Do Laundry
Love it or hate it, everyone has to do the laundry at some point. It can be confusing at first, and most people don't find it fun. But it can be done, and without boredom.
Contents
Steps
Sorting and Preparing Clothes
- Always check the labels on your clothing first. The label may indicate that the clothes should not be washed or need to be washed in a special way. The international clothing symbols can tell you everything you need to know about how to wash an item.
- There will be an image which looks like a side view of a bucket with water in it. If a number is written, this indicates the temperature (in Celsius) that should be used. If a hand is there instead of a number, this means it should be hand washed. An X means it should not be washed.
- The triangle indicates bleaching. A white triangle means the item can be bleached, a black triangle or X means it should not be.
- A box with a circle inside indicates how to use the dryer. One dot means low temperature, two dots means normal, and an X means a dryer should not be used.
- A plain box means the item should be dried on a line (if a parenthesis is at the top), flat (if a solid stroke is through the middle), or drip-dried (if three vertical lines are in the box).
- The image of the iron indicates the temperature used to iron the item. The more dots, the higher the temperature. An X means an iron should not be used.
- Sort out the dirty clothes into different piles, each of which will be washed separately:
- White clothes.
- Light clothes. These items will be pastel colors, and similarly light colored clothes.
- Dark clothes. These items will be black, navy, dark green, or any shade of red.
- Towels and sponges. When washing these items, add two tablespoons of white vinegar as the water fills the machine to kill bacteria and get rid of that musty towel smell.
- Fuzzy sweats.
- Underwear.
- Delicates: sweater. coats
- Prepare all of your clothes. Empty all of your pockets of any pens, money, or important papers (although money can survive a wash).
- Treat any heavy stains with stain remover before washing.
Washing Your Clothes
- Add cleaning products. Your detergent bottle should have a chart that tells what amount should be used for your wash load. When using a High Efficiency or front loading washing machine with soft water, use the minimum recommended amount of detergent into the washing machine. If you need to add bleach (which is used to whiten clothes), put it in appropriate dispenser. Always handle bleach carefully as it can cause harm to skin, eyes and clothing if it splashes.
- Select the appropriate water temperature. Colors are washed in cold water. Whites, under most circumstances, can be washed in warm water without problem. To kill mites, bed linens (especially pillow-cases) need hot water.
- When in doubt, go with cold water, as hot water can shrink clothes.
- Add clothes. Add clothes to the washer but do not over stuff the washer as the clothes won't be cleaned well if there is too much laundry in it.
- After the clothes are washed, shake them out so they will dry easier and with less wrinkles.
- Check the lint tray before drying. Place your pile in the dryer. Make sure the lint tray is emptied, as a full tray can cause fires or make it impossible to dry the clothes. Tap tray gently upside down against garbage can to empty it.
- Choose which drying level you want, whether for colors or whites.
- Take your clothes from the laundry room, fold items, and place them on shelf of cart. Iron items and hang on coat hangers immediately after drying to prevent wrinkles.
Tips
- Shirts may develop holes when washed with heavier items.
- Make sure not to add too much detergent or bleach.
- Do the laundry once a week, so that you don't have a huge load of laundry.
- Do not put anything in the dryer that you feel may shrink. Let it air-dry, just to be safe.
- If you have an extremely large wash load, make sure you set the washer to its heaviest setting or divide the load between two washers.
- Only wash a few denim items at a time; denim takes up a lot of room and can overload a washing machine.
- Make sure to be careful with wash cycle temperatures.
- Don't have a huge laundry basket - get a smaller one so that you'll have to do laundry more often.
- To break the boredom of doing the laundry, try listening to a radio station at a low volume. You can still listen to the interesting parts of the programme, and tune out the radio when it gets boring or when you need to pay special attention to whatever you're doing.
- Make sure not to wash the same item of clothing too much so it can last longer.
- Try not to add to much fabric softener. Like it said, the bottle of softener will tell you how much you should use.
- Make sure you fold the laundry as soon as its dry so it won't get wrinkles and you won't have to dry them again.
Warnings
- Mixing towels with your clothes will result in your clothes picking up a bunch of fuzz, which is rather annoying.
- Never mix detergents and other chemicals! Bleach does NOT mix with Ammonia, for example. (This creates a deadly, poisonous gas). Read warning labels on all chemicals used to ensure no accidental mixing occurs.
- Too much detergent could ruin your wash machine.
- Do not overload the washer! Overloading a washer with an agitator can damage the drive mechanism for the agitator. Overloading a high efficiency washer (front loader) will greatly reduce the ability of the washer to clean your clothes.
Related Articles
- Sort Laundry
- Reduce Laundry Wrinkles
- Dry Laundry Without a Machine
- Catch Up on Dirty Laundry
- Teach Your Children to Do Laundry
- Do Your Laundry in a Dorm
- Decide Whether to Hang or Fold Your Clothes
