Whether you do a load of laundry each day or wait until you’re down to your last pair of clean undies, laundry is a part of our life. One woman did the math and figured she’ll be washing 4,425 loads over the course of her lifetime.
No matter how many loads you’ve tackled, we’re going to cover some basic laundry tips to make this never-ending chore less exhaustive, and hopefully even easier than figuring out what really happened to that missing sock.
Must Loads Be Sorted?
Yes. While it can be tempting to toss your new pair of jeans in with last week’s towels and a bra you’ve been meaning to wash the past few laundry day’s, doing so without sorting can lead to snags, pilling, fuzz, and dye transfer.
Save time later by sorting as you fill the hamper—have one for lights and one for darks. When washing, keep dark jeans away from anything light, sweaters or fuzzy towels far from dress slacks, and save scarves and delicate blouses from meeting lingerie hooks.
Naturally Brighter Whites
Besides avoiding the obvious—washing that new, crisp, white dress shirt with those flatteringly dark skinny jeans—keeping light loads strictly light will help them evade prematurely turning dingy.
When your whites are looking a bit more ecru, there are some great alternatives to using noxious bleach. Some of these natural laundry brighteners to consider are baking soda, borax, lemon juice, or distilled white vinegar.
Plus, don’t forget about good old sunlight! If you hang your clothes outside to air dry on a sunny day, not only do they come back indoors smelling amazingly fresh, the sun’s rays can perform the brightening of whites for you.
Is Your Laundry Really Getting Clean?
Another incredibly bright way sunlight helps out on laundry day is in germ killing efforts! So hang those sheets out on the line for some sunny germicidal warfare.
Reading the tags in your garments can help you know how to handle each fabric you’re washing, but choosing the hottest recommended water temperature will aid in loosening buildup of sweat stains.
Also be sure you’re using the proper type and amount of laundry detergent to avoid soap buildup and residue.
Don’t Overload
This goes for you and your appliances. ;) If you cram everything into one huge wash load, fabrics aren’t going to have as much room to move around to get thoroughly cleaned. The same principle applies to the dryer—overloading is one of the most common reasons dryers break.
Doing laundry doesn’t have to be a dreaded chore. Especially if you have the luxury of in-home appliances—you start the load and it handles the task from there. Look on the bright side, as it has been said: “Be thankful for the laundry, because it means you have clothes to wear.”