Sorting laundry seems to be mysterious to some. It really isn't so hard. Follow these simple steps and you'll be washing laundry like a pro.
Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: 10 minutes
Here's How:
- Check the labels. They will tell you whether an item can be machine washed. Place all clothes that are labeled, “wash separately” or “hand wash” into separate piles. As a novice launderer, if it says “dry clean only” believe the label and place in a bag to take to the dry cleaners.
- Now, sort laundry by color. Whites, pastels, light gray and white background prints will go in one pile. Deep colored clothes – black, red, navy, brown, dark gray – go in another pile.
- Sort each pile one more time by type of fabric. For instance, in the whites pile separate towels and sheets from apparel. In the dark colors, separate t-shirts and jeans from lighter weight items like blouses and dress shirts. Washing by fabric type allows you to use different water temperatures and keeps drying cycles simple.
Specific questions? Just ask here.
- If you have heavily soiled items with ground-in dirt or oily stains like motor oil or lots of cooking oil stains, sort as usual but wash these items separately. You do not want to have heavy soil redeposit on other clothing.
What You Need
- Hampers
- Drawstring Bag for Dry Cleaners
