It's not that I don't appreciate MIL...

SunAndRain

...but if she was going to do our laundry (without asking me) I just wish she would not put hundreds of dollars worth of "hang dry" clothing through the dryer.

And don't even get me started on my new black designer jeans (my splurge)... I'm afraid to look!

2chatter

That would kill me. More than the money, the time and effort to procure appropriate and flattering clothing. I have taken to hiding my special care clothes so DH doesn't accidentally wash them. He still managed to snag a favorite cardigan and dried it. I might give it to DD.

traveltheworld

My mother did that - repeatedly! She would even look through my closets (where I "hid" some of the stuff) and find things she thought needed to be washed. I finally had to have a very serious talk with her.

Virgo17

Luckily, I have the opposite problem.  My grandmother tends to take things to the dry cleaner that I would just throw in the wash.  I would be really upset if someone ruined my favorite clothes, but it is hard to be upset when she was trying to help.  I agree with PP, maybe designate an area that is clearly labeled "hang dry/dry clean".

rubber_chicken

I can't relate at all because sometimes I don't even bother to separate whites from colors, let alone hang dry clothes or hand wash clothes (people do that??).  That three-bin sorter system has me floored! But everything I own is cotton with dummy-proof washing instructions. 

justjinny

See, this is why we can't have nice things!

My rule of thumb is, if it can't survive the normal wash & dry cycles, it just can't make it in my house.  I'm happy that DH will occasionally run AND fold a load of laundry, so that's worth it to me to not have high maintenance clothes.

TheBorg7of9

I would not appreciate my mil doing my laundry, even if she did it perfectly.

ss+el

I quit letting my mother do my laundry in high school. One of the best decisions I ever made. DH is afraid to wash anything but his own clothes and the towels and I'm perfectly fine with that.

NADA-H

I've been on the other side of this.

I was living with my family up until I got married and never had to do laundry till then. While everything was great my husband handed me one of his suits once and asked me to get it cleaned...so questionly I said "how?" and he said "uhm with the washing machine? doh" now apparently he was being sarcastic and wanted me to take the suit to the dry cleaners...lesson learnt the hard way, HA!

bumpuser10331514

NADA-H said:

I've been on the other side of this.

I was living with my family up until I got married and never had to do laundry till then. While everything was great my husband handed me one of his suits once and asked me to get it cleaned...so questionly I said "how?" and he said "uhm with the washing machine? doh" now apparently he was being sarcastic and wanted me to take the suit to the dry cleaners...lesson learnt the hard way, HA!

@NADA-H This is 100% off-topic, but can I just tell you my own story of when I took someone literally? We had a toy poodle when I was younger (I was in middle school when this happened). Like a lot of poodles, he had a tendency to get poop stuck to and around his little bunghole. My mom told me to clean him. I said, "How?" Such an innocent question. She said, "Babbo his butt." (Babbo is Clorox in mom-speak). So I did. That poor dog's bottom got so swollen and my mom asked me what happened. I looked at her like she was crazy for not knowing and suggested that Babboing the dog's butt was not the way to go. Then she looked at me like I was crazy. And we laughed while the poor dog was going crazy trying to lick his bottom to soothe the burning. I assure you we did love the dog, and with this one exception, he was very well taken care of.

NADA-H

Lol haha the poor little dog. Thats the thing though if u ask someone to do a favor or do something with ur stuff ur partially responsible of the outcome especially when guess work interferes

As to when someone cleans ur clothes out of curtesy and without asking or reading the labels yaycks i would go nuts if my clothes get ruined. If it was a one time thing i'd let it go but if this person will be helping with that chore more often i'd haVe a serious talk with that person

kikimeemee

Eek! Oh, my goodness...

I personally feel it's common sense to know people all tackle their laundry differently and you CAN'T assume all clothes go in both the washer and dryer. She should've stuck to towels! Or the dishes! Or vacuuming!

I'm so sorry your clothes are ruined. It seems you are handling it maturely and kindly. Good for you...

Slb22

This would make me insane.  I would say it would make me irrationally angry, but where you didn't ask her to do it, I wouldn't use the word irrational.  Of course I am a bit passive aggressive and would only make side comments about it, but make it clear I never want her doing the laundry again.  I barely let my husband switch the laundry (he can do the rest, but cannot grasp what doesnt get dried).    I am so sorry this happened to you!   I hope you were able to save some of it!

litzo27

@tricia560 - I had this pear of leather boots which had an intentionally distressed look. Very cool. I went to visit my parents once and when I got up in the morning I saw that my grandfather shined them so that you could see your reflection in them (that's a military man for you). I spent a lot of time distressing them again