Proper Laundry Guide

The non-profit organization Earth Pledge in the United States reveals that 70% of the carbon dioxide emissions released per piece of clothing occur during its use phase. When it comes to clothes washing, not only the energy will be consumed but also carbon emissions will be generated. In addition, the washing process involves issues of water resources and wastewater pollution.

Proper laundry could maintain garments in their best condition and could extend their lifespan; it could also reduce resource waste and environmental harm.

Inappropriate washing methods are more likely to result in shrinking, fading, pilling, or staining on clothing. In fact, laundry care is more than just throwing clothes into the washing machine and pressing the start button — but don't worry! You can handle it with some techniques and practices.

We will demonstrate how to do proper laundery step by step below. Generally speaking, there are some obvious rules to follow to remove stains and to make the garments last longer. Then, your favorite cotton T-shirts, polyester garments, or denim jeans would look and feel as good as new ones after washing, with the effect of remaining soft and comfortable just like they always have.

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1. Read laundry labels

Before doing laundry, please make sure to check the care labels; there should be recommendations about the washing modes, including whether garments can be tumble dried, and the optimal water temperature for washing the garments.

These labels are key to proper laundry care, and it is recommended to keep the habit of reading them before washing. Sweaters are likely to be ruined by being thrown into the washing machine; and shirts would shrink when washed or dried at high temperature. Key points to note on laundry labels include:

Is the garment machine-washable or is it handwashing recommended?
What water temperature should be set – should the water be cold, warm, or hot?
Is it okay to use bleach or fabric softener?
Tumble dried or air dried?
Ironed flat or steamed while hanging?

If an item is labeled as not suitable for machine-washing, then we need to find out if it is for hand-wash or dry-cleaned.

2. Sort the laundry by color, soiled level, or washing temperature

This is important! Sort white, light-colored, and dark-colored garments; take out delicate items from heavily soiled ones.

Tossing all dirty laundry into the washing machine together might save water, electricity, and detergent, but it could also shorten the lifespan of your clothes. Sorting is the another key to proper laundry care and is a step that should never be skipped. Just remember these three factors for laundry sorting: color, fabric type, and level of soiling.

You should sort light and dark colors of the garments. If the dye concentration is not secured on dark-colored garments, it may bleed dye into the water and stain light-colored clothes (ever turned a white shirt pink?). And according to the intensity of colors, washing temperature and washing cycles may differ.

Please do categorized the garments according to their styles, fabrics, and details of the textiles. Delicate fabrics such as lace, embroidery, bras, underwear, and silk items should be washed separately and placed in dedicated laundry bags to protect them. Fabrics with a brushed or fuzzy texture (such as chenille, velvet, cotton fleece, velour, peachskin, corduroy, terry cloth, etc.) should be washed separately to prevent lint from adhering to other garments. Wool, knitted sweaters, and similar items should be placed in laundry bags, then washed with specialized detergents using a gentle cycle; no spin mode, and air-dried flat or hung to prevent the risk of shrinking and deformation.

If you don't want to risk transferring dirt and odors to other clothes, it is suggested to wash items that need special treatment separately. Clothes that are heavily soiled with sweat by outdoor activities, or garments stained with mud from yard work, should be sorted accordingly. Depending on the level of soiling, choose detergents with different efficacy, and evaluate the amount used; and it is better to wash them separately in the washing machine.

3. Organize the laundry and treat stained parts

Inspect each garment, zip up zippers, check pockets, turn the garments inside out; then pre-treat the stains.

Have you ever found shredded paper bills, coins, or earphones at the bottom of your washing machine after doing laundry? Checking pockets is an important step before you prepare clothes for the washing machine. Here's the complete checklist:

If you notice any odor or specific stains, spray them with a spot treatment product such as collar stain remover, blood stain remover, or odor eliminator to make stains easier to be removed.

Close zippers, Velcro, or buttons on jeans, jackets, and other garments to prevent them from snagging on other items and becoming distorted.

Ensure all pockets are empty. Don't forget any of them, including the mid-pocket on hoodies, front and back pockets on jeans. Any dress or skirt with pockets should also be checked!

Turn garments inside out, which helps to prevent pilling on the surface of clothes, allows detergents to clean the dirtiest parts such as the neckline, armpits, and groin areas. This step also protects decorative details on the garments, such as screen prints, flocking, and embroidered patches. Jeans should also be washed inside out to maintain color vibrancy.

