One wouldn't think of opening this blog with the laundry room. And yet: white sheets that stay white and towels that actually dry you off, that's a good part of the comfort of a welcoming home. So we're sharing our laundry sheets — the ones displayed in ours.
They were written for our machine and for Bordeaux water, which is very hard. Sheet 00 gives you the benchmarks to transpose to your situation. My advice: start with it, everything else follows from it.
Laundry room
washing sheets
Our cards, one flow per card. The drawer is always read from left to right, in the same order, on all cards — it's that of our machine, card 00 gives you the reference to transpose to yours. The dosages already integrate water hardness: never increase them a second time.
Reference Framework
At our place, the tap water is at 30.5 °f (17.1 °dH). Hard water. Everything that follows stems from this — your water hardness is shown in the analysis from your supplier or at your local town hall.
The drawer, from left to right
This arrangement is that of our machine. The order of compartments varies depending on the brand: follow the manufacturer's symbols (I = prewash, II = main wash, flower = softener). The telltale sign: the softener compartment is the only one equipped with a siphon.
This is what makes liquid detergent incompatible with a prewash: poured into the washing dispenser, it is already in the drum during the first fill and goes away with the prewash drain. The main wash then runs with clear water. With a powder, this problem does not arise.
How a dosage is formulated
One detergent dosage has two parts. One part soiling, proportional to the weight of laundry. One part hardness, proportional to the volume of water in the bath, which serves to neutralize calcium before the surfactants work.
The water volume barely decreases when the load is reduced by half. Therefore never divide a dosage by two under the pretext that you are washing a half load: only reduce the soiling part. In practice, start at 130 ml of powder regardless of the load, and always use the "hard water" column on the package, even on a light machine with light soiling.
Where to pour the powder
Beyond 130 ml, the drawer does not reliably carry the powder: some remains at the bottom of the compartment, the actual dose is lower than the intended dose, and the compartment becomes clogged. For large quantities, dose using a dosing ball placed in the drum, under the laundry.
Exception: sheet 07. With prewash activated, the dosing ball releases its product during the prewash and it goes down the drain. On this sheet only, the main wash powder goes into the wash tub.
The four products
| Product | Role | Forbidden |
|---|---|---|
| Ariel powder | Complete detergent, oxygen bleaching activated by TAED from 40°C. Whites and household linen. Dispenser: 75 ml = 50 g. | Wool, silk, pre-wash basin (crossed-out pictogram on the package), colors. |
| Color powder | Without bleaching or optical brighteners. All colored laundry. | Nothing special. |
| Citric acid | In solution, softening tank. Neutralizes residual alkalinity and prevents calcium redeposition in the final rinse. | Overdose. See below. |
| Percarbonate | Machine maintenance and white catch-up. Without activator: inactive below 50 °C. | Colors, wool, silk, down, elastane. |
Citric acid — reference dose
The reference is not a volume, it is a mass: 9.5 g of citric acid per machine. The volume depends on the concentration of your solution.
| Solution | Preparation | Dose |
|---|---|---|
| 190 g/L recommended | 500 g in 2.3 L of lukewarm water, final volume ≈ 2.63 L | 50 ml |
| 379 g/L | 500 g in 1 L of lukewarm water, final volume ≈ 1.32 L | 25 ml |
| 400 g/L | Bag of 2 kg in 5 L of final solution | 24 ml |
| Pure powder | Directly in the water softener tank | 9.5 g |
The solution diluted at 190 g/L is the one to choose, not because it is milder (the mass delivered is identical) but because 50 ml can be correctly measured in a softener dispenser whereas 25 ml must be estimated by eye. The failure mode we are trying to eliminate is overdosing.
Pour in three stages, shaking between each. Label the bottle. Never in a container that previously held bleach. Coverage: 52 machines per 500 g sachet.
To measure once, then to freeze
pH of the final rinse. Test strips range 4 to 7. Take a small amount of water from the porthole during the final rinse on a sheet washing machine. Target: 5.5 to 6.5, the reference for professional laundries. Adjust in 5 ml increments and record the value found on all sheets. The dose of 9.5 g is a stoichiometric estimate, not a measurement.
Actual temperature of Cotton 60. A temperature recorder in a sock, in the middle of the drum, one complete cycle. Many machines do not reach the set point.
Drum Clean cycle temperature. Notice or probe. Below 50 °C, the percarbonate is inert and sheet 09 is useless.
Actual hardness. Test strip twice a year. The value of the network analysis changes during the year.
