How to Wash Laundry

Most fabrics can be laundered in a washing machine—labels will indicate clearly when items should be hand washed or dry cleaned instead. Cleaning laundry in the washing machine saves time and yields the best results.

Prepare Clothing for Laundering

Before tossing your sorted laundry into the wash:

Turn items inside out: This slows the fading of fabric on its visible side.
Empty pockets: Tissues, lip balm, chewing gum, and other foreign objects left in pockets can stain or damage your laundry.
Check for tears and runs: Rigorous washing action can worsen existing damage.
Zip up zippers: An open zipper can snag fabrics.
Do a colorfastness test: Some boldly colored fabric dyes may bleed in water or fade dramatically in colorsafe bleach. Most items that are not colorfast are labeled “wash separately.” But if you’re wary of a brightly colored item that’s never been washed before, test it first. Put a drop of water onto a hidden spot—such as the inside of a hem or seam—then blot it with a cotton ball. If the cotton stays clean, it’s safe to wash the garment with other fabrics. If it picks up some of the dye, wash the item separately. You can perform the same test to determine whether it’s okay to use colorsafe bleach.

How to Pretreat Laundry

Pretreating is the process of presoaking items and pretreating stains before laundering the items. Pretreating can help to remove odors but is particularly important when dealing with stains—washing and drying a fabric without first pretreating it can cause some stains to set, making them virtually impossible to remove.

How to Presoak Laundry

Heavily soiled items, such as gym clothes, should be presoaked to remove tough stains and odors before the items go through the main wash. Presoaking also helps oxygen bleach to work better. You can presoak laundry whether you’re washing it in a machine or by hand.

Machine presoaking: Most washing machines have optional presoak settings that soak clothes in a water-and-detergent mixture for 15–60 minutes before launching into the wash cycle. Newer washers presoak laundry automatically when certain heavy-duty cycles are selected.
Hand-wash presoaking: Pretreat hand-washable items by mixing mild detergent into a sinkful of water and letting the items sit in this solution for 15–60 minutes.

How to Pretreat Stains

If any of your items have visible stains or perspiration marks, set them aside for pretreating. Dampen the stained area and rub a stain stick (see Laundry Supplies) or a dab of liquid detergent directly onto the spot. Then toss the item into the wash.

How to Machine-Wash Laundry

Once laundry has been sorted and pretreated, it’s ready to be washed. Follow these steps:

Select the appropriate cycle and press start. If you’re washing everyday clothing and linens that are only lightly soiled and have no stains, it’s okay to select a gentler, cold-water cycle. A cold-water cycle is safe for any material, and using it saves energy.
Add detergent as the machine is filling with water—if you add detergent only after the laundry is already loaded, it can get concentrated in the fabric and not rinse out fully, causing faded or greasy spots. If the load is small, it’s okay to use less than the recommended amount of detergent and select the short cycle to save time, money, energy, and water. In modern machines, you may also add liquid fabric softener at this stage (see step 4).
Load the laundry and let it wash. A standard wash cycle is about 20–40 minutes long—if you’re using a front-loading washer, expect the cycle to last a little longer.
During the final rinse (depending on your machine), add liquid fabric softener either into the softener dispenser or into the wash itself. The package will suggest an appropriate amount. If in doubt, use less—fabric softener tends to be greasy and can build up on clothing.
Take laundry out of the machine as soon as possible after the cycle ends and transfer it to the dryer, drying rack, or clothesline. Damp clothes that sit in the washer too long can develop a musty, mildew-like smell.

Should You Wash New Items Before Wearing?

If you or someone in your household has sensitive skin, it’s a good idea to wash new items before wearing or using them. Manufacturers often treat fabrics with special finishes that resist wrinkles, dirt, and oils so that the items will look their best in stores. These finishes tend to be hard on sensitive skin. One wash in the appropriate cycle should do the trick.

Laundry Troubleshooting for the Washer

Occasionally, laundry will come out of the machine in worse condition than when it went in. Below are the most common laundry pitfalls and how to remedy them.

