<p>One of my Ds (almost 16) has been generating a large amount of laundry lately (practice clothes and towels mostly) so I told her she needs to start washing at least some of it during the week. She has developed a strategy of placing the clothes/towels (no sorting, mind you) in the washing machine at night, and turning the washer on then (if its not too late–we have a rather noisy washer) or in the morning. The wet clothes then sit in the washer unti she gets home and puts them in the dryer.</p>
<p>I am a little compulsive about wash–everything gets sorted, and put in the dryer pretty quickly, usually. Wet clothes sitting in the washer makes me worry about mildew and other germ-like things but maybe I am worrying too much.</p>
<p>As a working mom with two athletic D’s, we have to fit the laundry in when we can. There are many times when I’ll start a load in the washer before leaving for work at 6:30 am, and it will sit there until I move it to the dryer at 5:00 pm. Been doing this for 15+ years, and no mildew or infection issues yet!</p>
<p>I like to sort laundry by color / fabric durability. DH sorts by “layer in the laundry basket” (i.e. he washes whatever is on top). While I think my way is the correct way, we seem to survive when DH runs a load. And I’m not going to fight with him…at least he’s pitching in and helping. </p>
<p>The only thing I’ve been able to teach him is to leave the delicates for the girls and me to wash. After he ruined our nice bras by drying them on high heat, and I explained to him the cost to re-equip three females, he learned to pull the delicates out of the pile.</p>
<p>imho it depends on your individual household environment whether wet clothes will mildew overnight. If they haven’t so far, I think you are okay. I don’t have any idea about the germy thing. Several years back I went to all white linens so I could easily use a little bleach and that completely solves the mildew issue with towels, though not with the colored sports clothes. I have no experience with the color-fast bleach/detergents.</p>
<p>I can’t really comment on the mildew, but can on the sorting. </p>
<p>NO ONE is our house sorts laundry. We only seperate towels from everything else. When we do laundry, we throw in a load(with whites, darks, everything) and simply wash it on cold…it has NEVER been a problem</p>
<p>I will get mildew (slight smell) in the summer if I leave a load in for a day, unless it is whites that I have used bleach with. The rest of the year no problem.</p>
<p>Years ago I invested in one of those laundry hampers with three sections. Just put the clothes/towels in the right section and the laundry is sorted. I love it.</p>
<p>I frequently start a load of laundry in the AM before work and dry it when I get home and it has never been a problem.</p>
<p>I know it may sound gross, but I threw Foot odor killer in my mildew clothes so I could kill the yeast, and hten I washed it separately and it worked! Sorry I didn’t mean to gross anyone out,lol</p>
<p>I’m guilty of leaving clothes in the washer overnight and then putting them in the dryer the next morning. ( I do separate.) I never thought much of leaving the wet clothes overnight, until I read this article in Prevention Magazine. The website below has a reprint of the article. I reacted to the article the way I react when I see those tv news programs that show all the bacteria that’s lurking in your kitchen on sponges and dish cloths. After I see these shows, I get really vigilant and follow all the suggestions and then I get lazy again.</p>
<p>Here is my washing “philosophy”. Clothes that go in the dryer will be steam-sterilized upon drying, so no problems with them sitting in the washer for a few extra hours. Clothes that need to be air-dried should be prompltly taken out of the washer.</p>
<p>Well, you will know my high school senior son by his dingy whites, his muted colors and wrinkled shirts. </p>
<p>You will know me by my bright whites, my brilliant colors and my wrinkle-free clothing.</p>
<p>I love for my laundry to be just so, and diligently sort it all. He jams it all in the washing machine together. But as long as he is doing it all by himself, I grin and bear it. However, I will remind him from time to time that he was raised better than that :D</p>
<p>I wouldn’t worry about mildew unless it smelled bad either.</p>
<p>We never sort anything in our house. Everything is washed together in cold water, and it works out fine. We do not, however, leave wet clothes sitting in the washer. Then they smell like mildew. No thanks.</p>