Is it necessary to sort laundry for washing? Many of us just load in the whole basket of clothes and call it a day. There are indeed instances where it is well worth separating your laundry; not doing so could lead to contamination, uncomfortable fabrics, and clothes bleeding onto other clothes. All in all, it helps preserve your clothing and lets you get the best use out of them. Here’s how to sort laundry for washing down to the details.
Read the Labels
The first step is to check the label. What are the manufacturer’s washing instructions? Some labels may say “Wash with like colors; tumble dry low,” or “Hand wash only; lay flat to dry.” The label is a safe rule of thumb.
Separate by Categories
New Clothing
It is best to wash brand-new clothing with bright or dark colors by hand the first few times. You never know if the color will bleed, and some items will bleed more than others. It isn’t worth letting the colors bleed onto your other garments. Wash these clothes in your laundry sink and hang them to dry.
Dry Clean Only Clothing
Using water and regular detergent can ruin dry clean only clothing. In dry cleaning, one uses a chemical solvent rather than water. The safest way to care for these items in your wardrobe is to take them to the dry cleaners.
Heavily-Soiled Clothing
Heavily soiled garments could contaminate your other clothing. The wash cycle might not be enough to remove all the dirt, and the heavy-duty cycle might be too harsh for lightly worn laundry. Also, separate clothing with stains and pre-treat them before adding them to the load.
Whites, Brights, and Darks
You can also separate clothes by color to avoid any bleeding and to take advantage of the cycle specifically for whites. You can separate items by whites, brights, and darks if you want to set specific cleaning cycles for each kind.
Heavy-duty, Regular, and Delicate Fabrics
You can further divide your loads by fabric type. It is okay to wash them all together, but for added protection, you can put delicates in a mesh laundry bag and line-dry your regular fabrics while the rest goes into the dryer.
Bedding
People usually wash the bedding on its own because of its bulk. You can get the most out of it by combining sheets from different beds in one load, as long as the barrel isn’t too full.
Towels
You can wash towels in hot water, which is something you can’t say about your woolly sweaters or denim jeans.
Is Your Washer Doing Its Part?
Is your washing machine working properly? Get an even better clothes washing result with the help of your local appliance repair company!
