Laundry is a fact of life, whether you like it or not. However, it’s not as daunting of a chore as one might think. Getting clothes really clean has less to do with the detergent you use than it does following basic washing steps for fabrics and colors.
Here are tips from washing certain types of fabric to keeping your whites white and your colors bright.
A majority of machine-washable clothing contains at least one (or more) of these fabrics: cotton, linen, polyester, and spandex.
Cotton
Cotton, a natural fiber, is a favorite for comfortable, versatile clothing including t-shirts and jeans. Cotton tends to shrink unless the fabric has been preshrunk, so start by checking the label. If the tag reads cold water only," it usually means the item is not preshrunk. Items that are preshrunk can be washed in hot, warm or cold water, depending on garment color and care label recommendations. Generally, washing cotton in cold water will keep the deep color in your jeans and keep your colored items bright.
Linen
Linen, a natural fiber, is made from the flax plant. Some linen garments need to dry-clean, so check care labels. If machine-washable, wash according to label instructions. Linen absorbs more water in the wash than other fibers, so guard against overcrowding in the washer.
Polyester
A hit in the 1900s (1970s disco, anyone?), polyester creates colorful and easy-care garments. Most polyester fabrics can be machine-washed in warm water but check care labels first.
Spandex
Spandex, an elastic fiber now incorporated in small amounts in many types of fabric (including jeans and form-fitting shirts) to add stretch and comfort. While spandex is hand or machine-washable, avoid hot water and chlorine bleach, as both will damage the spandex fibers.
Now that you have some fabric know-how, here are some quick tips for washing colors and whites.
Colors
Colorful garments are fun, but they also need special care, since they can fade and lose color quicker than light or dark clothes.
- Always read the labels. Proper washing will help colorful clothes last longer.
- Sort clothes according to color. Wash dark colors together, and white or lighter colors together. If there is a larger load made up of color groups, then these can be tackled in separately. Purples, reds, oranges and bright yellows can be washed together; while bright blues and greens can also be washed together in a separate load.
- Turn new colored clothes inside out, and put in the washing machine. Do not overstuff the machine, and wash the items in cold water on as gentle a cycle as is necessary to clean clothes.
- Remove clothes from the machine as soon as cycle finishes. Allowing them to sit in a washing machine may cause the colors to bleed onto other items.
Whites
- Don’t wash whites with colors. The main cause of dinginess is bleeding from mixing colors with whites. The second main culprit is detergent residue because it acts like a magnet for dirt.
- Use the hottest temperature the fabric can withstand. The hotter the water, the more effective the detergent, but check garment labels first.
For all clothing
- Always inspect clothing for stains before washing. Pretreating stains as soon as possible is a must, as the longer a stain sits, the greater the chance is that it sets. This not only causes discoloration but also weakens the fabric.
- Always wet the stained area with cold water first, then spray it with a stain remover.
When you’ve followed these tips, the machine does the dirty work - until the laundry needs to be folded.
Mattituck Laundry is located at 12250 Main Road, on the North Fork of Long Island, New York, with additional locations in Greenport and East Hampton. Our services include on-site dry cleaning, wash and fold, pick-up and delivery, and self-service coin-operated washers and dryers. Visit our website or call -631-298-1963 to learn more!
