Bad Ideas - Laundry

Washing

Washing with no detergent

Causes grease & dirt deposits inside the machine, leading to ineffective washes and bad smells.

Ecoballs

Same as above

Never using powder

Scum builds up faster when liquid without powder is used

Never doing a hot wash

Hot washes are needed to clean the machine itself

Using washing up liquid as machine detergent

Soap residue creates scum in the machine. Scum attracts dirt and causes bad smells.

Never descaling

Scale prevents dirt removal and blocks water level sensor tube. Scale is the prime cause of washing machine floods.

Low spin speed machine

Leaves lots of water in the clothes, causing long drying times. And if dried indoors, damp problems. And if tumble dried, unnecessary electricity costs.

Bleach

Standard chlorine bleach makes some plastics brittle, and should not be used in WMs

Top loading vertical axis machines

Use vast quantities of water and electricity compared to modern horizontal axis front loading machines. If you need greater laundry capacity, get yourself 2 front loaders and stack them. Several advantages to this option.

Drying

Draping wet clothes around the house

Drying clothes indoors releases all their water content into the atmosphere. When windows are closed in winter, high indoor RH generally causes condensation, which often causes damp, mould and rot. The more washing is dried this way, and the lower the washing machine's spin speed, the worse the problem will be.