Tips to Get Your Laundry Really Clean

Do your clothes come out of the wash looking dull? When you pull
them out of the closet and put them on, do the colors seem faded? Do
the whites look gray or dirty? Are there stains on your whites and light
colors? Then you need a few tips.

The problem is not your washing machine, and it is not your laundry
detergent. The problem lies in how you do your laundry. A few simple
tricks can fix the problem.

Sorting is the number one rule. Tossing a bunch of different colors into
the machine means pulling out a mess of colors. Your whites and light
colors will come out gray, and they often get streaks of red, blue and
black on them.

The first color to sort out is red, unless you want all of your whites to
come out pink. Red clothes may be washed along with black clothes,
but otherwise, wash reds all by themselves. Red dye comes out easily,
even in cold water, and stains other clothing.

The next color to sort out is blue, especially dark blue. It runs out of
the fabric almost as much as red, and then it stains your other clothes.
You may wash blue things with black or purple, but not with light colors
or whites.

Black clothing can run in the wash and stain lighter colors and whites,
so take out black clothing and wash it by itself or with dark colors such
as red, blue or purple.

Whites should always be washed separately from colors, since stains

show up so easily on whites. You might never need bleach, if you
follow this rule.

Use the right settings for each load. Wash delicate clothing separately
from sturdier items such as towels and blue jeans. The delicates can
get ruined when washed on the regular cycle, but the towels and blue
jeans will not come clean in the delicate cycle.

Those little zippered net bags are a must for very delicate items and
lingerie. This is especially true for items with hook and eye fasteners
that can get caught on other clothing in the machine. Wash and dry
them in the little bag. It will save you a lot of money and frustration.

Pre-treating is important for removing stains. Many commercial pre-

treatments are available, but you do not have to buy them. You can
use a little cold water and hand soap. Just wet the cloth and rub the
soap into the stain, rubbing the cloth against itself, and then let it sit
for at least five minutes before popping it into the washing machine.

Once you have sorted the colors and done pre-treating, start your first
load. Wash whites first, since the dyes from colors might linger in the
machine and stain them. However, if you are using a public
Laundromat, wash colors first, since you do not know what the last
user left behind in the machine.

Also, make sure that you do not overload the machine. As a rule, the
dry clothing should never reach more than halfway to the top of the
tub.

More is better, if you mean the water level. A small load washed in too
much water is not a problem. The clothes will still come out clean.
More is not better, if you mean laundry detergent. Never use more
than the label on the package recommends.

Laundry detergent gets clothing clean because dirt sticks to the

detergent. This means that if the detergent is not completely rinsed
out of your clothes, they will be dirty. To make sure that the detergent
gets rinsed out, try using half the recommended amount and set the
water level high enough to rinse things very well.

When washing clothes for the kids, I usually pop them into the machine
without any detergent. The water makes suds because the kids have
been using too much detergent and too little water. Their clothes
come out clean when I simply rinse out the old detergent that has built
up on them.

Expensive brands usually do not work any better than the cheap
brands of laundry detergent. Try to avoid products with a lot of dyes
and perfumes, since they do nothing to get your clothes clean, and
they can cause allergic reactions.

Chlorine bleach breaks down fabrics, so you want to avoid it whenever

possible. Your clothes will last longer if you use less bleach, less often.
Using more than the recommended amount of bleach can ruin your
clothes the first time you wash them.

Color-safe bleach may be used on whites. It is less damaging to your

clothes than chlorine bleach, and it often does just as good a job of
whitening. For stubborn stains, pre-treatment might be a better option
than bleach.
Set the dryer on low or medium heat for most loads. High heat can
damage your fabrics and ruin delicate clothing. If you are in a bug
hurry to get that one item, such as a towel or a pair of jeans, try
putting only three or four things into the dryer and running it on high.

Avoid overloading the dryer. Clothes tend to get tangled up in the

dryer, and they can pull each other apart or tie sleeves into knots
when the machine is overloaded. Also, you might find that you have a
crispy outside with wet clothing in the middle. The clothes should not
reach more than halfway to the top of the dryer when you load them
into it.

Remove clothes from the dryer while they are still slightly damp.
Drying them out too much is actually bad for the fabric. Your clothes
will look better, and last longer, if they are slightly damp to the touch
when you take them out of the dryer.

Clotheslines are a great option in sunny weather. Sunlight can actually

bleach whites and make them look brighter. Air drying can make
towels fluffier, too. One problem is that lint and pet hair might not
come off as well as they would in a clothes dryer.

Follow these tips, and your laundry will come out cleaner. Your whites
will be whiter, and your colors will be brighter. Your clothes will look
better and last longer.