How to do Laundry A quick and easy tutorial!
5 Steps to Clean Clothes! Gather your materials Separate & evaluate your clothes Wash your clothes Dry your clothes Fold your clothes
Step 1 Gather Materials Quarters (if you don t have a washing machine at your house) Each load will usually take between $0.75-$1.75 (per machine) Drying will take more quarters! Detergent Two kinds bottles (liquid) or boxes (powder) Really no difference between the two liquid may be less messy but slightly more expensive STOP!!! Watch out for detergents that may cause an allergic reaction!!
Still Gathering Bleach Used to make your WHITES brighter Use ONLY with WHITE colored clothing and linens They now have color-safe bleaching action in some detergents So which bleach is the best? Consumer Reports found that Tide with bleach alternative came in 1 st Followed by Cheer and then Arm & Hammer
Fabric Softener Eliminates static cling Makes clothes soft Two forms Liquid added during the wash cycle Sheet added during the dry cycle Please note that liquid fabric softener is DIFFERENT from liquid detergent if you use this form of softener you must also use detergent!!! Examples Bounce, Downy, Snuggles
Last thing to grab! Laundry Basket If you re classy buy a plastic heavy-duty basket or a nice drawstring bag If you re not a pillowcase will work too! Now you are ready to begin!!!
Step 2 Separate and Evaluate Your Clothes Preparation is CRUCIAL!!! Evaluate your dirty clothes to see how many loads should be done Separate your clothes by color
Sorting Whites Basic t-shirts, white socks, sheets, pillowcases and other plain white clothing/linens Lights Everything from pastels to striped or patterned whites A white item with enough color (logo/pattern) to make you think doesn t fit with the whites Darks Dark socks, shirts, all jeans, dark pants Newly dark clothing should be washed alone first Delicates Wool garments, sweaters, satin, undergarments These can be washed in a machine but hand-washing is usually better.
Why separate? Separating helps protect the color and durability of your garment Should an accident occur the damage cannot be undone! What would happen if a red sock got mixed into white towels? Look at the care labels
What to evaluate? Pockets Are they empty? Zippers Are they up? (This prevents snagging) Ties (hoodies/drawstrings/etc) Should be tied to prevent losing them or getting them tangled
Wash Step 3 This is the easy part Pre-treat any visible stains Select your cycle Add your detergent to the machine
Setting Your Machine Some require you to set the temperature (of the water) others ask you to set a cycle WHITES hot cycle vigorous agitation, hot water rinse LIGHTS & DARKS warm or permanent press mild agitation, extra cool water rinse cool water protects the colors DELICATES delicate or cold cycle extremely short and gentle agitation spin cycle
A last few tips When in doubt read the care label! A typical wash cycle takes 25-40 minutes 2 problems that arise Overloading the machine Fill the machine ½ to ¾ full Using too much detergent Only use the full amount if you have a full load use your judgment for the rest smaller loads = smaller amt. needed
Step 4 Drying your nice clean clothes Clean the lint filter Add fabric softener/dryer sheets Unload clothes from washer shake them a little Inspect stains the heat in the dryer will bake it in!
More drying Overloading why is this a problem Most cycles last 30-40 minutes Jeans/towels take longer Take light cotton items out early to avoid wrinkles Dry for too long=shrinking!!! Hang delicates to dry Helps them maintain shape
Step 5 Folding the last task! Begin immediately avoids wrinkling Don t hang sweaters (they will lose shape and take the form of the hanger) Hang button down shirts