Percarbonate — H318, serious eye damage
Gloves and glasses for any handling. The powder flies when poured into the drum. Never rub your eye after touching the jar. Store dry, lid screwed on without being airtight (oxygen release), away from citric acid: the two neutralize each other.
Filling test
Flat hand, vertical, between the top of the laundry and the top of the drum. If it doesn't fit, it's too loaded: the mechanical action collapses and rinsing becomes incomplete.
Sheets & covers
White only. The objective is not visible cleanliness but the white that holds up over one hundred rotations.
- Programme
- Cotton, the longest available
- Temperature
- 60 °C manually adjusted
- Wringing
- 1200
- Charge
- Three quarters of the drum
Forbidden
Softener. Pre-wash. Vinegar. Bleach, which degrades optical brighteners and eventually yellows whites instead of brightening them.
Why 60 °C
Not for hygiene: Ariel contains TAED, which activates oxygen bleaching from 40°C onwards, and a long cycle at 40°C with properly dosed powder is hygienically sufficient. The reason is lipid-based. Sebum melts between 35 and 40°C; below that it remains in the fiber, self-oxidizes in air and yellows whites over successive washes. It's the yellowing, not contamination, that throws a sheet in the trash.
Eco Step 40-60
This is the standardized energy label program. Its temperature is not adjustable and manufacturers actually heat it much lower than what is displayed: some Samsung manuals themselves announce a maximum of around 33 °C. For a real 60 °C, you need Cotton.
After the cycle
- Remove immediately. Laundry left in the drum will develop a musty smell and ruin everything else.
- Sun drying as soon as the weather allows: free UV bleaching, and the smell of laundry dried outdoors is produced by the sun itself, through photo-oxidation of residual lipids.
- Store only when the item is perfectly dry. A single damp cloth contaminates the entire cupboard.
Napkins & mats
The only stream where the load counts for half. The sponge swells by absorbing: a drum filled three-quarters full becomes an immobile block once saturated.
- Programme
- Cotton, the longest available
- Temperature
- 60 °C manually adjusted
- Wringing
- 1400
- Charge
- Half of the drum
Forbidden — the softener first
It deposits a hydrophobic film that destroys absorption, and a towel that doesn't dry is the most commented flaw by travelers. Citric acid provides softness without the film. No prewash, no vinegar, no bleach.
Why 130 ml and not 110
The load is halved, but the bath water volume is not. Reducing the dose proportionally amounts to precisely under-dosing the anti-limescale part, on the only flow where paperboard is a problem. With hard water, the rinse water redeposits calcium on the fiber and that's what makes the sponge rough, even without softener. The powder upstream and citric acid in the final rinse treat both ends of the same phenomenon.
Drying
Complete drying is imperative, right to the core of the hem. A towel stored 95% dry will develop an odor in three days. Tumble dryer is allowed and even recommended for this process: tumbling straightens the terry loops, it is the first lever of softness, before any chemical treatment.
Colored Laundry
The current range. Cotton, linen, blends. Everything that is not white, not black, not technical, not wool.
- Programme
- Cotton long, or Mixed Load if mixed load
- Temperature
- 40 °C
- Wringing
- 1200, or 800 for meshes and linen
- Charge
- Three quarters of the drum
Forbidden
Ariel above all: its percarbonate and its brighteners fade the colors. It is the color powder, and it alone, on this flow. No bleach, no percarbonate, no softener.
40 °C with properly dosed powder is sufficient for everything, including on a health level. Cycle time compensates for temperature: long at 40 °C is better than short at 60 °C, both for stain removal and on the bill. The 15' Quick Wash is an enhanced rinse, not a wash: enzymes don't have time to work.
Powder, not liquid
Including on colors. The powder contains zeolites and polycarboxylates which neutralize hardness; a liquid cannot contain them and compensates with an excess of surfactants. With hard water, the difference becomes visible after a few months in the form of grayness.
Black & Dark
Separate wash because the enemy is not dirt but fading and white residue. On hard water, limescale is first visible on black.
- Programme
- Cotton or Synthetics
- Temperature
- 30 °C
- Wringing
- 800
- Preparation
- Clothes turned inside out
Forbidden
Ariel, percarbonate and bleach: they cause discoloration. Tumble dryer, which accelerates dye migration and sets light fluff. Drying in direct sunlight, excellent for whites, bleaching for dark shades.
Deeds
- Return systematically: the drum abrasion occurs on the exposed face, and it is this one that whitens.
- Drying in the shade, on a hanger, away from direct sunlight.
- Do not mix with white sponge: the black becomes covered with light fibers.
Sport & Synthetics
Cycling jerseys, shorts, technical t-shirts, windbreakers. The problem isn't dirt, it's the smell, and it's treated differently.
