We are fortunate that we have a washer and dryer in our coach. For those of you that have to go to the laundromat, you have my full sympathy. I personally hate those places. I find that most are dirty and the machines are in disrepair plus I think sitting and watching a dryer go around and around is a big waste of time. I love being able to throw a load in and continue with my daily routine. It took awhile for me to master this task though. Understanding what settings to use, what detergent to use and what to expect was a learning curve. We had our coach for 2 yrs before I even tried my machines mainly because we were not full time and only took short trips so I’d just wash clothes in the house when we returned. When we had our estate sale, one of the first thing that sold was my washer and dryer. Before we got on the road, we had to do laundry so off to the laundromat we went. What a disaster! It was the first time in 40 yrs that we used a laundromat. The prices were astronomical (what happened to a couple quarters to wash and 10 cents to dry a load?). Plus we left a load there that never made it to the dryer and had to go back to get it. Disaster! Ha! So the next time we had to do laundry, we used the washer and dryer in the coach. Another disaster! What? It takes and hour to wash and an hour to dry? Geez. So here’s some of the things I learned. Laundry day is much easier now. I’ve got this mastered.

WASHING

• Don’t fill the washing machine too full. This is not your home type machine. It’s smaller and you need to leave some room for clothes to get a good washing but you can still do quite a bit.
• We have a Splendide stackable W/D. I usually only use setting #4. Why? Because it washes most items and has the highest RPM (revolutions per minute) for wringing out the water. This makes drying faster.
• We use only liquid detergent for HE (High Efficiency) washers. We tried using the pods but after finding one of the plastic casings that didn’t dissolve sitting in my gasket, I decided that’s not a good thing so switched back to liquid.
• I used a permanent marker to mark my detergent/bleach/fabric softer reservoirs because I could never remember which was which and would have to refer to the manual each time. That issue disappeared when I quit using bleach and fabric softener.
• I quit using bleach because I have a little section of carpet in front of my W/D and was always fearful that I would splash the bleach and create a permanent reminder of clumsy I am. Instead I use powdered Oxy Clean which works on both colored and white clothes and works really well in my opinion. Just add a scoop to the washer with the clothes. You can add a little more if you have a heavily soiled load – like my husband’s cleaning rags (oh I hate those bad boys!).
• I quit using fabric softener in my wash and solely used fabric softening sheets but then I discovered a less costly way to soften my clothes in the dryer as well as speed up drying – wool balls? What? You haven’t heard of them? Neither had I but I saw a post on them and decided to check them out. See the DRYING section below for more info. You’ll be amazed!
• Front load washers have a tendency to smell musty. That’s due to mold building up on the gasket if you don’t let it dry thoroughly between uses. When I am finished washing for the day, I will dry the gasket really good (pull it back and get into every crack and crevice). I then will put a couple folded paper towels in the gasket letting a couple inches stick up so I will be reminded to remove it before washing. Make sure you dry off the door too. I leave the door open until the last load in the dryer has finished just to be sure it dries good inside.
• I’m partial to nice smelling towels and sheets and since the wool balls don’t impart any smell, I use the fragrant beads in my washer.
• When wash day is over, where do you stores all those cleaning products? In the washer of course!!! Make sure your lids are tightened down and stick them in there! They travel just fine in the washer.

DRYING

Drying is pretty straight forward. Just follow the instructions in the manual and you should be good. But of course I have a few tips to help!

• Have you heard of Wool Balls? Well if you haven’t, don’t fret. I hadn’t either. Saw a post on Face Book and decided to check it out. They naturally soften clothes, removed wrinkles, speeds up drying and saves you money. I did my research (I’m so anal about researching before buying) and eventually bought them to try out. I have been very impressed with them. I decided on the Wool Dryer Balls by Smart Sheep and bought them on Amazon for $16.95 at the time. I have been using them for several months and can highly recommend them.
  • SOFTENS LAUNDRY NATURALLY: No Chemicals or Synthetics Used (great for those with sensitive skin & babies). Removes wrinkles better.
  • SHORTENS DRY TIME: Saves time, money and energy! (use 3 balls for small/med load, 5-6 for large)
  • ECO-FRIENDLY: Lasts for a Thousand-Plus Loads (saves money!)

• A small flashlight and a long pair of hemostats (at least 10″ or longer) will be your best friends for getting the lint out of your dryer reservoir. Clean the filter after each load and at least once a month or as needed, use the flashlight to check for lint build up, coins, screws and various other debris that gets trapped there. The hemostats work great to get down to the bottom and pick up the lint and those pesky coins and screws that your husband will in advertanly leave in his pants pockets! Don’t forget to clean the permant filter too. You can rub it with your fingers to remove a lot of the lint and also use the hemostat to get the lint trapped in the little squares of the plastic filter.

Wash Day has been greatly improved now but only through trail and error. Hopefully you’ve learned something from my mistakes!

Happy Wash Day!