Hampers come in various styles. Some have wheels or handles to make transportation easier; consider one of these if you will be moving yours around. Hampers are also made from different materials. Choose a cloth one that folds up to save on storage space. Plastic ones often have handles that make them easy to carry; while wicker ones are often kept stationary and are more decorative.
For example, create a heavy fabric pile that includes your jeans, heavy cotton sweatshirts or pants, jackets, and heavy workout clothing. Create a different pile for lighter T-shirts, blouses, and thin pants. Maintain a separate pile for delicates like lingerie, pantyhose, and silks, and other piles for towels and bed linens.
Create a separate pile of lights, which includes pastels like light blues and greens, yellows, and pinks. Keep a separate pile of your dark clothing: anything black, grey, navy blue, red, or dark purple would go into this pile.
If you have sensitive skin or are prone to allergies, buy detergent that is labeled natural, fragrance-free, or free and clear.
You can also treat stains by allowing them to soak in cold water for 30 minutes before washing them. Use a large container, sink, or the soak setting on your machine to do this.
Read the instruction booklet of your machine if you cannot locate the sliding drawer for detergent on your machine.
Adding too much detergent can cause a soapy residue to remain on your clothes after they are rinsed.
Some non-chlorinated bleaches are marked color-safe, therefore you can use them with colors that could use some extra brightening.
The normal or regular settings also work well for clothes that are very dirty; just be careful that they are not delicate items with fine fabric or embellishments. Some washers also have a heavy-duty setting; use this only for sturdy fabrics that are very dirty.
Certain fabrics like many silks and woolen items, should not be placed in a washer at all and should be hand-washed or dry-cleaned. Be sure to read the tags on your laundry items before placing them in the washing machine.
Shrinkable fabrics like cotton should always be washed in cold water and should be dried on a low-heat setting. [18] X Expert Source Safir AliProfessional Dry Cleaner Expert Interview. 15 September 2020. Some people become concerned that germs will not be killed in cold water. However, your detergent does work on eliminating germs, as does the heat from the dryer if you dry your laundry on any heat setting, even low-heat.
Avoid using hot water on stained clothes or brand new colored clothing. Hot water can cause stains to set and colors to bleed.
Overfilling your machine can cause your laundry to not clean properly, and over time, it can cause your machine to break.
Not removing lint before using a dryer can cause your dryer to catch on fire.
If you are concerned about certain items shrinking or fading, use a lower heat setting or air-dry the item.
Some dryers may call this setting by other names such as wrinkle-free, wrinkle-resistant, or fast/slow.
Alternatively, you can dry items by laying them flat on a towel, or using a drying rack. This helps reduce dry-lines or bumps that can occur on the shoulders of shirts when they are hung to dry.
Put your laundry according to your preference when you are finished doing your laundry. Either fold it up and put it in drawers, or hang it in a closet, depending on the space you have at home.
