Trouble Cold-Washing Laundry

[F_Kal]

Hello people,

I've moved to Qingdao one month now and I've come to realize that having laundry is quite a problem for me. Reason: that the laundry machines we have, work with cold water and it seems dirt stains just don't go away. This is particularly easy to see on white stuff, such as my socks or tshirts. I'm really puzzled.

I'm using powder(Ariel), Dettol and softener that I've bought from here but it seems that I need something *special* to get things clean with cold water...Do you happen to know or use any -easy to find- product that is especially for cold-water laundry? My chinese is really bad and I can hardly read anything on any packaging, so I'd appreciate if you give me some names in hanzi :-)

Thanks a lot

--(Dirty) Fotis

[gougou]

When I lived in a flat with a cold-water washing machine, I hooked its water supply up to the boiler in the kitchen. That way, I did get my stuff somewhat clean (until I hung it out to dry in the sandstorms, that is).

[flameproof]

Have you tried spray paint?

Seriously, you can boy "real" washing machines for little money in many shops. They leave to dirt in, but get the color out. I wonder how they do it?

[imron]

Have you tried spray paint?

On a more serious note, bleach will work to get marks out of white clothes.

[woliveri]

For me washing is not the problem as I can always put a pot of hot water from the stove in the machine. The real problem is Drying the clothes. Especially in the winter. It SUCKS. I would give anything for a real laundrymat here in Shanghai. It's just miserable to have to wait for a sunny day to try to get your laundry done. Right now I have clothes "rotting" on the pole in my apartment because I have no way to dry them. Did I mention it SUCKS???

[flameproof]

I sometimes hang the stuff in my bedroom, the aircon gets it dry, and the higher humidy is more comfortable anyway.

[woliveri]

yeah, that's what I do in the Summer, what about Winter? When it's so damp and cold out. Last year in the apartment I lived I had to stuff toilet paper between all the sliding window panes in order to stay warm and keep the draft out. That worked but when I hung my clothes to dry the damp air created mold on the ceiling and walls and takes like a week to dry.

It is miserable!!!

You seem to be in Hong Kong so you don't know about Shanghai weather. It sucks!!

[cdn_in_bj]

Hehe I guess it must really suck not to have central heating.

[adrianlondon]

Dunno if Shanghai is very different, but winter in Beijing was so dry that having wet laundry hanging up in my room made the atmosphere much more comfortable. And the clothes dried very quickly.

I even bought a humidifier for those days when I didn't have any clothes to dry.

As for washing clothes in cold water - doesn't matter what powder you use, it won't work. Some heat is needed to activate the enzymes (or whatever) in the washing powder/liquid. so you need to either get a better washing machine or add hot water to the wash manually.

[flameproof]

if it's that damp I would get a dehumidifier.

Unattended clothes tends to get moldy in HK, specially leather becomes a soft greenish shorthair fur.

[woliveri]

Shanghai is a lot different than Beijing.

1. We don't have central heating of any kind so I have to use one of those high wattage electric heaters. Last year the only way I could get comfortable is to get under several layers of blankets to stay warm. The only other option is to go to KFC or Burger King and just hang out there. Totally uncomfortable in my Shanghai Apartment. Totally!!

Did I mention it sucks??

Dehumidifier?? Bwaaa haaa haaa haa.. In Shanghai? Do they sell these here?

Heck, I've had trouble finding those in the states, much less Shanghai.

No, the real answer would be a laundry mat with real Dryers. That would take care of the clothes problem.

The cold, damp apartment is another issue.

[roddy]

Winter down that way can be pretty miserable. Nowhere near as cold as the north, but damp. I had an air-conditioning unit which would blow hot air, but the addition of all the warm damp air to the apartment resulted in some interesting mold formations.

As for getting your clothes clean, rule one is don't wear white.

[woliveri]

Tell you what I'm doing Right Now.

My socks won't dry and are starting to stink from the dampness. So now I'm using an iron to dry each sock. Takes about 5 to 10 minutes each sock.

[roddy]

Perhaps you can wrap them around your ears. Your body heat will dry them, and you won't be able to hear the neighbours drills.

PS Got a microwave? Much easier.

[woliveri]

Hey Roddy, That's a great idea!!!

(the microwave, not the ear wraps).

Just popped a set in for a spin. Let's see how this works.

Hey, this could be a business opportunity (laundrymat with dryers) but wonder how many would actually spend money to use it??

[woliveri]

I guess the next thing is to see how I'm going to get my bedsheet in the microwave...

:mrgreen:

[roddy]

erm

It's really just a bad, bad idea. I set one sock on fire. Another one warped into an interesting, decidedly non-foot shape. I noticed that all the socks I microwaved wore out and developed holes quicker than my other socks. So don't do it. No matter how desperate you are.

That said, I'm sure I've done it myself . . .

[woliveri]

well, I just burnt the hell out of a couple of socks and have stunk up with apartment with a nasty smell (almost caught on fire)..

Well, that's something for my noisy neighbors to smell anyway.

[shanghaikai]

An air-conditioner (kong tiao) is also a dehumidifier. I was also not used to hanging clothes out to dry but have mostly managed to adapt and get by...but that's only because I'm not too picky about these things. You can always go buy a dryer. In fact, a lot of landlords that find themselves with a lot of foreign tenants tend to include a dryer with the washing machine these days.

Shanghai and Beijing are definitely very different. Shanghai tends to be rather wet and humid, though not necessary more so than Hong Kong. Summers here can be muggy and winters can be damp, that's for sure, and clothes could hang for a while without getting dry. One of the things that bother me is the feeling that hanging damp clothes out to dry invariably picks up plenty of the dust in the air, and your clothes can end up being a bit stiff.

There are plenty of laundromats in Shanghai if you're that desperate. It'll just cost you, that's all. Have you tried looking them up?

I wouldn't recommend microwaving your socks unless you know 100% what they're made of, since microwaves work by heating up water molecules and may just melt certain fabrics.

[woliveri]

Well, I'm a poor boy here in Shanghai. My apartment last year cost me 1100 rmb a month and this year 1200 a month. If there's a landlord who includs a dryer I can guess the monthly rent would exceed those amounts by quite a bit.

I've looked for laundromats but it's nothing like what we in the states would expect. You give them clothes and they wash or dry it and as you said, quite expensive.

I would like a coin operated place. That would do nicely.