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Sorting clothes feels like an added burden to an already time consuming laundry routine, nonetheless, it has to be done. By simply taking a few extra minutes, you can spare yourself from some major laundry headaches down the line – color bleeding, shrinkage, or worse, fabric damage.
In this blog post, we guide you through the essentials of when to wash laundry items separately and how to do it correctly. You'll never know the difference proper sorting can make until you see your clothes come out looking and feeling as good as new.
It might be tempting to toss all your laundry into one big load and call it a day, but that shortcut can lead to some serious consequences. That new red shirt you just bought could bleed onto your white linens or your delicate silk blouse might get snagged in a load of heavy jeans.
Below are the risks worth paying attention to if you want to keep your clothing items impeccably clean and damage free:
Dark and brightly colored items, especially new clothes, can transfer dye onto lighter fabrics, leaving you with stained and discolored garments. This is particularly problematic with reds, blues, and blacks, which are notorious for bleeding. Once a lighter item is stained, it is nearly impossible to restore it to its original color.
Washing clothes all together can lead to unnecessary wear and tear (since different fabrics require different care). For example, washing rough fabrics like denim or towels with delicate items like lace or silk can cause snags, tears, and even holes. Fabrics with embellishments or buttons are especially at risk, as the agitation in a mixed load can cause them to catch on other items and get damaged.
Heavy items like jeans and towels can stretch out lighter fabrics during the wash, leading to misshapen clothing. Knits and delicate fabrics are particularly vulnerable to this kind of distortion. Over time, repeated exposure to rougher, heavier items can cause your clothes to lose their original shape and fit, making them look worn out long before their time.
Not all fabrics require the same amount of water, detergent, or washing time to get clean. And so, mixing different types of laundry in one load can result in some items not being thoroughly cleaned. For instance, heavily soiled towels might need more detergent and a longer wash cycle, while a delicate blouse could be damaged by the same treatment.
Different fabrics react to heat and water differently. Washing a delicate fabric such as wool or silk with a heavy fabric like denim can cause the delicate item to shrink or stretch out of shape. This is especially true when items are washed in hot water or dried at high temperatures, leading to clothes that no longer fit properly.
Towels, bedding, and other heavy fabrics tend to shed lint, which can cling to other items in the wash. Dark clothing is particularly prone to picking up lint, which can leave them looking dull and dirty even after they’ve been cleaned. This is another reason separating your laundry is crucial, especially when washing items like towels, blankets, or anything made from fleece.
White clothing should always be washed separately from colored items. This is because colors, especially dark and bright colors, can bleed in the wash, leading to dingy, discolored whites.
What to do instead: To keep your whites looking crisp and bright, always wash them separately in hot water with a detergent designed to prevent graying.
Delicate items such as lingerie, silk blouses, and lace garments require special care. These fabrics are easily damaged by rougher, heavier items like jeans or towels.
What to do instead: To protect your delicates, wash them separately on a gentle cycle, preferably in a mesh laundry bag. This extra step prevents snags, tears, and stretching, keeping your delicate items in pristine condition.
Heavy fabrics, such as denim and towels, should be washed separately from lighter fabrics like T-shirts or dress shirts. The rough texture and weight of heavier items can cause abrasion, which may wear down or damage lighter fabrics over time.
What to do instead: When washing heavy fabrics, use a regular or heavy duty cycle with cold or warm water. For added protection, turn jeans inside out before washing to help preserve their color and reduce wear on the fabric. For lighter fabrics, opt for a separate, gentler wash cycle with cold or warm water. To further protect these items, consider using hypoallergenic detergent and a fabric softener to reduce friction during the wash.
Newly purchased clothing often contains excess dye that hasn’t been washed out yet. This dye can bleed onto other garments during the first few washes, especially if the clothing is brightly colored or dark.
What to do instead: Always wash new clothes separately for the first few cycles. Afterward, they can usually be mixed in with similar colors.
Some clothing comes with specific care instructions that require separate washing. For example, items labeled as "hand wash only" or "dry clean only" should not be thrown in with your regular laundry in the washing machine. Ignoring these labels can lead to serious damage, including shrinking, color loss, or fabric deterioration.
