How to Sort Laundry for Cleanest and Brightest Clothes
Clothing is an integral part of life. It defines our lifestyles, inspires us to conquer the unimaginable and represents memories we treasure forever. You wouldn’t want your lucky interview blouse to turn pink after a random pair of dark red socks shows up in your laundry pile. We know sorting laundry seems to be a rather chaotic and tedious process but it will make your life easier and laundry less of a hassle. Taking care of your clothing is essential since keeping your clothes for longer can help to dramatically reduce the emissions that occur during a piece of clothing's life cycle; extending the active life of a piece of clothing by just nine months can significantly reduce its environmental impact.
Sorting laundry is a three-step process beginning with sorting the clothing based on color, the dirt level and finally the fabric type. All clothing comes with instructions to care labels to help you identify the right way of preserving the fabric. Do not know what the laundry symbols mean? Read our What Do Those Laundry Symbols Mean? to find out.
Sort by Colors
Clothes with deeper colors are more likely to bleed dye when washed. As a result, wash your new deep colored shirts or jeans by themselves for the first few washings. To avoid the laundry accident of turning your favorite white tee to shabby shade of blue, wash your indigo dyed jeans separately by sorting the laundry according to color. Group whites, colors and dark colors separately into three piles to preserve the colors of your clothes.
Sort by Dirt Level
Sometimes the laundry has a few items like white shorts stained with mud and grass that cannot go with the piles of pristine white clothes. It will only make the whole load muddy and elevate the laundry stress. As a result, separate the heavily soiled pieces in a separate pile to be hand washed or treat the white shorts before tossing it into the white laundry. With heavier dirt, the laundry should be washed separately on a longer, heavy-duty cycle.
Sort by Fabric Type
Washing heavier items like winter coats and towels with delicate dresses or satin blouses can damage the finer fabrics with the abrasion. It can also lead to the finer fabrics attracting the lint. As a result, it is essential to preserve the quality of the clothing by washing towels separately from lighter weight clothes. Using the delicate and heavy duty cycles for the right clothes can help make your laundry looking fresh and clean out of the washer. When it comes to drying, a similar process should be followed. The lighter clothes require less drying times when compared to the heavier blankets. By drying them together, the lighter items are often over dried which eventually damages the fibre.
Essential Tip: To care for delicate items, wash on a gentle cycle in a mesh garment bag.
Choosing the Right Laundry Basket is a game changer. Sorting can lead to a cleaner laundry and using a laundry basket with dividers can cut the prep time by half. If you only have a small amount from one group, then don’t be tempted to put it in with another. Save it for a full load for another day.
Have a jam packed schedule for the summer months, Suds Launderette has you covered! Give us a call, or stop by today, or book through the LaundryPay app to get your laundry in tip top shape and cross one more chore off your to-do list! If you have any questions give us a call or send us an email and we will be happy to answer it all.
