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I got interested with these symbols when my son was born and I was doing all of our laundry what seemed like all hours of the day. So it was a good opportunity
by securingsincity 5y ago
I got interested with these symbols when my son was born and I was doing all of our laundry what seemed like all hours of the day. So it was a good opportunity to play with machine learning and vision edge by gcp. Ended up building a pair of apps for iOS and android that can identify the symbols
https://jameshrisho.com/2020/10/making-laundry-less-terrible-with-machine-learning/ https://jameshrisho.com/2020/10/making-laundry-less-terrible...
- wwwhizz 5y agoI ended up washing everything on 40 degrees and throwing everything in the dryer. Works just fine.
- toyg 5y agoIsh. Dryers can literally melt heavily-synthetic clothes. Been there, done that.
- bluGill 5y agoTurn the temperature down. You shouldn't dry anything that hot, it just wastes energy.
- anamexis 5y agoI can certainly see other reasons to not run the dryer so hot, but why would it waste energy?
- BrianOnHN 5y agoThe hotter the coils the higher the amount of energy that's required to maintain it.
- anamexis 5y agoWell yes, but also the faster it dries your clothes and shuts off.
- BrianOnHN 5y agoYes, but it's not a simple linear use of energy. For example, it might use 10x energy to dry twice as fast. That's a gain if you're in a hurry, but not so much if you're relaxing at home, on a tight budget, and/or have unusually high cost of electricity.
- anamexis 5y agoIt might, but does it actually? Or does it use 2.05x energy to dry twice as fast, making the energy use difference negligible? Edit: Consider also that the shorter you run the dryer for, the shorter you are running the (substantial) motor and fan, as well as less time spent heating the shell of the dryer and the air surrounding it.
- BrianOnHN 5y agoIdk about the rest but the ratio of energy used by the heater compared to the motor is greater than 10:1. Edit: 20:1 mentioned here https://qr.ae/pGNTie https://qr.ae/pGNTie
- anamexis 5y agoIf we assume for just a moment that the time to dry clothes scales linearly with heat applied, we can try to run some numbers: Total power usage for full heat is (5000W + 250W) * 0.5h = 2625 Wh Total power usage for half heat is (2500W + 250W) * 1h = 2750 Wh So that's a 4.6% increase in efficiency for using full heat over half heat. So the big question remains, does lower heat dry clothes more efficiently, and if so, how much? The Stack Overflow answer you linked raises some interesting points, but doesn't seem rigorous.
- bluGill 5y agoBecause all you are doing is heating up clothing. Until near the end of the cycle your dryer is putting all the energy into evaporating water, so the temperature inside the dryer is actually fairly cool. Right at the end things change as the remaining water isn't enough to counteract all the energy being put in and so you heat the clothing to no purpose. So at the end off the cycle you should either shut off with a little moisture in the clothing, or regulate the temperature so that the heat input is balanced by the water evaporation.
- BrianOnHN 5y agoMy dryer seems to only have one setting, "hot af so be careful what you put in here."
- cryptonector 5y agoThat's a sign of a broken or stuck thermostat. You can replace it (or have it replaced). I lost a few shirts once because of that.
- adrianmonk 5y agoOr maybe a broken thermostat heater. Apparently this is a separate component sometimes. What on earth is thermostat heater, you ask? Surprisingly, many dryers apparently have a simple fixed-temperature thermostat, and in order to make lower settings work, a heating element tricks that thermostat into perceiving a higher temperature. If that heating element doesn't do its job, then the dryer acts like it's always on the highest setting. From https://applianceassistant.com/Dryer-Repair/How-Electric-Dryer-Parts-Work.php#thermostatHeater https://applianceassistant.com/Dryer-Repair/How-Electric-Dry... : > The thermostat heater is often located within the cycling thermostat. However, it may sometimes be a separate component mounted to the dryer's cycling thermostat. Depending on the dryer's temperature setting, more or less voltage is supplied to this heater. Low settings supply more voltage and create more heat, while medium settings supply slightly less voltage, generating less heat. High heat settings will not energize the thermostat heater at all. In this way the thermostat is tricked into thinking that the dryer is hotter than it actually is, so it opens at a lower drum temperature.
