Improve the way you do your laundry using these tips

While there’s no set of special rules on how to wash your clothes, there are some things you have to consider before tossing your laundry into the washer. Although everyone has their own type of washer, favorite method and personal routine, it doesn’t necessarily mean it is the best one. There is such a thing as doing your laundry the right way.

Here are some tips to help you improve the way you do your laundry:

• Don’t just ignore those three important settings before starting your washer: the size of the load, temperature and cycle setting. You can determine the load size by reading the washer’s manual. You can usually choose between small, medium, large, extra-large/super load. As a guideline, if the drum is only one-quarter full of laundry, you should use the small setting. If it is half-full, the medium one, more than half – the large one. Anything over that requires you to use the super-load setting.

As for the temperature setting, a lot of people tend to ignore it, which is not a good idea for your      clothes. Using the wrong temperature can shrink, stretch or simply damage the clothes. Delicate fabrics and dark colors should be washed with cold water. Synthetic clothes can be washed with warm water and hot water should only be used for cotton, your underwear, socks, bedding and really heavy soil clothing. Also make a habit of actually reading the labels of your clothes and pay attention to all those symbols before throwing your clothes into the washer.

• Don’t abuse the speed wash cycle. Although in some cases it might be the only solution, try to avoid the speed wash cycle as much as possible. While it is time-efficient, it is also rough on your laundry, because it uses a high spin speed, to cut out the drying time
• Turn your clothes inside out to better preserve your favorite items. This way they won’t fade as quickly and the inside part, which is not visible, will take most of the abuse and abrasion.
• Replace dryer sheets with essential oils, to make your laundry smell great. You can use lavender, peppermint or even vanilla and squeeze a few drops on a clean sock. Then toss the sock inside the washer, along with your laundry
• Extra rinse the laundry made of down, to get rid of all the soap. Residue can make your down laundry less fluffy
• Use two hampers to organize your laundry better and faster. One basket should be for your whites and one for your colors. This way you won’t risk any accidents and you won’t waste time on sorting your laundry every time you want to do a wash
• Clean your washer every now and then. Yes, your washer should be washed too, and that will only help with your laundry. Over time, washers can gather a lot of dirt, soap gunk and other nasty things and all those will affect your laundry too. Clean your washer once every few months to make sure it functions at its full capacity.