We're going in order of the entire wash process. From gathering the dirty duds, getting them to the space where you launder and now how to prep your clothes for the wash. Did you even know there are several things you should do before putting your clothes in the wash?
Of course, sorting the laundry is very important. Let's get into detail about prepping your clothes for the machine, while sorting as well as stain treatment, soaking and delicates.
There are many different ways to sort wash. I must admit, I use the most basic method. I mix and match, use hot, cold...I just want to do as much wash at one time as possible to get it over with faster.
I always start with the darks because we have twice as many darks as lights and whites. As you put the darks directly into your machine or another bin (I go right for the machine.) empty pockets, zip up zippers and unbutton buttons. Make sure your red clothes go in with the darks as well. Some folks also sub sort by weight. I do not do this for the washing process, but for the drying, I do.
For environmental as well as economical purposes, I wash nearly all of my laundry in a cold cycle. It saves a whole heck of a lot of energy and money. Washing in cold preserves colour, prevents bleeding and of course, helps shrinkage. Keeping up a cold cycle allows you to mix the colours a bit more, too. We don't have that many white items, so I just chuck them right in with my lightest coloured wash.
Click on this image to read more tips on how to save energy.
All machines, clothes and detergents are created differently so you may have to experience and see just how far over the boundaries you can go with your clothing in regards to stuffing your machine, weight and temperature.
Over stuffing your machine will not lend the cleanest wash. It will create more wrinkles and smell less fresh.
Every other month, I might wash a white load with bleach and hot water. Bleach and the hot cycle is terrible for the environment and I use it as little as possible. Our wash just isn't all that bad and the regular process on cold, seems to do well enough.
Wool, silk, satin, leather...any fragile garment should be scrutinisingly considered to even enter your washing machine. Wash by hand. If you really love your clothes or a particular garment, take it to the cleaners.
I've hooked up this image below, for alternatives to dry cleaning. We don't do dry cleaning. It's ridiculously expensive, environmentally harmful and our life styles don't require this type of clothes.
At the very least, sort darks and lights and wash on a cold cycle.
I rarely stain treat, but if you do here are some tips.
For underarm stains, check out this link. If ring around the collar is a problem, click here.
OxiClean seems to be the big brand to treat strains. Harsh products are not good for fabrics, our skin or the environment. So, I'm also hooking you up with a couple of home made stain treatments. Check out this one from the Wellness Mama. You may even already have these ingredients in your home. Here's another one.
I also found this assortment of ways to fix some clothing and shoe problems. There are a lot of good tips here. I use a lot of these methods.
So, now we are actually ready to wash. We'll look at the different kinds of wash machines that are out there and cover a couple more basics of washing in the next Dirty Laundry edition.
I'll leave ya with this free printable of a clothing care guide. Click on the image to get to the blog to download and read more about the care symbols.
Feel free to share your favourite stain treatments.
Thanks for joining us!
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