- Programme
- Synthetics, cycle long
- Temperature
- 40 °C maximum
- Wringing
- 800
- Charge
- Half of the drum, pieces turned over
Forbidden
Softener, which clogs the fiber and worsens odor retention. Percarbonate and Ariel, which attack elastane. Tumble dryer. Exceeding 40 °C.
Why 40 °C maximum
Not because of the polyester itself: its glass transition is around 70 to 80 °C and its melting point at 250 °C, it doesn't deform in a drum at 60 °C. What fears heat are elastane, prints, heat-sealed seams and water-repellent treatments. And heat doesn't "fix" the smell, it rather helps extract it.
The 24-hour rule
Polyester is oleophilic. Apolar odorants (aldehydes such as 2-nonenal, guaiacol, alkanes) lodge in it and washing removes them much less effectively than from cotton, whereas volatile fatty acids leave properly in alkaline conditions. What remains after washing are therefore the compounds that neither the pH nor a standard cycle dislodges, and they accumulate from one wash to the next.
Wash within 24 hours, or at minimum air dry before putting in the basket. It's the only truly effective measure.
Persistent Odor — Two Cases Not to Be Confused
| Symptom | Cause | Treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Stiff halos under the arms, fabric locally stiffened | Aluminum antiperspirant salts encrusted | Soaking 1 hour in basin, lukewarm water, 40 ml of citric acid solution, then normal cycle. In basin, never in the softening tank. |
| Diffuse smell of sports bag that returns to sweat | Oxidized sebum and non-polar odorants trapped in the fiber | Acid can't do anything about it. Soak for 1 hour in lukewarm water with regular detergent at full dose, then run a long Synthetics cycle at 40 °C. A detergent containing lipase really helps. |
Impermeable Membranes
Raincoats and water-repellent garments: dedicated technical liquid detergent, no powder, no citric acid, spin 400, air dry then reactivate in warm tumble dryer or iron on pressing cloth if the manufacturer indicates it.
Wool & merino
The only family where the decisive factor is neither temperature nor chemistry, but agitation. It's not hot water that shrinks a sweater, it's the stirring.
First: do not wash
Wool retains odorous compounds poorly. Twenty-four hours on a hanger in a ventilated room resolves most cases. Two to four washes per season are sufficient for a sweater. Every wash avoided is felting avoided.
- Programme
- Wool, or basin if the piece has value
- Temperature
- 30 °C, identical from washing to rinsing
- Wringing
- 400, court
- Charge
- One third of the drum, mandatory net
The three gestures that matter
- Never wring. Machine spinning flattens the fibers without relative movement; wringing by hand creates exactly the slipping that causes felting. The spin cycle is safer than your hands.
- Constant temperature. It is thermal shock that causes damage, not the absolute value. Rinse at the same temperature as you washed.
- Flat drying on a towel, never on a hanger or clothesline: wet wool will stretch under its own weight.
Forbidden
Ariel and color powder: their proteases digest keratin, which is a protein. Percarbonate and bleach, which attack disulfide bonds. Tumble dryer. Twisting.
Mud, earth, sand
Gravel outings, dog bedding, beach towels, workshop clothes. The only load where prewashing is justified, and the only one where all three compartments are used.
- Programme
- Cotton + pre-wash option activated
- Temperature
- 40 °C, or 60 °C on resistant whites
- Wringing
- 1200
- Charge
- Half of the drum
Forbidden
Ariel in the prewash compartment: the prewash pictogram is crossed out on the package, and its percarbonate would drain away before being used. Liquid detergent in the wash compartment: without a siphon, it is already in the drum at the first fill and disappears with the prewash water. Dosing ball in the drum: same problem, it releases everything during the prewash.
Before and After
- Let the mud dry before brushing. When wet, it becomes embedded; when dry, it falls off.
- Shake and brush outside. Pre-washing removes what is already loosened, it doesn't loosen much.
- Check the pump filter after the cycle. Sand goes directly into it.
- Dog bedding always separate, never mixed with the rest.
Duvets & Pillows
One piece at a time. The risk is not the washing but the drying: a trim stored damp will mold from the inside and the piece is lost.
- Programme
- Bedding
- Temperature
- 60 °C on synthetic, 40 °C on natural down
- Rinsing
- +1 cap with the rinse function
- Wringing
- 1000 to 1200, wrung out as much as possible
- Charge
- A single piece, drum at most half full
Natural down and feather — different protocol
Special down detergent in the washing machine, never Ariel or sodium percarbonate: these are proteins, like wool. Tumble drying is mandatory with three balls, in several warm cycles, until no clumps remain to the touch.
