HOWTO Wash your clothes properly

The most important thing to remember is that your laundry gets clean because the pieces of clothing are rubbing against one another (and the water). The detergent’s job is to loosen the connection between the dirt and the fabric so the rubbing action will release it into the water where it’s flushed away.

That in mind….

What your mother told you about separating clothes is probably wrong. Clothing color is not nearly as important as clothing weight. I.e., you want to divide your laundry by fabric weight, not color.

Separate your laundry as follows:

• Light weights: Shirts, dress pants, underwear, dress socks, etc.
• Heavy weights: Jeans, towels, jackets, and any other ‘tough’ fabrics.
(Athletic socks, miraculously, can go in either.)
• Reds, especially new ones, which may be more prone to running (ditto for new dark-colored clothes)
• Delicates, if you have any.

Why divide this way? Because you don’t want your rough and tough jeans to be in the same load as your favorite T-shirt. Those jeans will do a number on the thin fabric; it’s the main reason for fabric wear. After the first wash, colors don’t run.

Use cold water. Unless you want to waste money and energy, there’s no reason to use warm or hot. (Well, using warm water will make let your washer fill faster, but that’s about it.)

Exception: Really dirty whites, if you’re using bleach (see below). Then you can use hot water.

Start the water running, and add the clothes.

Do NOT stuff the washer; that’s the biggest mistake people make. Remember, clothes get clean by rubbing one another. If the washer is too full, they’ll just shuffle a bit. Pack the clothes loosely.

Put smaller stuff — socks, underwear — on top. It’ll migrate to the bottom eventually, so putting them on top gives them extra time to get clean.

When the washer is full, there should be at least a full inch of water above the clothes before it starts agitating. Once it starts, if you’re using a top-loader, you should be able to see your clothes appear from the outside of the tank, then disappear down the middle, repeatedly. If it’s too full you won’t get that circulation.

If you’re using a front-loader there’s less to worry about, but avoid overfilling.

Add the measured detergent of your choice. Yes, add the detergent last despite what your washer’s instructions say. This helps make sure it’s more evenly spread than if it sits on the bottom of the tank under all your clothes.

Close the cover and go read a book or something.

Bleach
Sometimes you want to get your whites really clean. Remember, though, that bleach destroys clothing. (Don’t believe me? Leave a rag soaking in a bleach solution overnight.) You don’t want to use it often.

Follow the instructions carefully. Don’t add more than you have to; using less than the manufacturer’s recommendation is just fine.
If your washer doesn’t have a bleach dispenser, wait until the tank is full and agitating, then slowly pour the bleach in. Adding the bleach first will mean some of your laundry is soaking in it, which is bad (bad bad bad) for the fabric.

Drying
When the load is done, if you’re tossing it into the dryer (as opposed to hanging it on a line) don’t just toss — shake out each item first. You don’t want a solid ball of a towel or a crunched up pair of briefs in there. Shaken and loose clothes dry faster and more evenly, and that saves energy and time.

(Forgot to add fabric softener? No matter. Pour some on a damp cloth and toss it in the dryer. It’s almost as good.)

And that’s it. Follow this method and your clothes will both get cleaner and last longer.

Site created with

Blog run by