In a way, your clothes are an extension of who you are. While it feels great to slip into a stylish, comfortable outfit, sliding into a wrinkly shirt or pair of pants just doesn’t feel great. Don’t worry. While it takes a bit of extra effort, it’s easy to both improve and optimize your laundry routine. Whether you’re snuggling up on the couch for a movie night or heading out to the club with some friends, we’ve got lots of tips to help keep all your clothes in great shape.
1-Sort your clothes before washing them.
Laundry is a big mixing and matching game. It may be tempting to toss all your clothes into the washer at once, but this isn’t always the best option. Instead, sort your clothes by color, as well as by how dirty they are. Also, divide certain clothes, like loose knits and delicates, into their own separate load. It may seem a bit tedious at first, but sorting your laundry helps keep your garments in great shape.[1]
- Coloring sorting prevents any unwanted dye transfer during the wash cycle. Sorting clothes by dirtiness stops any extra grime from sticking to your less-soiled clothes.
- For instance, you could divide your laundry into 4 color piles: whites, pastels and medium-toned garments, brights, and darks.
- You might also separate your really dirty clothes from your less soiled ones.
- Experts also suggest washing towels, fuzzy shirts, and fuzzy robes in their own load, since they tend to give off lots of lint.
2-Read the care labels.
An open triangle means you can bleach the garment, while a solid, crossed out triangle means you shouldn’t use bleach.
A square with a circle inside represents specific tumble drying instructions.
A symbol of an iron means that the garment is safe to iron.
3-Treat stains right away.
To treat ink stains, dip a clean sponge in rubbing alcohol and dab it around and over the stain. Flip the garment over, setting the stain face-down on a sheet of clean paper towels. Dab more rubbing alcohol along the back of the stain, replacing the paper towels as needed. Then, rinse out the stain as best as you can, and wash the garment as you normally would.
For fresh blood stains, soak the clothing item in a container of cold water, and wash it as usual. For dried blood stains, soak the garment in a basin of warm water mixed with an enzyme-rich product. Then, launder the clothing item as usual.
To care for light mud stains, spread a powder detergent paste over the soiled area and wash it as you normally would. For heavier mud stains, pretreat the garment in a basin of water mixed with a detergent or enzyme-rich product. Then, add it to your next load of laundry.