I wash almost everything in cold water (lights in one load, darks in another) color transer is not a problem. LOL--too bad Disney magic doesn't extend to the laundry getting done while you are out playing. Where's Snow White when you need her?

 

[AFMom]

I could use Snow White around my house right about now! I dry everything on low heat - and our clothes almost never shrink. High heat shrinks everything!!! If you decide to line dry in your closet, try tossing them in the dryer after their dry to fluff out the wrinkles..... no one should have to iron on vacation!!!!

 

[MommaluvsDis]

What I do is toss my things that might shrink, tee shirts, good tops , etc. for just about 10 minutes in the dryer. This gets them just warm enough to help the wrinles fall out when I then put them on hangers and hang them up in an enpty closet. The rest of the things, underwear, socks, etc I let them continue in the dryer. I never put my bras in the dryer.

 

[CarolMN]

Originally posted by dis-happy
...(snip).....LOL--too bad Disney magic doesn't extend to the laundry getting done while you are out playing. Where's Snow White when you need her?

Originally posted by AFMom
I could use Snow White around my house right about now! ...(snip).....

Hmmmm ... I thought it was Cinderella who had the cleaning and laundry experience? Never did quite understand the relationship between Snow White and the Dwarves. Surely, she didn't have to keep house for all those men, did she? It's no wonder she agreed to eat that apple - probably the only break she could get, poor thing!

Best wishes -

 

[llp479]

You can buy Shout Color Catching sheets at most stores here in the US. I use them for everything. I still sort my laundry at home, but on the road I've been known to just throw it in and use a couple of the sheets just to be safe. Obviously anything new and red I still do on it's own.

We've had au pairs from South Africa and Australia whose clothes all say not to tumble dry. We've done them on low heat and haven't shrunk anything yet. I also don't let anything all cotton completely dry in the dryer. I take them out while still damp, and hang them to dry.

 

[eileenfk]

A few years ago, at OKW, we hung stuff out on the patio.
I wasn't a member then, and didn't know that there was a rule against that.
Now that I have read the hand book, I know that there is a rule against hanging anything out on the balcony (or patio).

At home (where it rains so often) I more often use the dryer.
I buy stuff, that I know will shrink, large enough and then shrink it before wearing. This is not a perfect strategy. Often the stuff I expect to shrink the most shrinks the least and the stuff I expect to shrink the least shrinks the most.

Eileen

 

[Mr Poohbrain]

Love the color catchers!

My favorite color is red, so I always end up doing a seperate load of that color. I use the catchers to prevent "bleeding" and it really works. I've mixed reds with darks, though, I probably wouldn't recommend putting your reds in with whites or lights, even on cold. But, that's just me.


Color-catching geek,
Mrs. Poohbrain

 

[PhilUK]

From one English family to another !
We dry everything at DVC and have not had a problem yet.
If you end up with one item a bit damp leave it over the headrest in the car the next day !

Phil, Julia & Kyle

 

[patsal]

I dry everything (except bras) on low, if it is still damp when the load finishes I hang it in the extra closet as well. I also run the swimsuits through the dryer for a few minutes to get the excess water out before hanging them to complete the dry.
Both Shout and Woolite make color catchers. They both work the same. I use them at home on red loads, especially if something red has white or light trim. No bleeding into the white that way. They work great, but when I'm at DVC I really don't mix the loads so I really don't need them. Usually have a load of whites every two days, denim, khaki, and non-bleeding brights. I just do a load every night and one extra to rinse the swimsuits out.

 

[mrsminniemouse]

Thanks everyone for your replies and tips. It will be so useful to have laundry facilities in the room. Bet I still pack way too many clothes though!

 

[eileenfk]

Originally posted by Mr Poohbrain
Love the color catchers!

My favorite color is red, so I always end up doing a seperate load of that color. I use the catchers to prevent "bleeding" and it really works. I've mixed reds with darks, though, I probably wouldn't recommend putting your reds in with whites or lights, even on cold. But, that's just me.


Color-catching geek,
Mrs. Poohbrain

Pink is my favorite color, so I am always looking for reds to wash in my combined pink and white load.

Eileen