Laundry in Lithuania (long but with pics and questions) - YouLookFab Forum

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Laundry in Lithuania (long but with pics and questions)

Amanda

I have a small front-loading washing machine in my apartment, which I am excited about because it's the first time I've had a front-loading machine and I know they are easier on clothes. It also has very specific settings for different types of loads -- not just delicate and normal. (I'm also excited that the tub is deep enough for me to soak in but that's a different topic!)
http://i514.photobucket.com/al.....CF2349.jpg

As is common in Lithuania, I don't have a dryer to go with the washing machine. I think this is fairly common in Europe -- at least it was when I lived in England a few years ago. Our European forum friends can correct me if I'm wrong. This isn't a problem for my clothes since I already hung dry most of them in Seattle. However, it presents a challenge when washing sheets and towels. Fortunately, I'm in an older building with radiator heat. This is a trick I learned last time I was in Lithuania:
http://i514.photobucket.com/al.....G_0049.jpg

The radiators are under deep window sills (almost window seats) and, once wiped clean, they make a great drying rack! Another trick, which I've been told about but never tried, is to hang sheets and towels on the line outside in below freezing weather. The water in the laundry freezes, then you simply crack the ice and shake it out. Voila - dry sheets and towels!

My landlord's daughter took me shopping my first day here and made sure I bought the right kind of detergent. She also insisted that I buy fabric softener. I don't use softener in Seattle but I do use dryer sheets for sheets and towels so I figured softener would work for those since I'm now dryer-less.

My questions:

1) The water here is very hard and I don't know how that will affect my clothes. Does anyone know of tricks for laundering clothes in very hard water? Is there some kind of additive I should use when I wash clothes?

2) The weather here is a dry cold and I've noticed that my clothes have a fair bit of static. I wasn't planning to use softener when I wash my clothes but I am wondering if that would help with the static. I am always nervous about using softener with clothes because it seems that it can leave a residue.

Thanks for your advice!

General

18 replies

Latest reply was from Becky

Nicole

Veteran

Hi aj!

I have read that in Europe is common to have a washer and dryer in one single unit. (Not the kind that stack, but an actual machine that washes then dries w/out taking the clothes out of one box and putting them into another). It must be a space issue.

Anyway, I do use liquid fabric softener (just not on my towels--because I like stiff towels that scratch my back!) The softener does not seem to help static though. It's very dry here in New England in the winter too--and sometimes I use Static Guard (it comes in a spray can--not sure if it's available in Lithuania?) But I wouldn't want to spray my sheets with it or anything.

Also, do you have a wooden drying rack?

I don't know much about hard water, but I did find this for you:

http://www.hardwater.org/minimising_effects.html

shiny

Veteran

I have no idea about your questions but - how tall are your ceilings in the bathroom? In the place we stayed in Paris, they had very tall ceilings and used a drying rack hung from the ceiling that could be raised or lowered using a pulley mechanism. This was a family of 7, and this drying rack accomodated quite a bit of sheets and towels at once. It just got fairly heavy and hard to raise when wet!

Ana

(website)

Veteran

Your apartment in Lithuania looks nice AJ! I'm glad you're having a good time and discovering new things.

In Boise where I grew up, the weather is also very, very dry. Static electricity is an issue. Do they sell dryer sheets at all in Lithuania? If so, sometimes you can take one (buy one that is supposed to help with static cling the way Downey advertises), and just rub whatever it is that has static. You don't have to rub it in, just wipe it across the fabric lightly until the static is gone. It's not perfect, but it can help. Also, if you use liquid fabric softener in the wash, you can always run the clothes through an extra rinse cycle after they are finished washing if you are worried about residue. I have to do that for Brendan when I wash our sheets with bleach, because he has sensitive skin.

Anonymous

What a dilemma! You never realize how much you rely on something until you have to change your routine a bit. I will echo Shiny and propose using ceiling space. I've tacked a drying line along my apartment ceiling before, using it for laundry when no one is visiting, or drying and displaying my artwork when company comes.

When I lived in CO I was in an area that had hard water. I noticed that the water and our old top-loading machine seemed to wear my clothes out faster than the top-loading machine and softer water my parents had. Since you have a front-loading washer, it sounds like you won't have half the problem I did. I washed a lot of items with a mild detergent that claimed to help soften water... the downside is that the hard water isn't softened for the whole cycle, just for the wash. The rinse cycle water is still hard. I've also had friends that installed a sort of water-softening device to the water pipes of their homes or washing machines... I'm not very knowledgeable about how it works or where you would find such a thing, but maybe that it's something to look into....

Amanda

My apartment is in an old building -- hence the radiators -- and has beautiful high ceilings every where but in the bathroom! I do have a drying line and will figure out how to rig it up. My brother actually had one of those washer/dryer combo machines when he lived in the city in San Francisco. He said that it worked well for light-weight items but never fully dried heavier items like towels.

The detergent that I bought doesn't say anything about hard water -- I'll look at some other brands when I go to the store next. I'll guess I'll just see what happens! I was mostly wondering if the hard water might discolor clothes like it leaves deposits on cookware. But maybe I'm just being too anxious! I did a few clothing items tonight and they seem to have come out just fine.

