You’ve probably heard that you are supposed to sort your laundry into different loads before running it through the wash. But are you only sorting whites and colors? That’s just the start! Properly sorting your laundry is important to help protect your clothes and make them last. Here’s how to separate your laundry for washing!
Laundry Sorting Basics
The reality of sorting and separating laundry is that it is a little different for everyone. No one else in the world has your exact wardrobe, so you’ll need to develop a plan that works well for you and your family. With that said, there are a few basic laundry sorting tips that anyone can use:
- Set aside items that need to be hand-washed. While it’s okay for most of your garments to take a trip through the washer and dryer, it’s not true for everything. Some items will need to be washed by hand to avoid damage. One of your first steps when sorting laundry should be to set aside the garments you want to wash by hand, so they don’t accidentally end up in the load with everything else.
- Two color piles. When you sort your clothes by color, you want to separate the whites and light grays from darker colors (e.g., blues, browns, and blacks). This helps to prevent any of the darker garments from bleeding color onto the lighter ones.
- Wash newer items separately. It’s a good idea to put new clothes through the wash on their own, if only because you don’t know exactly how they are going to behave. A good example of this is a new pair of jeans: Some jeans will bleed a lot of blue color on the first few trips through the wash. By washing your new jeans or other new items alone for a few cycles, you should be able to avoid ruining any other clothing.
Separate Your Activewear!
Chances are, most if not all of your workout clothes are made with synthetic materials. If you’ve tried washing these items only to have the odor remain, the problem is likely your detergent. That’s because standard laundry detergent is designed to treat cotton rather than the newer synthetic materials. To get the best results, separate your activewear and wash these garments with a specialized detergent such as WIN Activewear Detergent. WIN is just as affordable as your regular detergent but is made specifically to remove odor and oils from synthetic materials.
Treat Soiled Items First
Most of the time, the garments going into the wash aren’t particularly dirty—they are just carrying sweat and body oils and need to be cleaned before being worn again. However, depending on your job or hobbies, you might have some items that are truly dirty and need some special attention.
For particularly soiled garments, like those with grass stains or caked-on mud, don’t throw them in with everything else, or you might wind up getting your whole load of laundry soiled. Instead, treat these items by hand before you run them through the machine separately.
Create Your Own System
It’s easy to fall into the habit of piling up your entire household’s dirty clothes until laundry day rolls around. However, that will make sorting your laundry more difficult and time-consuming when it comes time to do the wash. To stay ahead of the game, create a sorting system that everyone in the house can follow.
One good option is to place multiple hampers in the laundry room or in another convenient location. Each hamper can be labeled to collect a certain type of garment. You might have one for activewear, one for whites/grays, and one for darker items. Of course, the specific system you establish should match your family’s laundry needs—so if, for instance, you need a hamper for muddy outerwear, make one!
Try WIN Detergent Today!
If you are tired of clothes coming out of your dryer stinky when they should be clean, it may be time for a new detergent. Specifically, garments made from synthetic fibers need special treatment—namely a detergent that can wipe out oils and odor from these materials, leaving your clothes smelling great once again. WIN Detergent is up to that challenge. Order a bottle today and see the difference for yourself.