- cryptonector 5y agoTIL! Thanks!
- NullPrefix 5y agoCondescending tip - synthetics are for engine oils, not clothes ;)
- ambentzen 5y agoFor daily clothes, sure. For sports clothing, synthetics all the way. There is no worse pain in the world than sweaty chafing cotton.
- Aloha 5y agoI generally avoid any synthetic that is not a cotton blend, I want to be able to was on hot and dry on bake.
- peterburkimsher 5y agoSounds like we need ultrasonic no-heat clothes dryers to be commercialised. The technology is there - just play music to the water molecules, and they dance! https://www.energy.gov/eere/articles/no-heat-no-problem-ultrasonic-dryer-dries-clothes-half-time https://www.energy.gov/eere/articles/no-heat-no-problem-ultr...
- sdeframond 5y agoOr microwaves? (Better not leave anything metallic in there though...)
- bkor 5y agoThe article compares the energy savings over an already inefficient dryer. The article mentions that an existing dryer takes 50min (average). Such dryers are not what anyone should buy, they waste too much energy. Over time it's cheaper to buy a heat pump dryer. Those easily take 2.5 hours to dry. They're significantly cheaper over an e.g. 5-10 year period than buying a cheaper and way more inefficient dryer. The links to more detail with: > The goal of this project is to develop a clothes dryer prototype, using ultrasonic transducers, with an EF above 10 lb/kWh. But also: > DOE’s Building Technologies Office is seeking new clothes dryer technologies that can increase the energy factor (EF) from 3.7 to 5.43 lb/kWh However, a quick Google shows that the 3.7 is not a heat pump dryer, see e.g. https://www.intechopen.com/books/current-drying-processes/the-study-of-fabric-drying-using-direct-contact-ultrasonic-vibration https://www.intechopen.com/books/current-drying-processes/th.... The figure for an existing dryer should be 7.6 lb/kWh. Meaning, the solution is (currently) not good enough. The link in the article and my link shows that the intend is to go way over 10 lb/kWh. The link I found showed it could be around 20 or even 44 lb/kWh (seems to depend on the frequency used). This while being way quicker than anything else, especially heat pump dryers.
- scotty79 5y agoHey. If it melts it melts. Only survivors get to be worn.
- photojosh 5y agoWe have the same philosophy in the kitchen; we call it "dishwasher Darwinism" [0]. Unfortunately doesn't work quite as well with clothing. Or perhaps I could make an analogy that lingerie is like a good knife? [0] Stolen from somewhere online and can't be bothered to find the original source.
- photojosh 5y agoAha, "dryer darwinism" works for the alliteration too. Can't believe I didn't realise that until now.
- securingsincity 5y agoa cashmere sweater shrunk to a child's size will change your mind about that approach
- awwaiid 5y agoSurvival of the fittest! Hahaha
- falcor84 5y agoWell, my approach is to limit my day-to-day clothes buying to just those washable in 40°C and machine dryable. Makes both the shopping and life overall so much easier.
- pc86 5y agoYes, if you only buy things that you wash in 40 degree water and dry in a machine, you can just wash everything in 40 degree water and throw it in a machine.
- elliekelly 5y agoAny women who still have to wear business attire interested in a similar approach should check out MM LaFleur. Well-designed, machine washable staple pieces at a (mostly) reasonable price. IIRC the company was founded by a young French woman who used to work in consulting and knows the pain of constantly needing to dry clean your clothes. https://mmlafleur.com/ https://mmlafleur.com/
- mikepurvis 5y agoMy rule of thumb is basically just to exclude from the dryer anything stretchy, slippery, knitted, or lacy. With that stuff hung to dry, what’s left is all the plain cotton shirts and jeans that can take whatever you throw at them.
- ungamedplayer 5y agoOr you know, just hang everything out.
- ewindal 5y agoGotta wash on 60 sometimes too, though. Otherwise your t-shirts are going to become subtly smelly over time.