Drying
- Counting takes much longer than expected. A duvet appears dry on the surface with a damp core.
- Dryer balls, or two tennis balls in a sock: they break up the clumps of filling.
- Pre-storage test: feel in the center and compare with the edge. The slightest coolness means not dry.
- Mattress protector: same protocol, 60 °C, checking the compatibility of the waterproof coating.
Biofilm & limestone
Two distinct problems, two protocols. Biofilm is treated with oxidizer, limescale with acid. Never conduct them on the same cycle.
The manual first — 80% of the result
Biofilm does not form in the drum, which is the clean part of the machine, but in the outer tub, the bellows, the drawer and the pump. An empty cycle without product is not enough: the matrix that protects the bacteria dissolves in oxidant, not in heat.
- Porthole gasket. Lift the lower fold with your finger and look inside. This is where water stagnates and black deposits form. Brush, wipe dry.
- Drawer. Remove completely, remove the siphon cover, brush both it and the housing with a toothbrush.
- Pump filter. Trap at the bottom of the front panel. Unscrew, empty, rinse, check the inside of the housing.
- Then only run the empty cycle with the percarbonate.
Biofilm cycle — perborate poured into the drum
| Case | Percarbonate | Cycle |
|---|---|---|
| Routine | 100 g | Drum Clean, empty drum, provided it reaches above 50°C. Otherwise Cotton 60 empty. |
| Cure, odor or visible deposit | 190 g | Cotton 90 °C in vacuo, after manual cleaning. |
No detergent in the drawer on an empty cycle: it would foam without any laundry to absorb it.
Descaling cycle — citric acid, once or twice a year
Distinct from the biofilm problem: with hard water and regular cycles at 60 °C, the resistance becomes encrusted with limescale. 120 g of citric acid powder directly in the empty drum, Cotton cycle at 40 or 50 °C, not hotter: calcium citrate becomes less soluble when hot and we would redeposit what we are trying to remove. Never the same cycle as the percarbonatе, the two neutralize each other.
Calendar
- Each cycle
- Hublot and drawer left ajar
- Every week
- Slap wiped
- Each month
- Disassembled and rinsed drawer
- 2 months
- Pump filter, change more frequently if there has been sand
- 3 months
- Biofilm cycle, 100 g of percarbonate
- 6 to 12 months
- Descaling, 120 g of citric acid
Forbidden
Vinegar: acetic acid is volatile and attacks in vapor phase the window insulation and elastomers, which manufacturers explicitly advise against. It is indeed the volatility that poses a problem, not the acidity: citric acid, which is non-volatile, does not present this risk. Bleach. Detergent on an empty cycle.
Stains & Catch-up
A stain treated before washing almost always comes out. A stain that has been through the dryer or iron never comes out.
The rule that saves the most laundry
No stained item goes into the dryer or under the iron before being checked at the washing machine exit. Heat permanently sets the residue and transforms a recoverable sheet into a rag. This is the first instruction to give to anyone handling laundry.
| Spot | Principle | Treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Blood | Cold | Cold water only, rinse immediately, then wash at a maximum of 40 °C. Heat coagulates the protein and sets the stain permanently. |
| Sunscreen, still clear or yellow | Oxidant | Percarbonate 130 g, Cotton 60 °C long. Treat before it dries. |
| Sunscreen, already orange | Chelation | It is no longer a cream stain but an iron-avobenzone complex, in other words a rust stain. The percarbaonate can do nothing about it. Soak in concentrated citric acid, or rust remover with oxalic acid, before any exposure to heat. |
| Wine, tea, coffee, herb, fruits | Oxidant | Oxidizable stains, the exact domain of percarbonate. 130 g in the drum in addition to the Ariel dose, at 60 °C. |
| Grease, sebum, makeup | Liquid | The only use where liquid detergent is superior. A drop of pure product rubbed with your fingertip, let it sit for ten minutes, then normal cycle. |
Restoration of a Tarnished White
- Percarbonate 130 g in the drum, in addition to the normal dose of Ariel. Do not reduce the Ariel: it is dosed based on water hardness, not on bleaching.
- Reduced load by half, Cotton 60°C, longest program.
- Two passages maximum. Without progress beyond that, it's not oxidation that's needed but descaling: soak in citric acid.
White only. The percarbonaté bleaches.
The witness pillow
Store a new pillowcase in a closed bag, away from light. Compare it to linen in use every six months, in daylight, side by side. This is the laundry method: graying is too gradual for the eye to detect on linen handled every day.
