7 Common Laundry Mistakes You Didn’t Know You Were Making

Doing the laundry is a common part of most people’s home routine. The laundry basket gets filled up, then you throw everything in the washer, then dryer, fold, put away, and then repeat. We often don’t put too much thought into this time-consuming chore. However, maybe we should. While the modern-day laundry process has come a long way from the days of hand scrubbing on washboards, and it isn’t as tedious, it’s still pretty annoying. And we may be unknowingly sacrificing effectiveness for the sake of efficiency and ruining our clothes. But by making a few simple changes in your laundry routine, you have the potential to majorly impact your clothing’s feel, look, and how long they last. So, before you go to do the washing next time, let’s see what common laundry mistakes you might be making that can be harming your clothing and how to fix them.

Doing the laundry is a common part of most people’s home routine

We may be unknowingly sacrificing effectiveness for the sake of efficiency

Common Laundry Mistakes

While doing the laundry is not rocket science, it still has its own niceties. Some seemingly insignificant things may be slowing down the process, causing great harm to your clothing, and sometimes to your washing machine as well. That’s why it’s important to be aware of these potential harmful mistakes.

Seemingly insignificant things may be causing great harm to your clothing

#Not using lingerie bags

Your lingerie is considered delicate. Which means it’s important to not stress the fabric. Yes, just like us, fabrics can also stress out. That’s why items like bras, lingerie, underwear, and other delicate’s need to have an extra layer of protection for their structures, so they can stay intact for a long time. A great way to do that is to use a lingerie bag. It will help add that much-needed layer of protection.

Items like delicate’s need to have an extra layer of protection

#Wrong water temperature

If you usually don’t give a second thought to your water temperature, now may be a good time to start. Water that is too hot may cause the colors on your clothing to fade over time and can cause some clothing pieces to shrink. Eeek! That’s why it’s very important to read your garments’care labels. But in general, very few things need to be washed at high heat. If by chance there is no label, go with a colder setting just to be sure.

Water that is too hot may cause the colors on your clothing to fade

#Not color sorting

Yes, we all know we have to separate our colors. However, how often do you truly adhere to this routine? Well, it’s time to put some effort when doing the laundry and start really separating them. When you don’t separate your clothes according to color, you make it way easier for the dye to transfer and mix with your other precious garments. However, don’t imagine a red tee turning your whites pink. This can also lead to smaller, but still annoying changes, like your grays getting darker, and your whites looking off. That’s why it’s best to start separating your clothes into light, medium and dark piles. Get different laundry baskets if needed.

It’s time to start separating your colors

#Heavy and lightweight garments

Another common mistake is not separating your heavy clothes from the more lightweight ones. These pieces requite different amounts of attention both in the washing machine and the dryer. For example, heavier pieces like chunky sweaters will need a more heavy-duty setting. Keeping lightweight and heavy garments together means that you can potentially ruin some smaller, delicate pieces.

You need to separate your heavy clothes from the more lightweight ones

#Too much detergent

While it may seem logical that more detergent means cleaner clothes, the truth is actually quite the opposite. Adding way too much detergent will most likely create suds that rather than getting rinsed out, stay in your clothes and leave a sticky residue. This only attracts more dust, dirt, and bacteria. That’s why it’s best to follow the recommended amount for the size of your laundry load.

Adding way too much detergent will most likely create suds

#Overloading your washer

While you may want to throw all your laundry in the washer and be done with it already, that may not be the best practice. If you overload your washing machine, it makes it way harder for the detergent to penetrate in each item of clothing, and it won’t be able to remove stains. It may also be harder for the machine to drain them, and they will come out soaking. So, putting a reasonably sized load will help reduce the need to rewash them and will help decrease the drying time. So, give your clothes some wiggle room.

Make sure to give your clothes some space in between

#Leaving shirts buttoned

If you like your buttoned shirts, then it’s best you start unbuttoning them before throwing them in the washing machine. Leaving shirts buttoned up can damage both the buttons and buttonholes. On the bright side, this can easily be prevented by taking 30 seconds to unbutton them. This will help prevent tears in the buttonholes and protects the threads of the buttons from being pulled and loosened.

It’s best you start unbuttoning shirts before throwing them in the washing 

These were some common laundry mistakes you may be making without knowing. We hope you found this article useful. Now you can start to avoid making these mistakes and enjoy the benefits you will get from it.

These were some common laundry mistakes you may be making

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Sources:

• Apartment Therapy ©
• Organized Interiors ©
• Better Homes and Gardens ©
• Well + Good ©
• Blanc ©
• Southern Living ©
• Real Simple ©

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