- scotty79 5y agoIf you have dryer it nearly strilizes everything you just washed with hot air. I'm washing t-shirts in 40 deg and drying them in my washing machine with built-in dryer. They come out a bit damp to avoid creasing too much. I never had them smell even though I was just unloading dryer into a huge pile of damp clothes and leaving them like that for a day or two to dry out completely. I even forgot to take them out of the washing mashine and found out few days later. They were still damp but didn't smell. I washed and dried them again though to be on the safe side.
- patentatt 5y agoYup, I’ve never once in my life paid any attention to any of this, and I only ruined one sweater once. My wife was not happy, it was a brand new cashmere sweater from some brand name. Still though, if that’s my only screw up and amortized over a lifetime of not caring about this, still positive ROI for me. Twist ending: we saved the severely shrunken fancy sweater and now it fits my kids, so not a total loss.
- dayre 5y agoThis has been my experience as well. They should simplify these to just TEXTILE CARE SYMBOL CASHMERE SWEATER and TEXTILE CARE SYMBOL EVERYTHING ELSE.
- m_eiman 5y agoIf you wash the sweater in conditioner and lukewarm water you can (carefully) pull it into its original shape. #lifehack
- m_eiman 5y agoI probably mean ”soak” or ”handwash” rather than wash; I’m sure there’s an instructional video somewhere on the net.
- gardaani 5y agoUnderwear should be washed on 60 degrees to prevent any germs spreading.
- amanaplanacanal 5y agoDoes the detergent not sterilize everything?
- shawnz 5y agoI have seen mixed evidence about hot water being more effective than cold water when washing. Do you have a reputable source?
- cmrdporcupine 5y agoI noticed a huge difference in how long my clothing lasts once I switched to hang-drying most things. It's not that huge of a hassle and saves energy and I don't have to buy clothes as often. I started doing a lot more hang drying after I bought a bunch of merino wool base layers I use for skiing (which can't really be machine dried).
- c0nsumer 5y agoI do this for cycling clothing. (Almost all synthetic, some wool, fair amount of spandex-y stuff.) This stuff lasts forever when washed on cool/warm and then hung. Friends of mine have complained about one brand or another not lasting very long, but they've been tossing the stuff in the drier. We're fortunate to have a basement with a nice beam I can place hangers on (for winter drying), or a hanging bar I fitted in the garage (for summer). Lately I've been getting rid of 8-10 year old stuff that I no longer like or no longer fits, and it's sellable, as opposed to just worn out. (Doesn't sell for much, but folks will happily pay $20 - $30 for special print cycling jerseys that are still in good shape and cost $80-130 new. Way better than tossing them in the trash.)
- zmix 5y ago...and should be washed as little as possible!
- hinkley 5y agoIf you look near the laundry baskets at any home or department store, you'll find comically large 'lingeree bags'. Turns out running anything with a fine weave through these - satin, rayon, exercise clothing, high TPI pillow cases - not only makes them last longer but also prevents pilling. Always button and zip your jeans, and if you're not in a hurry, cotton clothing seems to be less worn by friction in the dryer than by the high heat. I run a lot of my cotton knits through twice on permanent press instead of once on cotton. And I don't use dryer sheets. Dryer sheets keep your clothes from getting static cling when you have over-dried them, but over-drying them damages them. The static cling is a symptom that you shouldn't ignore. What you want to do is pull your clothes out when there is just a hint of moisture in them. The air and the latent heat should be more than enough to suck out that last hint of dampness. And if one towel or pair of pants is still damp, nothing stops you from running them by themselves for a couple minutes while you fold the rest.
- wolverine876 5y agoI assume you mean 40 C, not 40 F? I started washing everything on cold (my washer actually has a 'Tap Cold' setting - just tap water) and it works just as well. I encourage everyone to just try it once - it won't hurt anything and you can always re-run the load - and you will never go back. Also, you don't have to sort clothes. I read in some credible, non-technical publication, I think the NYT or WSJ, an interview with a engineer in that field (something like detergents or washing machines) who said that detergents used to need heat to enhance the chemical reaction, but that it's no longer true and cold water works just as well. EDIT: Does anyone know a good technical, authoritative resource on laundry? Consumer Reports has well-researched info, but not in the depth I'd like.