What to do instead: Follow the care label instructions precisely—hand washing or dry cleaning these items could be more appropriate. If you're unsure, it's best to take them to a professional cleaner to ensure they are properly cared for.
With a few simple steps, you can protect your clothes from damage, keep your colors vibrant, and make your laundry routine more efficient. Let’s break it down so you can start sorting like a pro.
The first step in sorting laundry is to divide your clothes by color. Group your items into whites, lights, and darks. Whites should include anything that’s all white or mostly white, lights consist of pastels and light shades, and darks are your black, navy, and deep colored items. This prevents color bleeding and keeps your whites from getting dingy.
Next, sort your laundry by fabric type. Heavier fabrics such as denim, towels, and sweatshirts should be washed separately from lighter fabrics like T-shirts, blouses, and dress shirts. Washing together heavy and light fabrics can lead to fabric damage, stretching, or inadequate cleaning. Keep together similar fabrics to ensure each load is cleaned properly.
Before you toss anything into the washing machine, check the care labels on your clothes. Items labeled as "hand wash only" or "dry clean only" should be set aside and handled according to the instructions on the label. For garments that require delicate care, consider using a gentle cycle or placing them in a mesh laundry bag.
If you spot any stains, now’s the time to treat them. Pretreating stains before washing helps prevent the stain from setting in and becoming permanent. Use a stain remover or a bit of detergent directly on the stain, and let it sit for a few minutes before washing. This extra step ensures your clothes come out of the wash looking their best.
Another smart way to sort your laundry is by soil level. Heavily soiled items, such as gym clothes or muddy jeans, should be washed separately from lightly soiled clothes, like office wear. This allows you to adjust the wash cycle and detergent amount based on how dirty the clothes are, ensuring a more effective clean.
Finally, sort your laundry based on the recommended washing temperature. Delicate fabrics and dark colors often require cold water, while whites and heavily soiled items may need warm or hot water. Following the correct temperature settings helps preserve fabric quality and color vibrancy.[
If sorting through piles of laundry isn't how you want to spend your time, Red Hanger Cleaners is here to help. Our professional wash and fold laundry service in Salt Lake City, Utah, takes care of everything for you - from sorting to washing to drying, and even folding!
Simply drop off your laundry and we’ll take it from there. Or better yet, take advantage of our convenient FREE pickup and delivery service. Our customers love how easy it is to schedule a pickup through their Red Hanger Cleaners account or by sending us an email. So no more wasted time sorting – just fresh, clean laundry delivered right to your door anywhere you are in Salt Lake County and the neighboring counties.
Doing laundry for an entire family can be a full-time job for any one person. The only way to survive the deluge of dirty clothes in a busy house is to delegate the massive chore out to each member of the household. Furthermore, as children go from toddler to kid, parents can teach them to pitch in and share the laundry load. If you’re wondering how to organize laundry in the house to maximize help, here are three helpful laundry organization tips to help get the ball rolling.
Most grocery stores sell plastic milk-crate baskets. And, some of our laundry organization tips including buying as many of these crates as you have children. If you can find crates of various colors, assign each child a color of basket to make it easier to keep track of whose is who.
From here, make each child responsible for their basket. They load dirty clothes in the basket. And, when it’s full, have them bring the clothes to the laundry room. Depending on the age, the kids can learn to run the load in the washing machine. Also, switch it to the dryer. Or, you can move the clothes through the cycle yourself. Kids can fold the clothes and then each child fills his or her own crate with clean duds.
For the family on the run, and the house laid out just right, there’s a shortcut to doing family laundry. Instead of providing an individual laundry basket for each child, have them gather up all their dirty clothes each day. And, just drop them straight into the washing machine. Overall, when the load is full, run it, dry it, fold it, rinse, lather and repeat!
This approach might not fly with laundry perfectionists. Furthermore, there’s no way to really separate out colors. And, every type of fabric gets washed together. For those who like to wash whites with whites, bright colors with bright colors etc, the washing machine catch-all solution might not be to their tastes. However, for other families with less refined laundry tastes, the washing machine hamper method is an easy trick to keeping ahead of the dirty clothes avalanche.
