If you find that you must do your own laundry, follow the steps in this helpful guide to sorting laundry.
The Mom-approved Guide to Sorting Laundry
If you grew up in a home where the mom always did the laundry, then you may have paid very little attention. After all, you had clean clothes that looked and smelled great to wear. Now that you find yourself out on your own, you may be wondering where to begin the laundry sorting process. This guide has the answers that you need.
Why Sort Laundry?
There are at least three reasons that you should sort laundry:
- Preserve color– If you dump all the clothes in the washer simultaneously, you may end up with pink socks that used to be white or discover that your favorite workout outfit is now a dingy brown.
- Protect Delicate Fabrics – You will want to sort your clothes according to fabric content. Put denim in one pile, delicate fabrics like lace and netting in another., towels in a third, and dump everything else together. This helps protect the different fabrics as rough denim can harm other clothing, and towels often leave lint behind.
- The right product for clothes– Some products like bleach and bluing agents can harm some clothing. Sorting your clothing allows you to use the right products in every situation.
What Steps Should You Take to Sort Laundry?
Now that you know the importance of sorting laundry establish a laundry sorting routine.
Sort by Color
The first step is to sort your laundry into three piles by color, as we have already discussed. Dark colors, light colors, and whites.
Sort by Fabric Type
The next step is to sort the clothes by fabric type. Be sure to keep them within their color groupings.
Combine Piles with Care
You can usually wash towels that have been washed before with underwear. You can also wash light-colored clothes with whites unless you are adding special cleaning agents.
Check Clothing Tags
If there is any doubt in your mind about how to wash a particular item, check the clothing tag. If you see:
- Hand in a tub of water, handwash that item
- Tub with an x through it, do not wash that piece of clothing
- Circle means take that item to the drycleaners
- Circle with an x through it means do not dry clean that item
- Tub of water, wash that piece
Wash Clothes Right Side Out
If you are like many people and take off your clothes and throw them in a tub without looking, then you need to take the time to turn them right side out before you put them in the washing machine. If your clothing has delicate buttons, then button them up to protect them while in the washer and dryer.
Empty Pockets
Check all pockets to make sure that they are empty before you put them in the washer. Washing items can ruin them. When things like crayons and lipstick get washed, they can destroy many items.
Check for Sewing Repairs
Check all clothing for needed sewing repairs before washing them. Usually, problems get more significant if you try to wash items with loose buttons, tears, or hems coming undone.
Stain Removal Guide
As you are sorting your clothing, be sure to watch for stains. Most stains need pretreating before you can wash them.
Watch this video to learn how:
Choosing the Right Temperature
Do not undo all your hard work by washing clothes at the wrong temperature. Again, clothing labels hold essential clues. You should wash items that have just a tub of water pictured using a normal cycle. If you see a single line under the tub, then wash that load using the permanent-press cycle. You should wash items where you see two lines under the tub using the delicate cycle.
If in doubt or stuck without time, let the experts wash your laundry for you. North Fort Myers Laundromart offers professional wash/dry/fold services, besides being a do-it-yourself laundromat.