Sorting only lights and dark
The more you sort the laundry, the fresher your clothes. Separate very dirty or muddy clothes apart from lightly soiled pieces, and heavy or abrasive fabrics like denim from more delicate ones. For denim, turn inside out, wash in cold water on a gentle cycle, and dry at a low temperature to prevent fading. To prevent sheets from twisting, wash each set separately instead of the whole family’s at once, and include smaller items like underwear in the load. The items help prevent twisting because they have different tumble patterns.
Putting detergents directly on your clothes
Believe it or not, there’s a right and wrong way to load the washing machine. For best detergent distribution, place laundry in first, then add water, and lastly add soap. However, if you’re using bleach, add water first, then clothes, and then soap.
Abusing the washing machine dryer
If you have time to air dry, do it. Not only do you save energy by not running the dryer, it’s gentler on delicate items and helps stretchy clothing, like yoga pants, to keep their shape. Whenever you do tumble-dry, don’t overload the dryer, or over-dry fabrics. Then fold or hang them immediately to prevent wrinkles.
Mixing socks with clothes
Tired of losing one less sock every time you do a load? Try placing socks in the washer first, then adding everything else. This makes them less likely to attach to other garments, which often causes them to go missing.
Loose zippers can snag delicate clothing, as well as scratch the doors of front-loading washers. Make sure they’re all the way up before you toss in the machine. Also, unclipped bras can pull fabrics or damage the drum if they fly around loose. Invest in lingerie bags or an old pillowcase as a solution.
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