It seems like every family has a pain-point in the laundry cycle. For some, it’s hard to remember to gather up dirty clothes. Although, for others, switching out a load can be easy to forget. For many though, laundry makes its way from washing machine to dryer. And then into what can be dubbed “Clean Clothes Mountain”.
If your laundry bottle-neck comes at the clean clothes stage, consider putting all the kids clothes in their respective piles. Afterwards, let them dump them in their drawers. Most knit fabrics don’t wrinkle easily. Also, if the clothes aren’t stuffed in the drawer by the bushel, they clean clothes will look just fine for wearing.
Again, these laundry organization tips may stun the more laundry-conscious households. But for many with busy schedules and an influx of clothes to clean, the no-fold approach is a quick and easy way to keep drawers full.
The camping season is winding down in Utah, and snow will soon make most popular sites inaccessible until next spring. For many of us, Summer camping in Utah is a yearly highlight, and those cool evenings in the Uintas can be well-nigh restorative. As much as we love camping, the unpacking and post- camping laundry afterwards can be a bit of a downer. Whether it's putting your food storage equipment from Survival Cooking away for next year or disassembling the tent, it can be a bit of an anti-climax. Unpacking and doing laundry after a long trip can erase some of those peaceful mountain vibes we bring home with us. Maybe I'll have to look at empire outdoors reviews about tactical knives, dreaming about the peaceful scenery till next time we good. Here are a few things we suggest if you’re looking to ease up your post-camping laundry stress.
Unpacking is made so much easier if the initial packing is done thoughtfully. Pack clothes that are easy to wash and are versatile, cutting down on the amount of articles needed to wash upon return. Be economical in your packing, and don’t throw in five t-shirts when two will suffice. Even if you don’t end up wearing all the clothes you pack, there’s a good chance anything in your bag will get smokey from the campfire or dirty being around other, dirtier clothing. Take what you need, use what you take.
Remember that camping is a great time to take a break from the normal daily routines. While wearing the same shirt and pants for two days in a row at home might be socially unacceptable (or maybe not, we don’t want to pry into your personal life…) wearing the same outfit for long stretches is somewhat of a camping luxury, all the while cutting down on the amount of clothes you need to pack and then launder at home.
As you pack for your camping trip, throw in a separate bag where you can store clothes as they become dirty. The bag can be something as simple as a plastic grocery bag. Storing dirty clothes in a separate bag serves two purposes; on the one hand, it keep smelly dirty clothes away from clean clothes, cutting down on what you might need to wash at home, and on the other hand, it simplifies the unpacking process upon return.
Many stores sell small, cloth or nylon laundry bags intended just for camping use. These bags allow dirty clothes to breath a bit while still keeping them apart from other clothes and gear in the bag. Find one that’s compact and washable for easy storage and care. If nothing else, a pillowcase can make a fine laundry bag in a pinch if you forget to pack an official dirty clothes storage solution. And if you’re really into economical packing, a pillowcase full of dirty clothes can double as a pillow up in the woods. Because nothing builds character more than resting your head on an uneven bag of smokey, dirt-covered clothes while sleeping on rocks. Man, don’t we love camping?
Most camping trips are fun but exhausting. The process of breaking camp and cleaning up at the end of a trip can suck all the energy out of us. But before tossing off the hiking boots and sitting down for a break, grab the back of dirty clothes and put them immediately in the wash. Dirty camping clothes that sit around in a bag can deteriorate quickly, especially if they’re wet or muddy. If everything is in one spot, it should only take a few minutes to grab the dirty laundry bag and start a load or two. Then you can let modern machinery do most of the work while you put your feet up and take a breather.
Many people are also turning to laundry services to help ease the stress of post-camping laundry. It can be as easy as setting out your dusty camp clothes and letting a delivery service grab them for you. Having a laundry delivery service take care of your camping clothes saves time and stress, leaving your head in the mountains for just a little bit more. My friend told me that he learned even more about camping from fantastic websites similar to offgridspot.com. There are so many ways to reduce the amount of boring time and increase the fun before and during camping!
