Without a doubt, the prospect of doing the laundry is dreaded by the typical person. In point of fact, there are a number of tips associated with the chore of laundry that can make the whole process far easier and much less of a drudge.

 

By paying attention referenced in this article, you will be well on your way to mastering the care and cleaning of your everyday clothing.

These tips are designed not only to make certain that your clothing is spotless once cleaned but these suggestions are provided to extend the life of your garments and to save you sacred time in the process.

To keep your clothes looking like new, here are some cleaning tips for doing laundry in the modern age.

Sort your laundry

Before washing, separate the different types of laundry. Heavier materials like bed sheets and curtains need to be washed separately from clothing that are worn daily like shirts and pants. This is so you can use the appropriate settings for the type of wash, rather than a longer or more intense wash setting for clothes that don’t need it.

And don’t forget what clothes are used for, certain work clothes might deserve their own exclusive load, such as your husband’s greasy, dirty work clothes.
To make sorting simple, one idea is to have a laundry basket for each regular load you do on a weekly basis or a nice sorting basket with several compartments for whites, specialty care, darks, and work clothes.

This can help tidy up your laundry area and make sorting clothes less time consuming and you might even be able to train your family to sort as they go!
If you don’t have the room for more than one laundry basket then separate into the following piles. I would suggest though – if you’re significant other has a job that involves getting greasy or very dirty – to keep a separate laundry basket for those clothes.

• Separate white and light colored articles of clothing that may include underwear, socks, towels, linens, shirts, etc. and put these in one pile.
• Separate lightly colored articles that you don’t think fit in with white laundry items and put them in another pile.
• Separate dark colored clothing jeans, socks, sweatshirts, t-shirts, etc. Put them all in a pile.

Washing Whites

The rule of thumb here is wash whites separately. And wash in a temperature that is appropriate for the fabric. For instance a washable silk shirt may require a cool water temperature, while a cotton shirt may be able to be washed in hot water (if necessary).

Pretreat any clothing items, if necessary and appropriate to fabric type, before washing.

Chlorine bleach is harsh and can, over time, ruin your clothes. Instead of opting for bleach, try Borax or OxiClean. If you have bleach on hand and it’s your choice, be sure to only use it sparingly.
White vinegar can also be added to the rinse cycle to help whiten those whites and make your clothes soft.

Washing Baby Clothes

Baby’s skin is sensitive, wash all clothes before using them and don’t use harsh detergents. To keep their skin from getting irritated, use a gentle, mild product like Ivory or Dreft.

It’s true that your baby may not develop any kind of skin irritation if you use your regular laundry soap but I never wanted to take the chance and always washed the baby clothes separately.

If you do wash baby’s clothes with the rest of the family’s clothes and use your regular detergent – if your baby develops a skin irritation, then switch to a gentler soap and see what happens and if it continues, contact your doctor.

How to Wash Jeans

Jeans can be expensive and I want mine looking good for a long time. Here are a few tips when washing jeans:

• I only wash about five pairs of jeans at a time which works for the size washing machine I have, if you have a smaller washing machine, maybe try only three or four pairs of jeans at a time. Washing too many at once can create more wear and tear on the fabric than I already do.
• Turning the jeans inside out and washing in cold water will help avoid color loss. There are many people that will hand wash their jeans to avoid the agitation of the washing machine and jeans rubbing together.

Using the Dryer and Drying Clothes

Remember that not all clothes need to go in the dryer. But if you do use the dryer here are some basic rules of drying.

• If you have pretreated clothing in the wash process, prior to putting clothes in the dryer, check and make sure the stain is gone. If the stain is not gone, set the garment aside to be washed again. If you do dry a clothing item with a stain, drying can permanently set the stain in.
• Before putting clothes, towels, whatever it is in the dryer, I shake out and unbundle the clothes so drying is more even and the item doesn’t come out all wrinkled and crinkled.
• Set the fabric type, dry time and turn on the dryer. I clean the lint trap after each time I use the dryer. When the drying cycle completes, remove clothing as promptly as you can and fold. Hot clothes that are allowed to cool in a pile will cause wrinkles.

Proper care of your garments will help them stay nice looking for a long time, something even our grandmothers would agree is a good thing.