Nicole

Veteran

Are there any dry cleaners or laundromats in the area??

Anonymous

Just want to say "Hi" and that I'm enjoying living vicariously through your posts and photos. My son in Japan is hoping to find a tiny washer for his tiny apt. After your picture of radiator drying, I'm wondering if he can use that technique.

Laura

(website)

Veteran

Had to comment that your hardwood floors look absolutely gorgeous.

Hope you get your laundry situation figured out ... it seems you've got lots of good advice.

Keep us posted!

marianne

Nice use of the radiator! I grew up without a dryer too, and we'd hang towels on a line. There also might be a laundry service - where you drop of your sheets and towels and pick them up in a couple of days, they used to be fairly common. Good luck!

shana

Veteran

aj, great to hear from you and your adventures in Lithuania! I suggest a good dryer rack to hang your clothes - do you have an IKEA nearby? They have a couple of different options for inexpensive dryer racks.

I have a European front loader that works like a dream. It really is so much better on your clothes and uses less water than top loading models. We have very hard well water here and sometimes I notice that my whites don't seem to get that white - I believe it is from the hard water. I have tried a water softening agent (calgon) which helped a little but I was told that the only thing that could really help our situation was a water filtration system.

I have also heard that hard water can make it hard to wash out the soap from your clothes so they end up with alot of soap residue. Adding a 1/4 cup or so of vinegar instead of fabric softner helps with getting out the soap and will combat the static cling and keep your clothes soft without having to use fabric softener.

Maya

Veteran

I think liquid softener is fine and won't leave a residue. If you're talking about Bounce-type dryer sheets, do they even have them there? I only ask because my friend from Australia always stocks up on Bounce whenever she comes here because she doesn't get anything like that there.

I'm not a laundry expert so I'll leave you in the hands of others there. But I don't think liquid softener is a problem.

shana

Veteran

Well, technically, fabric softener DOES leave a residue on your clothing - that's actually how to works to "soften" the fabric. But in my post, I was referring to soap residue which can be an issue when washing clothes in hard water. Generally, laundry "experts" do not advise the use of fabric softener on towels since the chemicals in the softener adhere to the fibers and reduce the water absorbancy. Anyway, what I was trying to say that adding a little vinegar would aid in reducing some of the hard water issues AND function in a similar fashion (though by a different mechanism) to fabric softener in terms of reducing static cling. Yes, I'm a chemistry geek (as well as a laundry fanatic).

Maya

Veteran

Oh, I wasn't replying to you Shana. I hadn't even bothered to do much more than skim over the other replies. You probably (well, definitely) know better than I do.

Amanda

Thanks, Shana, for the hard water tips. I was concerned that my clothes would look a bit dreary from the hard water. I'll see if I can find Calgon or something like it. I'll also try the vinegar trick. It's a bit of a challenge because there are very few US brands here -- mostly products produced in Germany or Poland or Slovakia so I'm often guessing what exactly I'm getting. My Lithuanian is pretty good but my vocabulary for laundry and house cleaning terminology isn't that well developed!

I suspect that a water filtration system would be much more than I'm willing to pay for an 8 month stay.

And Maya, you are correct about the dryer sheets. I haven't seen them here yet. That could be a product that is US-specific.

Inge

(website)

Hi Aj, it's so interesting to read about day-to-day reality in other countries.

As far as the dryer is concerned: I think this varies very much from country to country in Europe. In Belgium e.g. almost everyone has a washer and a dryer (but not in a single unit). I'm the exception to the rule, since I don't have a dryer. I use a foldable clothes dryer, very similar to this one:
http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/cata.....s/80119043
You'd be amazed at how much laundry this can hold, and it doesn't take up much space when it's folded. It easily fits between a closet and the wall.

I hadn't heard of dryer sheets either, so I can imagine they won't be available in Lithuania.
By the way: top-loading washers and dryers are still very rare here (when I was younger, I only knew them from watching American tv series;-). Maybe it's a silly question, but why exactly are front-loading washers easier on your clothes?

By the way: Henkel is a large German corporation that also produces cleaning and laundry products. On the website you can see which brands they sell. Maybe some of them are available in Lithuania? I thought it might help if you could do some research online and read more about what each product does...
http://www.henkel.com/cps/rde/.....E_HTML.htm

Amanda

Inge -- the laundry detergent I have is made by Henkel so I'll definitely check out their website. As for top-loading vs. front-loading washing machines...

Top loading machines have a post in the middle that agitates the clothes around the tub. Clothes can get wrapped up on the post and easily twisted, stretched and tangled. I tried to find a picture but I wasn't able to so I hope that makes sense. Front-loading washing machines flip clothes over so they don't get twisted and stretched out of shape.

Anonymous

I just want to add that it is great to hear from you AJ and experience your adventures through your posts. Even hearing about your laundry adventures is interesting.
Your apartment is nice and looks like it will be very homey and cozy.
Are you able to watch the Golden Globe's awards there?

Becky

Veteran

I love hearing about your experiences, AJ. Keep the posts coming!