How to wash clothes
Knowing how to wash clothes —without ruining them — is a basic life skill. Before you load up the washing machine, you have to do some prep work such as separating items by color and texture, choosing the right washing cycle, and knowing how much detergent to add. All this calls for just a little practice, but you'll get the hang of it in no time.
Separate and divide for laundry success
Not all fabrics are made the same, so you need to create piles of items based on color and fabric type:
Separate light-colored clothes from dark ones: The worst mistake you can make when washing clothes is to mix colored clothes and light-colored clothes in the wash cycle. Clothes (especially new ones) lose some of the dye coloring during the wash cycle, and light-colored fabric will pick up that dye. So don't put your new red T-shirt in a hot water wash with your white undies if you don't want your underwear to turn pink!
To avoid "painting" your light clothes, separate your dirty laundry into white or light (pale pastel shades) clothing and dark clothing. If you don't have that many clothes to wash and you don't want to do two loads, you can mix light and dark — but only if none of the colored clothes are new and you use cold water. If you don't want to risk staining any light clothes, keep them apart.
Separate laundry by fabric or texture: Heavy fabrics like denim jeans and towels require a different washing-machine cycle than delicate items (like bras and lingerie) or medium-weight ones like sheets.
Women's lingerie, like bras, can be damaged in machines. These items should be done apart using the delicate cycle, though if you don't have the time to do an extra load, you can put them in a special mesh bag that will protect them if you throw them in the regular wash.
Read the care label on clothing before washing. Some clothing can only be dry cleaned while other clothing, like that made of wool, needs to be hand-washed with a special soap and dried by placing
Separate and divide for laundry success
Not all fabrics are made the same, so you need to create piles of items based on color and fabric type:
Separate light-colored clothes from dark ones: The worst mistake you can make when washing clothes is to mix colored clothes and light-colored clothes in the wash cycle. Clothes (especially new ones) lose some of the dye coloring during the wash cycle, and light-colored fabric will pick up that dye. So don't put your new red T-shirt in a hot water wash with your white undies if you don't want your underwear to turn pink!
To avoid "painting" your light clothes, separate your dirty laundry into white or light (pale pastel shades) clothing and dark clothing. If you don't have that many clothes to wash and you don't want to do two loads, you can mix light and dark — but only if none of the colored clothes are new and you use cold water. If you don't want to risk staining any light clothes, keep them apart.
Separate laundry by fabric or texture: Heavy fabrics like denim jeans and towels require a different washing-machine cycle than delicate items (like bras and lingerie) or medium-weight ones like sheets.
Women's lingerie, like bras, can be damaged in machines. These items should be done apart using the delicate cycle, though if you don't have the time to do an extra load, you can put them in a special mesh bag that will protect them if you throw them in the regular wash.
Read the care label on clothing before washing. Some clothing can only be dry cleaned while other clothing, like that made of wool, needs to be hand-washed with a special soap and dried by placing