The wife made what I thought was an absurd comment this morning

Which was that she doesn’t want my dirty bike clothes being washed in the same machine as the baby’s stuff. She suggested that my clothes should be hosed down after a ride!!!

IMO this is ridiculous but it did get me thinking, should I pre-rinse bike clothes or indeed do an empty wash after washing muddy bike clothes?

What do you lot do?

I could understand not wanting them washed at the same TIME as the baby clothes, as really mucky riding stuff often needs a couple of goes to get all the grot out, but not even being washed in the same machine? that’s a bit mental if you ask me…

if they’re really muddy then I tend to hose them down when I clean the bike.

I’ve no idea whether the average bug that lives in cow poo can survive a low temperature wash tbh, but I can see why your wife migh be concerned.

for a quiet life it’s not too much extra work to get the worst off before you bung them in is it?

if really bad i hose mine down before they go in washing machine, or as least a quick hand-wash in the sink with running water.

You ride in mud.
You filth bag.

i rinse my stuff off, either hose it off or give it a squeeze in the sink, if i don’t then the washing machine is full of silt afterwards.

Rub Jr up and down the nearest cow. Cant beat getting their immune system up to scratch from an early age. Makes the mixed wash irrelevant. You may or may not wish to tell your wife what you’ve done though…

Why wouldn’t you hose the worst crap off your kit first, a new washing machine as the first one dies due to having to deal with excessive dirt going through it, will cut into your new bike fund too 😉
Obviously you’re not talking about putting it in with the babies stuff on the same wash, right?

Quick rinse in the sink to get the worst off and then wash them on their own… too much sand/grit/mud going through the washing machine all the time does it no good in my experience.

Not for the sake of the baby but for the sake of the mashing machine I rinse down my bike gear…just imagine the sand and rock grinding round the seals and drums at 1200rpm of a washing machine…nothing more boring than shelling out for new white goods!

Of course I don’t put it in with the baby’s stuff!!! I’m not that thick no matter what Scruff, Stu & Dnakey would have you believe.

Looks like I’ll be giving stuff a quick hose from now on then. Cheers doods.

Your wife has an opinion?

I always pre-hose down my really dirty cycling clothes but the reason for this is to keep the machine running longer without having to change the filters etc.

This sort of thing will happen a lot – my wife did it with our little one. Everything becomes a potential danger to him. My favourite was that my electic items were dangerous and had to be removed, hers were ok because the electricity was more powerful with mine. Cycle stuff in the same washing machine was another. Any item which had touched meat, even though it had been washed, was not allowed anywhere near the work surfaces, chopping boards etc. Any drink I left was too near the edge and I was causing danger to him. Going out of the house with him when there is frost on the grass. The list is endless…. Life became a constant fight, but there you go. She is a fantastic Mum and had his interests at heart, but I think there is a danger with mothers to just lose a slight grip on reality sometimes. Thankfully this period has more or less passed.

Anyway, what I’m saying is either put your foot down and fight it, or suck up the pain and do as she suggests.

I hose down outer layers before dumping them in the outside sink for a quick swill round, I then leave them in a bucket with the rest of the laundry.
No idea what happens to them after that, they magically appear back in my bike kit box all warm, clean and dry

You’re wife has a point BTW

Is this your first baby?
If so, don’t worry, by the time the second one comes along everyone’s more relaxed and your Wife will probably let you use it as a mudguard.

Desert spoon of napisan in with the detergent will kill most bugs on a low temperature wash too.

It’s just common sense to rinse the worse of the crap of first if you’ve got the facilities to do so, regardless of whether you’ve got kiddie winkies or not

Yup I will pre-rinse if there serious will hose them down whilst wearing to get the thick off, mud sometimes does stay in the washer if there’s a lot of it on clothes. So yes she has a point.

Never mind that if there is a residue of conditioner it could knacker technical materials !!!!

We used washable nappies with our two. I don’t think anybody is going to worry about a bit of mud after that !!

We used washable nappies with our two.

we did with our second. Started out washing them separatly. They ended up just being chucked in with everything else.

I tried not to think about it, tbh.

As Jota
Hose,but if it’s bad ,in to a bucket for a soak,then washed on it’s own.

Although ,as I am the perfect partner in every respect,I share all the household tasks, so I manage to fly a washing machine,cook,clean up and do many other things without having to phone my mum ( or post on the interweb. 😆

You’re doing your own washing?

We also used washable nappies. Never an issue, but the cycle stuff was. I was even road riding at the time, but the smelly sweaty stuff wasn’t to go in the machine without an empty wash afterwards…
Personally I’d hose down the muddy clothes as it’s good for the machine, but put your foot down if the demands become more and more daft.
I agree with women, I also found having a baby a tough time… 🙁

You’re doing your own washing?

No ,I help with the family washing ,which includes mine 😉

You think you’ve got problems? I want my wife to stop washing nappies with my cycling stuff… Sick of finding bits of digested blueberry (the boys favourite) dried onto my jerseys! (Though I do wash contaminated work kit separately and also on a hotter wash)

Don’t tell her you’ve washed your bike kit in the machine?

Unfortunately this doesn’t work when my wife sneaks the horse’s rugs into the machine, you can’t normally smell the poo/urine afterwards, but you do get a horsey smell. And if I haven’t noticed the aroma and not done an empty rinse, the bed sheets/duvets come out with a liberal covering of horse hair 👿

If I’m very muddy I’ll either hose down my kit to get the worst of it off, or take it in the shower with me and rinse it there. Makes sense not to clog up your washing machine with mud, sand, and grit shirley?

MFU. get a new wifey………..

wwaswas – Member
We used washable nappies with our two.

we did with our second. Started out washing them separatly. They ended up just being chucked in with everything else.

I tried not to think about it, tbh.

We need a vomit face 😯

When I have my new place there will be a separate washing machine for all the outdoor and animal gear in the utility area (along with a nice warm walk in shower for me, the bike and the dogs). Oh and that machine at least will be one of those extra load ones. A house mates mum bought us a Bosch extra load one when we were students and it was fantastic.

thered later today:

Generally I let the mud dry then brush it off and wear ’em again

I chuck my cycling clothes on a quick rinse wash before other clothes get added…

It will good to expose the baby to any grot that comes from the biking clothes – might help in the future when all the anti-biotics become ineffective against so-called super-bugs and going into hospital will be a major risk…

Mum makes me rinse off the really muddy stuff usually before slinging them in the washer. yes you read that right. Mum washes them for me.

I chuck my cycling clothes on a quick rinse wash before other clothes get added…

this +1, figure it’s better for the machine dealing with the mud ina whole load of water which washes out rather than entrained in the clothes for a spin.

I rinse my stuff before it goes in the washer if it’s really muddy. The amount of silt/grit which is rinsed out would only end up in the washing machine otherwise, and that can’t be good for it.

Bucket wash every time. There’s no glory in it but it’s just the sensible thing to do.

Put the wife in the washing machine?

Hose the bike stuff down first to get the worst off. Wash it on its own, no fabric softener, and add some dettol to freshen smelly base layers etc.

You have kids AND still get to ride your bike! 😯