Unfortunately, clothes washing is not as easy as simply gathering all your dirty washing and throwing it into your washing machine. If this is your idea of laundering then let me tell you it is a sure fire recipe for disaster. On opening the washing machine door at the end of the wash cycle you will find that your colors have run into your whites and your lovely new sweater has shrunk. Following the simple steps laid out below will ensure that you have lovely fresh clean clothes to wear without fear of damaging them.
1) Care Labels – These days clothes are manufactured from many different materials ranging from natural fibres such as wool, linen, cotton and silk to a myriad of man made fibres such as nylon, polyester, viscose, lycra etc. Many of your clothes will actually be made from a mixture of these fabrics, so just ow do you know how each item of clothing should be treated when it comes to washing ? Well the simple answer is read the care labels. Since 1986 all clothes should have a fibre content label which will tell you what fibres at what percentages it is made of. In addition to the fibre content label most clothes will have care labels that tell you if an item of clothing is washable and if it is, it should tell you how it should be washed, (for example at what temperature, type of cycle, should you spin etc). The care labels also tell you if an item should be ironed and if so at what temperature. Basically there should be four symbols on a care label, and they represent instructions for washing, bleaching, drying and ironing.
2) Before washing any item you first need to prepare it for washing. This may include: Fastening buttons, zips and hooks and eyes – (if left unfastened these can easily cause damage to other items in the same wash cycle.), Check any pockets and remove any items found, fasten any ribbons, tapes or cords, brush off any loose dirt, mud or animal hairs (if the animal hairs will not brush off, you can use a strip of sticky tape to pull them off), re-sew loose buttons and mend any small tears (if left buttons could come off in the wash and small tears could easily get larger), place socks together in pairs with a sock clip or place all socks in a laundry bag.
3) Sorting – you should sort out all your items for laundry into groups of the same wash code and same color. It is important not to mix colors together – especially bold colors in with light delicate colors as the chances are the darker colors will easily run and ruin the lighter more delicate colors.
4) Will this garments color run ? If you are unsure as to whether or not a particular item will run you can quickly and easily test it for color fastness. In any case it is always a good idea to test new items for color fastness as they can often run during the first couple of washes. To do this, test a small hidden area for example under the collar or at the back of the hem. You carry out this test by placing a damp cotton wool bud or tissue on the chosen area and leaving it for five minutes. If after five minutes any dye has transferred to the cotton wool or tissue then the item will run aqnd should be washed separately. If there is no transfer then the item will not run and can be washed with whites or other colors. You will often find that a new garment will initially run, but after a few washes it will cease to run and will be ok if washed with other colors or whites.
5) Remove any Stains. – For the best results when using a washing machine it is a good idea to check your clothes for any stains first. You will probably find that if left untreated they will not be completely removed during the normal wash cycle. There are various products available that are aimed at stain removal or you can use a natural method of stain removal. Whichever you use, removing stains before the wash will ensure excellent results every-time.
6) Pre-was treatments – As well as stain removal other pre-wash treatments you may like to perform are pre-washing (using your machines pre-wash program), soaking or bleaching. Many modern washing machines will have a built in pre-wash program, this is a great idea for heavily soiled items. Another alternative is soaking, which simply involves placing the items in a detergent solution before washing. The detergent does not need to bilogical as it is the actual soaking action that removes the dirt. Thirdly if you have stubborn stains affecting white fabrics then these can be bleached. Care should be taken if bleaching, as not all types of bleach are suitable for all types of fabrics.
By following the above 7 steps you will give yourself the best chance of having lovely clean fresh smelling laundry everytime.
