Daniella's Ramblings

Laundry can be a real pain in the derriere. It is hardly the most fun you can have. It takes time and if you get it wrong, your sexy little G-string can become a very, very tiny little G-string fit for a Barbie doll and no more, whilst your ivory coloured silk bra can very easily end up a shade of charcoal. However, failure to do laundry is just gross. So, everyone needs to get some knowledge, get some skills and step into the laundromat!

With that in mind, here is a brief product review that I thought will make your life a little easier and a few top tips for making laundry day a bit less of a drag (yes, I went there) … Firstly, as always separate your laundry and learn what the symbols on the ‘fabric care labels’ mean. Do not tumble dry items that should not be dried, do not bleach coloured items (in fact stay away from bleach as much as possible) and make sure delicate items are washed separately and that you do dark, light and white laundry in separate washes.

If you can, get a washing machine that has both ‘delicate’ and ‘hand wash’ cycles in addition to all the other cycles and that allows you to control water temperature and spin cycles. Always wash your clothes on the coolest temperature cycle you can. This minimises shrinkage and stretching, is good for the environment and saves money. You do of course need to get them clean, so some heat may be necessary.  I would also suggest getting some good laundry detergent that is made to be used on delicate items. ‘Woolite’ is a brand name that you may be aware of. Finally invest in laundry bags. These are (usually) nylon bags with a zip that you can put your delicate items into to protect them when being bashed around inside the washing machine. Do not overload these bags as if you make them to full the clothes may not come clean in the wash.

We have typically washed panties in the washing machine on the ‘delicate’ and/or ‘hand wash’ cycle using the ‘cold water’ setting and have washed bras by hand. This has worked well and we have not had any problems with shrinkage or stretching (apart from the usual age related stretching of elastic that eventually happens). We usually put our panties, especially those with lace and other decorative trims) in the laundry bags and this has protected them well. But we have always washed bras by hand. We have always been worried that the underwire elements could get damaged in a washing machine and have also been concerned about the bra’s clips damaging other items and the elasticated material of the bra is more delicate than other fabrics. Finally bras often just have more decorative features than other items and so it seemed prudent to wash them by hand, especially as bras can be quite pricey items.

Hand washing, however, is dull, tedious and can be less than ideal for one’s manicure. My spouse found this wonderful product in a local pharmacy:

It is what it says on the can, a bag for washing bras. It is a polyhedron of roughly a pyramid shape. It is made of nylon and zips closed. The label says it can take up to three bras and that is true of small to medium sized bras, but it can really only take two of my spouse’s larger cup sizes.

You close the bras’ clasps, put them in the bag, zip closed and put the bag in the washing machine. As noted above we typically wash the bras and other undies on a ‘delicate’ cycle with cold water and preferably (but not exclusively) with a delicate detergent. After around 30 minutes you can hang the bras on the washing line or clothes horse to dry and within two to three hours (depending on the weather) you are good to go.

Being able to safely wash bras in the washing machine gets them properly clean (I am not always convinced that hand washing is ideal), cuts down on time taken to wash and makes you more likely to wash the bras regularly thus actually preserving the bra for longer.

We were initially concerned about padded bras keeping their shape, but the construction of this polyhedron bag means that the bra is supported by the bag (its pyramid shape forms a protective cage around the bra) and stops it from getting crushed and distorted in the machine. The bra is probably at more risk from crushing when being stored than it is when being washed. The bra bags are available from Dischem stores and should set you back around R40 (that is around US$3.50). We are very happy with ours and can recommend this product to you.

As an aside I realise that for the closeted crossdressers and other gender non-conforming people out their laundry day can be decidedly problematic. I have even heard of people disposing of clothes because they have been unable to get them cleaned. It is for this reason that Priscilla’s Services includes a laundry service as part of the services we render to our clients. If you need any help whatsoever when it comes to your need for a safe and discrete service please contact Priscilla’s Services.

 

 

I fully relaise that when most of us want to read about bras, panties, corsets, suspender belts, hosiery and other items of lingerie we are usually more interested in the sexier, less mundane elements than laundry, but hey, a girl has got to do what a girl has got to do. Don’t say I never bring you the full experience. Normal service will resume shortly, I hope…