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In brief
The Cold Months
Killing bed bugs, moths and ticks in your laundry
Does washing kill bed bugs, moths and ticks? Only if it gets hot enough for long enough, and the number on the dial can’t tell you whether it did.
16 min readThe Cold Months
Drying clothes indoors without the damp or the smell
Is drying clothes indoors bad for you? Not on its own. A load of washing gives off about two litres of water, and it goes out of a window, into a dehumidifier, or onto the coldest wall in the room.
11 min readThe Cold Months
Can you wash a down jacket?
Usually, yes. The down itself is better washed than dry-cleaned. What leaves a jacket flat and lumpy is the drying, and the dryer is how you fix it.
9 min read
Straight answers about the things nobody agrees on.
Written carefully, sourced where sources exist, and free.
How Often
The whole scheduleHow often to wash everything.
The answer first, then the argument. Honest intervals for the things nobody agrees on, and why the scary numbers are usually wrong.
The Recipe
Exactly how much detergent to use.
For a full drum of everyday cotton, not very dirty, in a 7 kg machine. Change the two things that move the number most, then take it to your own load.
70 ml
About 2.4 fl oz.
At 40°C.A warm wash, 104°F. Softener if you like it.
We’ve adjusted this for a full drum and hard water. You said you’re not sure about your water, so we’ve assumed it’s hard. Most packs don’t ask for more than this, so the dose stops here.
Now for the load in front of youTry it here
Pick a garment. Read its label.
Six garments we’ve read for you; the app reads yours.
The label says
Your white cotton shirt
The one you iron badly on a Sunday night.
Your grey jumper
Merino. Remember, this is protein, so it won’t be the only one breaking down if you choose to use a bio detergent.
Your dark jeans
The indigo is not as permanent as it looks.
Your silk blouse
The label is stricter than the fabric, usually.
Your running kit
Technical fabric, and the softener is the enemy.
Your bath towels
The one load where hot is genuinely the right answer.
The decoder
Open the decoder
Every care symbol, decoded.
The international and American systems side by side, in plain words, with a page for each of the symbols on your labels.
The Journal
The whole JournalStart with the pile in front of you.
Everything we’ve written, sorted by subject rather than by date. Each chapter grows as we write.
- The WhyThe wash is the smallest part of looking after clothes. What you do in the days between decides how often you need one.The founding piece · 5 min
- How OftenHonest intervals for the things nobody agrees on: sheets, towels, jeans, gym clothes and the rest. Knowing the number is the easy part.6 pieces, and the schedule
- The Festive PlaybookThe laundry the festive weeks leave behind, from the table’s stains to the spare bed and the party clothes.3 pieces
- The WashWhat goes on inside the drum: the water, the heat and the detergent, and which of them is doing the work.One piece · 10 min
- DryingThe dryer, the line, the rack and the radiator, and what each one really does to the things you own.One piece · 9 min
- The Cold MonthsThe laundry that only turns up when it’s cold, from wool jumpers to down jackets, and everything else in between.4 pieces
- StainsWhy a stain won’t wash out, and what will, starting with what it’s made of.One piece · 6 min
The app · iPhone, iPad, Mac and Android
All of this, made personal.
This site gives everyone the same good answer. The app gives you yours: the dose for the bottle on your shelf, a temperature you can stand behind, the machine looked after, and the week’s washing shared out fairly with the people you live with.
Free on both stores, and you can begin without an account.
- Your cupboard
- What’s on your shelf, from more than three hundred detergents stocked for twenty-three markets, or your own in seconds. It counts every wash down and tells you when to restock.
- Machine care
- The drum is looked after too: when a maintenance wash is due, and what your water is doing to it, kept for the whole house.
- Your household
- One cupboard for everyone, washes asked for and done, on iPhone and Android alike. Nobody changes phones to join in.
The guidance is free. PRO keeps the record and runs the house: your whole wash history, schedules and allowances, and the house’s own reading of the machine.
See inside the app
