No one is born knowing how to do laundry. From kids and college students to first-time homeowners, there are many life-stages that will require you to get familiar with the art of laundry. At Laundry Genie, we wash hundreds of loads of laundry every day and want to help pass along some of the expert tips we’ve learned along the way. Keep reading for our full guide on how to clean your clothes like a professional.
Sorting Your Laundry
To start, your clothes, towels, sheets, and other items should be sorted properly. Sorting may seem tedious for the uninitiated, but don’t skip this important step. You should always be washing clothes with similar items. Using multiple laundry baskets or a multi-compartment laundry sorter can help.
Sorting By Fabric
The type of fabric affects the washing and drying cycle of your clothes. Heavier fabrics like jeans or thick sweatpants and sweatshirts should be separated from thinner t-shirts and shorts made of lighter fabrics. Additionally, delicate items like sweaters and lingerie or any item labeled “hand wash only” on the care instructions tab should also be washed separately from other clothes. There are many reasons this separation of fabric is necessary. For one, the heavier fabric will move to the bottom and wear out lighter fabrics and can take much longer to dry.
Sorting By Color
Carefully sorting colors is also important. New brightly colored shirts or jeans can bleed out colors in the first few washers, potentially damaging or dying your other clothing. Likewise, whites may require bleach or other detergents that are not suited for darks or brightly colored clothes. In general, you can separate your clothes into three distinct piles before washing:
- Whites: White t-shirts, underwear, socks, and other all-white, cotton clothing
- Lights: Any clothing with lighter colors like light blues, lavenders, greens, and pinks
- Darks: Any clothing with darker colors like black, grey, red, and purple
How To Treat Delicates?
Delicates require a little more care and attention when doing your laundry. Delicates could include clothing like lingerie, silks, pantyhose or any other clothing that may be damaged in a normal washing machine cycle. Try placing your delicates in a mesh bag for added protection. When selecting your washing machine setting, use cold water and then choose the delicate setting. If no delicate setting is available, choose the lowest spin cycle speed available. After the wash, you can select the air-dry setting on the dryer or opt to hang dry your delicates for best results.
Treating Stains
Your washing machine can’t get out everything, including deep stains from grass, food, and blood. Tougher stains should be treated prior to placing the item in your washer. You can purchase stain treatment solutions or make your own solution of equal parts vinegar and baking soda. Rub the stained areas with your stain solution of choice before rinsing out the spot. You can also soak the item overnight in water and laundry detergent before washing.
When and How To Hand-Wash
Delicate items or those with heavily soiled stains may require hand washing. Hand washing can extend the life of delicates and remove some stains before you wash. To hand-wash your clothes, trying the following:
- Pretreat stains
- Soak in a bucket with warm water and laundry detergent for about 30 minutes (Don’t soak silks for longer than 30 minutes)
- Rinse well with tepid water
- Squeeze the item to remove excess water without wringing or twisting
- Let air dry on a rack
Understanding Your Machinery
Now that we’ve covered the basics of sorting and stain treatment let’s move on to the machines. Carefully review the details of your washer and dryer before attempting your first load. While every appliance is unique, we will cover some of the basics that should apply to most machines below. If available, review your machine’s user manual before proceeding.
Washing Machine Settings
Most washing machines will have two major dials to choose from when doing your laundry. The first will determine the water temperature, and the second is for selecting your spin cycle speed. Here are the settings you will most commonly see on washing machines:
- Water Temperature Options
- Cold
- Warm
- Hot
- Spin Cycles Options
- Regular/Normal
- Permanent Press
- Delicates
- Rinse & Spin
Dryer Settings
Similar to your washing machine, your dryer will also offer several settings to choose from when drying your clothes. Every machine is unique, but most dryers will have a variation of the following settings to choose from:
- Regular
- Permanent Press
- Rinse well with tepid water
- Delicates
- Air Fluff
How To Choose Your Wash Cycle and Temperature?
Here are some general guidelines for selecting the best temperature and cycle options on your washing machines.
- How to select your water temperature:
- Cold: Helps prevent fading of dark colors and protects delicates
- Warm: Good for most colored clothing and helps prevent fading
- Hot: Helps kill bacteria on soiled clothing and is best for keeping your whites bright
- How to select your cycle:
- Regular/Normal: Best for most cotton fabrics with average soil
- Permanent Press: Works well with synthetic and blended fabrics
- Delicates: For light, fragile fabrics, includes slow agitation speed
- Rinse & Spin: Helps remove moisture from clothing and give an extra rinse if needed
Washing Machine Settings
Every washer has different recommended ways to add detergent and which detergent is best to use. Typically, you fill your machine with clothes and other items like towels and bedding before adding your detergent. Newer machines will have a separate compartment to add your detergent to, while older models may require you to add the detergent on top of your clothes before shutting the lid.
Loading Your Fabric Softener
Most washers will have a separate dispenser to help add fabric softener to your load of laundry. Be sure to review your machine manufacturer recommendations as well as the instructions on the fabric softener bottle before adding softener to your machine. This will help prevent damage to your machine and clothes.
How To Select Your Drying Cycle?
Once your clothes are washed and loaded in your dryer, you will have several settings to choose from. Below are some general recommendations for some of these common dryer settings.
- Regular: This is usually the fastest and hottest setting. Watch out for shrinkage
- Permanent Press: This setting usually applies medium heat that helps remove wrinkles from most clothing, but delicates should be avoided
- Delicates: This is usually the lowest setting and speed and helps prevent damage for delicates
- Air Fluff: This no heat setting may be used for touch-ups or delicates
When To Air Dry
Consider air-drying if you are trying to save money on your electric bill or have delicates that could shrink or damage in the regular dryer. This tried, and true method takes the longest but is the most gentle and economical option for drying your clothes.
Order A Wash and Fold Laundry Service
If you are unsure about how to proceed with your laundry, leave it to the professionals at Laundry Genie. We take the guesswork out of laundry day and leave you with incredibly clean, great-smelling clothes that are stain-free and folded for your convenience. Our Weekly service starts at just $1.59 per pound and includes free delivery. Schedule your wash and fold service today online in just minutes.