Problem	Likely Cause(s)	Solution(s)
Dingy/gray discoloration	Load not properly washed (due to low water temperature, poor sorting, too little detergent, or too much fabric softener)	Rewash load, using presoak, strong detergent, hot water, bleach (if applicable), and laundry additive.
Color bleeding	One or more articles in wash are not colorfast	Remove noncolorfast item(s) and rewash load with strong detergent, hot water, and bleach (if safe for items).
Tears	Excessive use or misuse of bleach Open zipper or hook in wash Overloaded or improperly loaded washer	Use amount of bleach appropriate to size of load, or dilute bleach with water. Close all zippers and hooks prior to washing. Don’t overfill washer. Isolate delicates in mesh bag.
Brown or rust-colored stains	Iron or manganese in water supply	Have local water utility company test water for rust. To remove rust stains, fill washer with water, select appropriate cycle, add 1/3 cup rust remover to water, and let dissolve. Then add laundry. Follow with rinse cycle or regular cycle with detergent. (To test for colorfastness, add one teaspoon rust remover to one cup water, then place one drop of that solution on inconspicuous spot on item. Let spot dry and see whether color changes.)
Excessive lint	Low water pressure Improper draining Improper sorting Overloading	If water pressure seems low when water is filling, look for kinks in hoses and check screens in hoses for buildup of sediment. Once water has filled to maximum level, advance dial manually to final spin cycle. Start timer at beginning of spin cycle, wait 90 seconds, then open lid. If all water has not drained, check drain hose for kinks or call a professional.

How to Hand-Wash Laundry

Any item that’s lacy, embroidered, noncolorfast, vintage (made before washing machines were used), or otherwise delicate or valuable should be hand washed in a sink or basin. In particular, very delicate lingerie and items labeled “hand wash only” must be hand washed. Though time-consuming, handwashing will protect your delicates from damage, fading, and shrinkage, prolonging the life of the fabric. To hand-wash laundry:

Make sure that your fingernails have no ragged edges. Wearing waterproof gloves is a good idea, but it’s not necessary.
Fill the sink or basin with cool water, then add a capful of mild detergent.
Wash items one or two at a time (wash noncolorfast items separately). Swish the item(s) through the sudsy water, then let them soak for a few minutes. Squeeze the sudsy water gently out of the fabric. Don’t twist or wring the item.
Drain the basin or sink and rinse the item with cool water until the water runs clear.
Roll the item in a dry towel to absorb excess water. If the item is noncolorfast, use an old towel that you don’t mind ruining.
Depending on the item’s care label, hang it or lay it flat to dry—never tumble dry a hand-washable item. If you don’t have a drying rack, hang the item on a plastic or wooden hanger or lay it flat on a clean, dry towel. Remember to reshape knits or other stretchy garments to preserve their shape when you lay them out to dry.

How to Dry-Clean Laundry

Dry cleaning is the process of laundering items—mainly clothing and certain types of bedding—with chemicals instead of water or standard detergent. Though there are at-home kits that simulate the action of dry cleaning (see below), real dry cleaning can only be done by professionals, as it requires bulky machinery and special training. Dry cleaning is more expensive than machine washing, and it takes longer—usually a few days to a week—for your laundry to be ready. You should take your garments and bedding to be dry cleaned if:

Their care labels indicate to do so
They’re filled with down or feathers (for example, coats, duvets, and pillows)
They have tough stains that you can’t remove on your own
They have an odor that won’t come out in the washer

Because professional dry cleaners are trained to remove different types of stains, you should point out and identify specific stains whenever possible so that the dry cleaner knows which types of chemicals to use. Never take an item of laundry to the dry cleaner unless its label recommends this type of laundering specifically. Some fabrics can’t withstand the chemicals used in professional dry cleaning.

At-Home Dry-Cleaning Kits

At-home dry-cleaning kits include cloths treated with dry-cleaning chemicals, stain removal liquid, and reusable, dryer-safe bags to contain laundry. These kits are great occasional substitutes for dry cleaning, especially for removing odors (some, but not all, kits can get rid of stains too). To save time, you may also opt to launder lightly soiled delicates with an at-home dry-cleaning kit instead of by hand. Dryel® is a popular at-home dry-cleaning kit. To use an at-home dry-cleaning kit:

Treat stains with the provided stain-removal liquid.
Put a pretreated cloth and the laundry items in the dryer-safe bag.
Toss the bag in the dryer and select the cycle indicated in the kit’s instructions.
When the cycle is over, remove the bag immediately so that no wrinkles can set.

Acknowledgments & Disclaimer