Sleeping Beauty

personally i think it is the water here. nothing major stain wise, but out of a wash, i usually end up putting 3/4 items back in for washing from a wash i have dried. i have sprayed them beforehand as well usually, often spraying them again on their 2nd wash, and yet the stains are still there. as i said, nothing major stain wise, just marks on clothes. nothing to do with how the aussies are, or how this country is , just wish i could get my clothes clean. not found anything yet, working through my list, nice smelling or not.......

sorry, OP, going off thread....but you did mention washing powder in your thread

iPom

Really? Not much hope for me. Maybe I'll start dressing the kids in bibs with sleeves.

iPom

That's a bit crap. Didn't know that.

Sleeping Beauty

......yashmac?

iPom

Good plan. Can't be banned for religious zealousness either...

gjs

Depends on the land.ours was previously owned by the government and is a first release-no stamp duty to pay.

slipshot

That's if you buy the land separately - if you buy it all as one 'off plan' then stamp duty is payable on the stage of the build. Therefore, if you buy a place off plan and it is 20% complete by the time you sign the contract, then when it has finished building, the people who sort these things out will assess the % based on the time taken to complete the build.

So, you could, for example, look at plans on a new building development, decide to buy one and if they have not started building, you'll pay no stamp duty.

Or, you could see one under development. You go in and they say (for the sake of argument) we're 25% through the build and we've been 3 months, so you have 9 months left. Thus you know you'll pay 25% of stamp duty. However, if the development takes longer, (say 2 years rather than one due to all sorts of hold ups etc), then you'll pay the proportion. In this scenario, you'll end up paying 11.5% - proportionally...

This is how it works in Victoria anyway. I know because me and Mrs P purchased a place in Melbourne docks in 2001, due for completion in May 2001, and when we moved back to the UK in June 2002, the apartment had 'just' been completed. We ended up making a loss and selling due to the classic incompetence of the builders and a nice apartment we never ever lived in.

And remember, in Aus you pay stamp duty when you sell as well as when you buy. Australia has many benefits - but taxes are not one of them. Could not believe the 47% income tax plus all this stamp duty lark! Cars and houses...

HTH

Andy

iPom

Thanks Andy. Brilliant.

Jacqui

When you buy soap powder, check if it's suitable for warm/hot water, if you're using a European style washing-machine. Aussies traditionally wash their clothes in cold water so many powders are formulated for that. My sister has lived here a long time and has always had a cold wash top-loader. I couldn't believe it when we first stayed with her and she said the clothes would be washed in cold water. But they washed up ok and it doesn't "set" certain stains like blood which should always be washed in cold water. I think oil stains and other things will always be a problem regardless of type of water/machine/powder.

I didn't like the comment about "old town Mandurah" either but then I'm biased!

slipshot

Ha - love this. Sooo true. My MIL was shocked when she first came to visit us in the UK and that I insisted we washed stuff in warm water. Never realised for the short time we lived with her prior to moving back to the UK that she did all the washing in cold water.

It does seem cold water washing works, but of course, the tougher the stains, warmer water makes it easier.

iPom

The hot/cold thing hadn't occurred to me actually. I will do a few test washes and see how the kids stuff works out in cold.

Sleeping Beauty

we brought our front loader with us. it has a cold water pipe only, but the machine changes everything to a warm/hot wash (there is a cold water option for delicates). so, with mine, everything is washed in warm water, as it is the washing machine that does this. maybe that is my problem

iPom

Yeah, we bought our front loader with us, but I can choose the temperature.

Ransi

Doesn't leave much hope does it...
I still add a little White King on heavily soiled clothing and always in a white wash

Ransi

Hmmm...stamp duty on mine...Im in Perth,maybe it works differently here?