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Whilst it can be rather frustrating, your laundry routine doesn’t have to be difficult, and whilst we’re all becoming more aware of our individual impact on the environment, we can all learn a bit when it comes to being more responsible for our laundry routine and looking after our clothes.
Damage and stains are all factors that play a role in textile waste, which is why looking after our clothes can result in less waste, better value, and a much cleaner environment for us all to enjoy.
To put this more in perspective, the UK on average spends £44bn a year on clothes, and over £140m of clothes goes to landfill sites every year.
Together, with the right laundry techniques and routine, you should be able to achieve an excellent clean and fresh finish on your clothes and help them to last for years to come. Make sure to read on for more on how to care for your clothes and step up your laundry game.
Keep In-Line with the Care Labels
Make sure that you are a pro when it comes to the care labels and laundry symbols on your clothes (those little symbols!) and you’ll have already taken the first step towards becoming a laundry pro.
Different types of materials will react differently when washing at different temperatures so follow the symbols to a tee! They’ll tell you whether you can even wash the item in the washing machine, or whether it should be washed by hand, whether it can be bleached and what temperature it will wash best at.
Sort Your Laundry Properly
Another step you need to take is sorting your laundry into the right groups when it comes to characteristics. This can include:
Fabrics
If your clothes are made from similar fabrics, this is a good way to separate them. This can include heavy fabrics such as jackets, jeans, heavy sweatshirts, or lightweight fabrics such as t-shirts and blouses.
You’ll also want to separate your delicate such as lingerie, silk, and so on, and create another pile for your towels and bed linen.
Washing by fabric type will allow you to use different cycles and water temperatures and truly tailor each load to the clothing.
Another great tip is to never wash lint-producing fabrics with lint-attracting fabrics! You’ll truly thank yourself!
If you’re not so confident in sorting your clothes by fabric, you can also rely on the old ‘sorting by color trick’. Separating the colors will prevent your dark clothes from staining your whites or lighter clothes.
It’s recommended that you create two piles, one containing whites, pastels, light greys, and light background prints, and another containing deep colors, blacks, reds and dark grey.
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Prep Your Clothes
Get your clothes ready for washing by checking each item and closing all zips, hooks and snaps, and velcro closures.
You’ll also want to unbutton all buttons, as buttonholes can tear in the washing cycle, and empty pockets.
Make sure to un-bunch all your socks and unroll any cuffs too. Another great tip is to put delicate in a zipped mesh bag, to further reduce the likelihood of them being ruined.
Brighten Your Whites Without the Bleach
If you’re wanting to keep your whites, white, make sure to wash them separately in hot water. To make your life easier and multitask a little, you can wash smaller white items such as napkins, socks, and smaller linens on the stove in a solution of hot water and lemon.
All you’ll need to do is fill a pan with water, add a few lemon slices, bring it to a boil and soak your whites for up to an hour. Once the hour is up, just laundered as usual and you’ll have sparkling whites once more.
Hand Wash More Delicate Items
Just because a clothing label says an item can go in the washing machine and tumble dryer, it is always important to be safer rather than sorry.
If you think that your item of clothing is a bit too delicate to undergo an intense washing cycle, make sure to hand wash it instead. Wool, silk, rayon, and linen should usually be hand washed.
Know When to Call the Dry Cleaners
Some clothing will simply just require a little expert help when it comes to cleaning. Don’t chance your favorite garments by just chucking them in the washing machine.
More delicate materials include those with beading, fur or sequins, and leather and suede. Heavily soiled items with heavier stains should also be passed onto a dry cleaner, rather than chancing it with homemade remedies.
Choose the Right Tumble Dryer Settings
Most modern tumble dryers will have settings such as “electronic” or “automatic dry”, which will let you choose how dry you want your clothes to be at the end of the cycle.
However, if you want to avoid shrinkage, you can always opt for the old-fashioned method of line drying.
Make sure that Your Machines are Running at their Best
If there is one thing for sure, if you want to care for your clothes, you should also care for your machines.
As soon as you notice a problem with either your washing machine or tumble dryer, make sure to call in the experts, such as The Complete Service, leading providers of Washing Machine Repair Surrey.
Keeping your washing machine running at its best will make sure that it is efficient and looks after your clothes for years to come.
