Laundry Tips
I've been meaning to make an extensive list of tips as someone who worked in a laundromat. Some basics and a few things I noticed not many people know. This is also coming from someone who learned to take care of my clothes early on to save money cause we're all broke here, so these tips also save you money:
•If you're not sure how to separate colors, have 2 piles, lights and darks/brights. Obviously black clothes and bright colors like red or yellow should be separate from whites. But when you get any color clothing that's not a light color, or if you're not sure if it counts as "light", take a corner of the item and run it under warm water, then squeeze the water out and check if the water comes out with dye. If it does there's a high chance it will bleed dye on your clothes, so wash it with the darks.
•You do not need brand laundry detergent. Any laundry detergent will do. I experimented with a few brands and all brands cleaned just fine. Just know, if you use powder detergent, check the instructions because most have to be used with warm or hot water.
•Don't use that much soap. You're using too much. More soap doesn't mean more clean, the measurements on the container are made to be the exact amount you need. More soap means the machine has to work harder to rinse it out and you get soap residue more than likely, which can make you itchy or make allergies worse.
•You don't really need to wash anything in hot water regularly. Cold water is fine for most things, and makes your clothes last longer. You only really need hot water for things you clean less frequently or things that need disinfecting, like pillows, bath rugs, and comforters.
•With things that need disinfecting like bath rugs, pet blankets, reusable period pads/undies, and soiled sheets, use half a cup of hydrogen peroxide in the bleach tray. It's a color safe bleach so you can add it to any color item. For items that stink, like pet items or workout gear, add half a cup of vinegar instead of softener. It works better than the expensive "sport" detergent. Even on urine smells. I got this tip from a nurse that works in a hospice.
•To be honest, softener is unnecessary. You can soften clothes with half a cup of vinegar in the softener tray. You won't smell it once it's washed, in case you're worried about that. Softener is terrible for clothes, it actually ads a coating to fabric so if an item is supposed to pull sweat from your body, like workout gear, towels, or summer clothing, it looses the ability with just a couple washes with softener. And fire resistant clothing like baby clothes will lose the ability if washed with softener.
•If it's the smell you want, I recommend wool dryer balls. They help dry your clothes better anyway. But for scented clothes, add like 5 drops of any essential oil to a couple of them, or dip them in a hydrosol like rose water for a bit and then toss them in the dryer. I've heard people do this with perfume too, but I've never tried it.
•Treating stains is easier if you do it as soon as it happens. Or as soon as you get home. If you can't wash it right away, put a couple drops of laundry soap on the stain and dab it into the stain with a damp cloth, or use a stain spray if you have one. If the stain is cooking oil, hair products, or any type of grease, put a couple drops of Dawn dish soap on it. There's a reason they use it for oil spills. Just don't add any to your washing machine, it can cause the machine to suds up too much and break it. When you wash the item, check if the stain came out. If not, air dry it. Heat sets in stains so drying it in a machine will make the stain impossible to remove.
•If you have the space please air dry your clothes in the sun. Please. It's so good. It makes your clothes smell great, makes them last longer, helps remove stains, and brightens whites like bleach never could. I live in an apartment but I hang clothes next to the window in the spring/summer and its so good.
-Clothing labels lie. Here's a breakdown of what needs special care and what doesn't:
•Wool and silk are cold wash only. Hand wash if you can, but if you must machine wash, use cold ONLY. Use a delicate setting if your washer has one. It should be air dried. Get a drying rack. If you absolutely cannot air dry, dry wool clothing on cold/delicate for 10 minutes at a time until it's barely damp, then leave it open on your bed/couch or over a chair. Do not dry silk. It's expensive, why would you ruin it. Hang it on a hanger and hook it over your door if you have nowhere else to hang it. It dries quickly.
•Cotton can be washed any temp, but everything lasts longer in cold wash. Dry on normal, only dry on high if the item needs disinfecting or if the item is thick, like a pillow, bath rug, or comforter.
•Linen is indestructible. Linen is stonewashed to soften it, which means people put the fabric in large washing machines filled with rocks to beat it so it softens. Wash on high and dry on high to soften it more if the item is stiff, but a cold wash and normal dry is fine otherwise.
•Synthetics like polyester, acrylic, nylon, etc. are best washed cold and dried on normal/warm. More delicate items like thin blouses, stockings, and anything with lace is best air dried, but can be dried on cold/delicate if necessary. Synthetic clothes are more prone to staining so treat stains as soon as they happen.
•SOME dry clean only clothing is fine in the washer, but I'd say dry clean it if you're not sure. If it's an item with no lining it's usually fine, but always air dry these. Dresses, blouses or skirts with stiff linings will lose their shape in the washer. Easiest way to tell, if you turn a dry clean item inside out and there's a white paper like fabric lining certain areas it can't be machine washed. That's a stabilizer/interfacing and it will get ruined. Always dry clean suit jackets, coats, and anything labeled dry clean that's filled with feathers. Some suit pants can be machine washed, but make sure it doesn't have any interfacing. If a dry clean item has lots of colors on it, like a multicolored shirt, or a black dress with a white collar, dry clean it. It will get ruined otherwise.
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I think that's everything, but if anyone has any questions, especially for doing laundry with a disability/low spoons, ask on this post or in the tags. My inbox seems to swallow messages but I'll keep checking this post.