Place small and delicate items in laundry bags to prevent them from tangling with other clothes and becoming distorted. Additionally, items with shoelaces, bras, garments with drawstrings or long straps, small sports gear, and accessories should all be placed in separate laundry bags. This is a key step in extending the lifespan of your clothes.

4. Add laundry detergent

Choose an environmentally-friendly laundry detergent that is gentle on clothes but effective at removing stains. Refer to the detergent's instructions for recommended usage.

When pouring detergent into the washing machine, remember three tips:

Add detergent before putting clothes into the washing machine.

Adding liquid (or powder) detergent directly onto dry clothes means it may only be absorbed by certain garments and could result in detergent stains or clumps.

Pour the appropriate amount of detergent based on the wash cycle, water level, and amount of clothes.

Use the correct amount of detergent as indicated on the detergent packaging to clean your clothes effectively. Powder detergents usually come with a scoop marked with measurements, while liquid detergents often have caps that are also used as measuring cups. Ensuring the correct amount of detergent is used prevents excessive foaming or leftover of detergent.

Depending on the design of your washing machine, please ensure the detergent is poured into the correct compartment.

Top-loading washing machines usually have a pull-out drawer for adding detergent, which helps to distribute the detergent evenly in the water. Front-loading washing machines require adding powder or liquid detergent directly into the drum before loading clothes; so that the detergent can be evenly distributed on each garment throughout the entire washing cycle.

5. Place garments into the washing machine sequentially

Add one item at a time to ensure even distribution around the axis of the machine, resisting the temptation to overfill the machine.

Proper procedure for loading clothes into the washing machine:

Add one garment at a time. Avoid stuffing a bunch of clothes into the washing machine; by following step 3 of the proper laundry guide, you can sequentially place garments into the machine while avoiding putting in items that shouldn't be washed.

Place garments evenly around the axis of the washing machine. Doing so will help the machine operate more effectively and distribute water and detergent more evenly on the clothes.

Don't overload. The most common misunderstanding of laundry is trying to cram as much as possible into the washing machine to improve efficiency. The bad news is, this doesn't make it more efficient; overloading the washing machine leads to more tangling and wrinkling, making clothes harder to clean. There should be enough space for movement in the drum to let washing machine clean clothes properly.

6. Selecting Wash Cycle and Water Temperature

For most garments, using the washing machine's pre-set regular cycle and water temperature is sufficient. However, please double-check the laundry labels to confirm that you are going to treat them in the right way.

Although different brands may have different washing modes set for their washing machines, they all share the same low, medium, and high-water level settings. The water level setting is decided by the speed and intensity of the drum's rotation and the duration of washing for different cycles.

7. Check the garments and remove them for the dryer.

Remove one item at a time from the washing machine, shake it out, and place it in the dryer.

After the washing machine cycle is complete, be sure to remove clothes from the machine within two hours to prevent wrinkles and musty odors.

Remove garments from the washing machine one by one and check to ensure stains are gone. If they persist, do not dry them, as this may result in the stain becoming permanent. After shaking out the rest of the garments, gently place them in the dryer, shaking them again to eliminate tangles and reduce wrinkles.

Check the laundry labels on each garment again. Avoid mistakenly putting wool or wool blend garments in the dryer, as this can cause shrinking or deformation. Also, pay attention to the dryer's capacity to avoid overloading it, which can prevent each item from drying completely.

8. All about air drying

Most garments can be air dried. Use a drying rack or lay flat to dry.

After removing clothes from the washing machine, shake them out, then hang shirts or tops that can be hung to dry using hangers with padded shoulders to prevent noticeable creases. And pants and skirts can be secured with clothespins.

Sweaters and swimsuits should be laid flat to dry instead of hunging them to prevent stretching or distortion.

9. Organize dried laundry immediately; fold and hang

To prevent wrinkles, promptly remove clothes from the dryer after the drying process is finished. Both machine-dried and air-dried items shoild be folded or hung immediately.

Whether using a dryer or drying in the air, please do check if the clothes are dried completely. With the warm and humid climate in Taiwan, damp clothes could easily develop mold, or leading to odors and mildew spots.

If using a dryer, remove the clothes immediately after the cycle ends to avoid wrinkles from forming inside the dryer.

Place the dried clothes in a laundry bag or basket, then take them to your room to fold and hang them; that would reduce wrinkles and eliminating the need for ironing.