Have you ever turned a white shirt pink in the washing machine, or shrunk your favorite sweater in the dryer? Don't worry, you're not alone. Too many decent articles of clothing have been lost to improper laundry procedure. There's more to doing laundry than just tossing a pile of clothes in the washing machine or loading the dryer and pushing start. If you stick to the following simple steps to doing laundry, you'll never have another laundry mishap again.
Tools:
Washer - Machine that spins and cleans loads of laundry
Dryer - Machine that spins and dry’s loads of laundry
Laundry Detergent - Cleaning agent that when added to the water of the washing machine cleans the clothes
Optional tools:
Fabric Softener - Chemical solution that is added during the wash cycle in order to reduce static and make the load of laundry more aromatic
Dryer Sheets - Fibrous sheet that is added during the dry cycle in order to reduce static and make the load more aromatic
Downy Ball - A tool that is used to apply fabric softener to the load of laundry. The ball is filled up before the wash cycle starts and is placed in the drum with the load of laundry. When the washer begins to spin, the ball opens and it's contents are released into the water within the washing machine.
Step 1: Sort your clothes by darks, whites, and delicates. Darks include jeans and anything that is more than 50% of a non-white color. Whites are usually made up of cotton or anything that when washed in warm/hot water would not get damaged. Silks, suits, or even dress shirts are considered delicates because these are articles of clothing you might damage if washed by yourself. A drycleaners would be a better option for these. While sorting, check your pockets to ensure that they are empty. Something as small as a tube of Chapstick could ruin an entire load of laundry.
Step 2: Place your laundry into the washing machine. Make sure that you don't overload the machine. This could break the machine or cause your clothes not to come out as clean as you may want.
Step 3: Add detergent to load. One cup of liquid detergent per medium sized load is a good amount.
Step 4: If you're using fabric softener, now is the time to measure it out using the Downy ball. There should be a fill line on the ball. Close ball tightly and place into washer.
Step 5: Close the lid. This may seem insignificant, but some washing machine have safety measures that prevent them from starting if the lid is open.
Step 6: Now it's time to select your settings. For this tutorial we are using a medium sized load of darks. The recommended setting for dark clothes is cold/cold, meaning the clothes will be washed in cold water and also rinsed in cold water. For a load of whites, a warmer temperature setting is acceptable because you don't have to worry about colors bleeding out.
Step 7: Once you have selected the water temperature, you will need to select the load size. This tells the machine how much water to use based on how much clothing is in the load. With a medium sized load, the "regular" setting is selected.
Step 8: With your washer loaded properly, the settings where they are supposed to be, detergent added, and the lid closed, starting the washing machine is as simple as pulling the dial out slightly. Listen for the song of water being pumped into the machine to ensure that you have properly started your washing machine. Most loads will take 35 to 60 min. to run through the entire wash cycle. During this time, what you do to occupy your time is at your discretion.
Step 9: After the wash cycle, it's time to dry your clothes. To start this start this process, simply transfer your wet clothes to the dryer.
Step 10: If you're using a dryer sheet it's now time to add it. Dryer sheets are important for reducing static cling, adding a pleasant aroma to your clothes, and leaving them snuggly soft.
Step 11: Once the dryer is loaded, close the lid. Much the same as the washing machine, your dryer likely has a safety measure that prevents it from starting if the lid is open. Missing this step is a game ender. Don't let all of your hard work thus far be in vain.
Step 12: Now you will need to select the proper setting for the dryer. For a medium sized load of darks, a "high heat/maximum amount of time" setting will provide optimal drying conditions.
Step 13: Start your dryer. This is a highly technical process of pushing the "start" button.
As you can see there is a lot more to doing laundry than meets the eye. Once you break it down into simple individual steps it is a lot easier to ensure that you are not going to shrink your clothes or have them come out in a different color than when they went in. You have now officially joined the elite community of people that are capable of doing their own laundry.
