Laundry seems to be one of the easier house chores to accomplish. You put the clothes and laundry soap in and the machine does all the work for you. Then, you move them over to the dryer and another machine drys them for you. Well, did you know that there is a right way on how to do laundry to make sure your clothes come out like perfection every time?
Separate Your Clothes
We all know not to wash colored clothes with light colored garments because of the risk of colors bleeding onto other fabrics. This also should be taken one step further by separating those that are truly dirty from the lightly soiled and in-between. For example workout clothes should be separated from everyday clothes and ones covered in dirt or multiple stains. This is a standard procedure for hospitality companies, because who would want to see a grease stain on sheets or a towel.
Stain Removal 101... Pretreat Those Stains!
You may be thinking, "Now why do I have to do this? Isn't that what the washer is for?" But, not all stains can be removed just by washing the clothing, and it will help keep the integrity of the articles. Blood, chocolate, red wine, cranberry juice, blueberry juice, oil and grease, and grass stains are just a few that should be pretreated before washing.
The Temperature Dial is Not Just For Decoration
Now that you have your clothing separated by color and any stains are pretreated, it's time to start washing. Choosing the correct temperature for the water is important if you'd rather not have colors bleed or cotton clothing shrink. Colors, cotton fabrics, and linens should be washed in cold or cool water. Whites can be washed in warm/ hot water to remove germs and heavy soil.
Don't Forget to Choose the Cycle Type
You're not quite ready to hit the start button on the washer yet. It's time to choose the cycle setting. Most clothing falls under the "regular" or "classic" mode depending on what your washer says. Linens and undergarments need a little more care and should be washed on the delicate cycle. Extra dirty clothing will need more time to soak to remove the stains/ dirt, so you should use the soak cycle before washing clothing.
Here are a few extra tips when it's time to move your clothes over to the dryer:
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Check the lint trap after each use.
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Add a tennis ball or dryer ball to a load of sheets to keep them from tangling together.
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Don't overload the dryer. It is actually less effective to dry a huge load together than it would be to split it up into two loads.
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Remove your clothes as soon as they're finished drying. This will prevent wrinkles from forming.