Laundry 101: Tips for Properly Washing Clothes, Decoding Care Symbols, and Choosing Detergent
Doing laundry is a weekly chore that most people have to deal with, but the correct way to wash clothes can be quite perplexing. From the symbols on care labels to the ingredients in detergents, laundry can be a mystery. In this article, experts share their knowledge on how to properly wash clothes.
Lugging your clothes around town, clean or not, can be frustrating. Find a laundromat that’s local and easy to access all the way from parking to finding an open machine. It’s no fun getting to the location and finding out that you have to wait even longer since all of the machines are being used.
— Ian A. Johnson, Small Business Owner
We live in a world where not having cash on you isn’t a rare occurrence anymore. Modern laundromats allow you to pay for your machine use with a credit card, which can make life a lot easier.
Understanding Care Symbols
The symbols on garment care labels can be decoded to understand how to care for your clothes. A bucket filled with water symbolizes washing; a square symbolizes drying, and an iron symbolizes ironing. A cross on any symbol means do not wash, dry, or iron. Dots inside the symbol refer to heat, with one dot meaning cool, two meaning warm, and three meaning hot. Two lines beneath the symbol indicate the use of a delicate cycle for washing and drying.
The buckets may also have a numerical temperature, which is self-explanatory. Other symbols include a bucket with a hand symbolizing handwashing, a circle for dry-cleaning, letters inside indicating the chemicals for dry-cleaning, two lines with a cross beneath an iron indicating no steam, triangles for bleach and chlorine, a circle inside a square for machine-drying, and lines in the squares to indicate how to position a garment for natural drying. A semicircle from the top indicates hang dry, three vertical lines indicate drip dry, horizontal lines indicate dry flat, and three lines in the corner indicate drying in the shade. A symbol that looks like a propeller means do not wring.
Sorting Clothes
Sorting clothes is important to prevent any dyes from bleeding into one another during washing and to determine what cycle and water temperature to use. Laundry guru and author Shannon Lush recommends separating clothes into five baskets: whites, colorfast, reds, darks, and handwashing.
Choosing Detergent
According to Lush, it doesn’t matter which washing powder or liquid detergent you use, as the difference between them is relatively superficial and often comes down to scent. Lush suggests buying the cheapest detergent. Choose powder or liquid detergent depending on whether your machine is a top-loader or front-loader. The consumer advocacy group Choice recommends powder detergent for top-loaders and liquid for front-loaders. They have also tested and ranked the best laundry detergents on the market.
Eco-Detergents
Eco-detergents are not as effective as regular detergents and are often only marginally better than washing with plain water. Lush explains that eco-detergents don’t break the surface tension on the water as well, which prevents water from getting in to remove stains and dirt. If you are concerned about the environment, liquid detergents are generally more eco-friendly, and there are many refillable liquid detergents available, both in-store and online.
Using Detergent
Using less detergent can save both money and the environment. Most laundry detergents perform just as well at half the recommended dose. Lush suggests using a quarter of the recommended laundry detergent for top-loaders and one-eighth for front-loaders. Add two tablespoons of bicarb soda to your washing powder or liquid and two tablespoons of white vinegar in the slot for fabric softener. Skipping fabric softener is recommended as it can damage clothes.
Water Temperature
Using warm water can clean clothes better, but it requires more energy. Lush recommends using water at blood heat (about 37C) because most fats and proteins will emulsify at this temperature, and stains will come out easily when combined with a washing machine’s agitation. Using cold water may not remove some stains. Use the same water temperature for washing and rinsing to prevent garments from shrinking.
Hand-Washing
Lush recommends using the sink and cheap shampoo for hand-washing instead of laundry detergent. Dilutea small amount of shampoo, just a teaspoon, in a sink of blood-heat water. Submerge delicate garments, like silk, rub them out, and rinse in the same temperature water. If washing woolen knits, ensure that there isn’t any eucalyptus oil in the shampoo as it can damage the fibers.
Drying Clothes
Line-drying clothes is better than using a tumble dryer because the heat and tumbling can age clothes. If using a tumble dryer, Lush suggests putting a dry tea towel in with the clothes to speed up the drying process by spreading the water over a larger surface area. It’s important not to over- or underfill the dryer as underfilling stresses clothes, and overfilling prolongs the drying process.
Keeping Machines Clean
To keep washing machines and dryers functioning well, be sure to empty the filters after every wash. Clogged-up filters impede the machine’s ability to function and can damage clothes or even start a fire. Lush recommends having washing machines and dryers serviced every 15 months and changing washing machine pipes every two years.
In conclusion, understanding care symbols, sorting clothes, choosing detergent, using less detergent, adjusting water temperature, hand-washing, and drying clothes are essential to properly washing clothes. Additionally, keeping machines clean by emptying filters, servicing machines, and changing pipes can prevent machine malfunction and ensure clean clothes.
