We all have images of the stereotypical male 50 years ago whose involvement in laundry was limited to putting garments in the washing basket, but times have changed, more women are working full time, childcare is being shared, men get paternity leave, household chores are no longer the domain of the woman of the house. So how much has changed in terms of what men want from their washing?
I asked Louise Knowler about men’s attitudes to laundry, starting with the complexities of washing instructions. She says, “most men learn how to wash from their mothers, so if we don’t teach them whilst they are living at home, it’s harder later in life. I consider teaching teenagers to wash and iron is up there with cooking, in terms of life skills, especially, with those heading off to University as so many are right now. Sadly, it is an area often neglected, as it can be torturous seeing your offspring taking 15 minutes to iron a shirt that you know you could do in 3, but my advice is to persevere as they will speed up and thank you for it in the long run.”
Louise says, “men tend to like to throw everything in together and tend to think more is better in terms of over filling the washing machine and using more detergent than necessary. They need to learn not to fill machines above ¾ full so that clothes can circulate properly and to follow detergent guidelines so that rinse cycles can remove all the suds.”
Most people have a washing accident at some point and this can put people off or be held up as an excuse by some to avoid any future attempts, however sometimes it is wives/girlfriends who would rather do it themselves than risk another mishap. Louise feels that the old fashioned belief that men really can’t or won’t do laundry and housework is no longer true.
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“What I’ve found is that the modern man is as adaptable as the modern woman, and the high achievers amongst us take as much pride in their immaculate homes and personal appearance as they do their highflying careers.” It was this research that led her to launch Distinctivewash, a biological designer label safe formula with the addition of a masculine seductive fragrant blend. Louise points out, “it needs no separate conditioner and is optical brightener and bleaching agent free, making it easy to use and has the seductive scent of amber and sandalwood, which combined with its heat activated sticky bud technology means that scent lasts longer ”
I can imagine some shrieks of objections from both sides. There are men who claim to be better at laundry than their wives, after all our military boys who know their way around uniforms better than most, and others, who have no interest what so ever, so long as it keeps turning up freshly laundered in the wardrobe. However in a world where families sadly don’t all stay together long term can any of us really say the words ‘men don’t do laundry’ – Who does what in your household?
For more information, please visit http://www.distinctivewash.co.uk/