How should I wash my clothes? This question might pop into your head occasionally when doing house chores. Using a washing machine can save you tons of time and energy. That’s why we are here with our list of 5 easy steps on how to do laundry.
Step 1: Check Care Label
How should I wash my clothes? This question might pop into your head when looking at the endless options of a washing machine. The clothing care label is a piece of fabric stitched to your clothing, which has washing instructions mentioned in it. It is important to know about clothing care labels:
- Circle Symbol: Refers to dry-cleaning instructions.
- Iron Symbol: Refers to ironing instructions.
- A Tub Filled With Water: Refers to washing instructions.
- Square Symbol: Refers to drying instructions.
- Triangle Symbol: Refers to bleaching instructions.
Step 2: Separate Clothes By Color, Fabric Type, And Label
Separate By Color
Separating your clothes by their color is very crucial. Bright-colored clothes should always be separated from white, cream, and light-colored clothes. Mixing all your colored clothes together can cause color bleeding, which will stain your white clothes permanently. To avoid such a scenario, always dedicate some time to sort your clothes according to their colors before putting them into the washer.
Separate By Fabric
Craggy fabrics need a different washing method than delicate ones. Putting them together can damage all of them by ruining the texture.
- Craggy Fabrics: Made with heavy threads, these are heavier and take longer to dry.
- Delicate Fabrics: Soft and delicate fabrics dry easily, so it’s wise to sort them separately.
Step 3: Add Detergent
After sorting out your clothes, add detergent first. Detergents usually come in various forms such as powder, liquid, or sheets.
- Powder Detergent: Can be used for all sorts of fabrics. For top-loaders, add the powder directly into the tub along with clothes. For front-loaders, use the detergent compartment.
- Liquid Detergent: Put the detergent directly into the tub (recommended for both front and top-loaders).
- Detergent Sheets: Place the sheet at the bottom of the tub (recommended for both front and top-loaders).
Step 4: Load Washer And Select Washing Setting
In some cases, individuals don’t know the washer’s loading limit, which can eventually cause the machine to malfunction. This can prevent the clothes from being properly washed.
- Ideal Loads for Washing Machines:
- 6 pounds: One-third of the tub for small and medium loads.
- 11 pounds: Half of the tub for larger loads.
- 21 pounds: The whole tub for extra-large loads.
After loading, choose your washing cycle:
- Delicate: For soft and fragile clothing fabric.
- Speed Wash: For washing clothes with greater speed.
- Normal: For clothes made from cotton fabrics.
- Rinse + Spin: For washing clothes without detergent.
- Perm Press: For all sorts of synthetic clothes.
Step 5: Move Your Clothes To The Dryer And Select Dry Setting
Choose the correct drying cycle based on the fabric of your clothes.
- Air Dry: No temperature is applied; suitable for drying pillows, fluffy blankets, etc.
- Gentle: Very low temperature; suitable for delicate clothing items.
- Permanent Press: Medium heat; suitable for all sorts of synthetic clothes.
- Cotton: High temperature; generally suitable for thick shirts, denim jeans, and heavy jackets.
Hopefully, our blog post solved all the confusions and helped you understand the functions of the washing machine better.