- aasasd 5y agoI'm quite sure that plenty of bacteria don't die at 40°, let alone ‘tap cold’.
- astrange 5y agoThe washing machine isn't a heat sterilizer, the point of using hot water was just to activate the detergents.
- aasasd 5y agoSo when different clothes prescribe washing at different temperatures, it's because the ‘activation’ temperature of detergent changes depending on whether you use it with jeans or underwear?
- lgrebe 5y agoAs far as I know the clothes don’t prescribe a temperature to be washed at, but rather a maximum temperature threshold upto which the material can withstand without risking damage to itself. So a 40°C cloth can be washed at any lower temp but might deform or loose color or even breakdown if washed warmer than that.
- 5y ago
- fomine3 5y agoMost washers (especially top loading) in Japan don't support warming water so people wash with cold water, use hot bath water, or hopefully the house has hot water faucet for washer. I've bought an expensive front loading washer-dryer with water heater (upto 60C) and heat pump dryer recently. Now I always wash with at least 15C water, even 15C, it's significant difference in cold winter situation.
- brylie 5y agoDo you have any wool or linen items?
- tyingq 5y agoSomewhat questions the value of these symbols versus text. Not disparaging the app, I'd need one to tell what they meant too.
- Tepix 5y agoText requires translation into thousands of languages.
- tyingq 5y agoAs do cryptic and unreadable symbols.
- ewindal 5y agoNot on every piece of clothing you sell.
- tyingq 5y agoCurrent state, I would have to figure out what to type into google to see what some symbol like ⧇ or △ means in laundry terms. Either better symbols I don't have to google, or text in a language that I don't speak...but can figure out. The ones with temperatures don't even have a degree mark.
- securingsincity 5y agoI would agree. The issue isn't that they are symbols, it is that the symbols are really hard to understand, other than hand wash where a hand is in a bucket of water the rest have little connection with the outside world.
- haileys 5y agoIt's strange that on a site like Hacker News people are so averse to learning new things. We seem to have no problem learning other kinds of symbol languages. These are standard symbols - you can search Google for "laundry symbols" to find a key
- milofeynman 5y agoThe ultimate -parent- hack is to only buy colored clothes (no whites... And if you happen to get any just wash them with the colored clothes anyway) non shrinkable clothes. Dry on low - "damp dry" so they don't all get fried. One load every 5+ days. The thicker clothes hang around the edge of the clothes basket (sweat pants in our case). Oh and I guess just by normal kid clothes (cotton/polyester) so they don't have special instructions.
- seventh-chord 5y agoI've been doing that for my own clothes. White t-shirts turn pink, but pink is a good look too so I don't really care. Maybe that means I'm still a kid :)
- fanf2 5y agoWe do that but how on earth do you manage with only one load every 5 days? We are a family of 4, one teenager, one under 10, and we’re doing one or two loads of laundry every day.
- leetcrew 5y agopants can usually be reworn 2-3 times. occasionally a shirt can be reworn if it was only used for part of a day. this might require an unusually clean child. as a single adult, I do laundry on a two week cycle. and that's driven more by my inventory of season-appropriate clothing than the capacity of my washing machine.
- mb7733 5y ago1-2 loads of laundry every day for 4 people? How small is your washing machine?
- tinus_hn 5y agoVery nice, my only comment would be that you can’t go back from the individual pages to the main page by swiping left (iOS)
- marton78 5y ago"This app is not available for any of your devices", days Google Play Store...
- bredren 5y agoWould you please clarify how doing laundry constantly allowed time for ML research? Is it just because you had maternity/paternity, or was there something about the laundry workflow that let you squeeze in this activity?
- pas 5y agowaiting for the laundry?
- shanecleveland 5y agoVery nice. Came here to see if someone had already made this. I wonder about helping manufacturers generate a QR code to use alongside the symbols to provide a detailed per-label translation?
- WalterBright 5y ago> a pair of apps for iOS and android that can identify the symbols Sounds like a failure of the point of those symbols. How about using words instead? Then you don't need an app to decode them. You can use google translate if you must.