1 MF-1014 M ost of us, at some Laundering Sorting Clothes point, are faced with the Sorting clothes can help task of doing laundry, and avoid some laundry problems. we want to know the easiest Guide Group together items that can and best way of doing it. be washed in the same water Good laundry procedures temperature and agitation and can increase the wear life spin speed. Sort by: of clothing. • Color—separate light Laundering clothes is not colors from bright or dark the same as it was 20 years colors, and whites (especially ago. Today’s automatic white nylon) from all colors. washers and dryers offer a Nylon is a “color scavenger” variety of features. Methods that readily picks up colors have changed; more people from other clothes. Many are washing with warm or dark or bright colors need cold water to save energy, Deannna M. Munson cooler water temperatures to and this can affect results. Extension Specialist, Textiles prevent fading. Fabrics have changed, • Fabric, construction, too. Synthetic fibers, texture—read care instruc- blended fabrics, and permanent press, • Shake out loose dirt. Brush dirt or tions. Some fabrics need hot water; dyes, fluorescent whiteners, and other lint out of pockets and cuffs. others need warm or cool. Delicate finishes call for different procedures. • Mend rips and tears. fabrics, such as loose knits or lingerie, And, most of all, laundry detergents • Turn permanent press garments need gentle agitation; sturdy fabrics and other laundry products have inside out. This helps prevent pilling need regular wash cycles. Permanent changed. This publication should help and catching lint. press and many synthetics need special you get the best results with today’s • Place small items and hosiery in machine cycles to prevent wrinkling. equipment and products. mesh bag. Separate “lint-givers” such as • Remove nonwashable parts, such terrycloth and chenille from as trim or belts. “lint-takers” such as permanent press, Preparing and • Empty all pockets. synthetics, corduroy or velveteen. Pretreating Clothes • Degree of soil—wash lightly Preparing clothes for laundering is a To pretreat before laundering: soiled clothes separately from heavily step many of us are tempted to omit, • Always remove spots and stains. soiled work or play clothes. but it’s well worth the time it takes. Use a prewash spray for some spots, or Better laundry results can be Mending rips and tears before washing refer to a stain removal chart for more achieved without wasting water by prevents further damage during difficult ones. Rub heavily soiled areas, using a washing machine with variable laundering. Pretreating spots and stains especially collars and cuffs, with a water level settings so you can wash has become a necessity because of the liquid detergent or paste of powdered two or three small loads of properly changes in detergents and increased detergent and water. sorted clothes rather than one large use of synthetic fabrics that do not • Presoak heavily soiled items. Use mixed load. release soil easily. a laundry detergent for short soaks or a To prepare clothes for laundering: presoak product for 30 minutes to Load Size • Close zippers and hooks and overnight soaking. Drain the soak eyes. This prevents damage to water and wash with usual amount of Weight of clothes is not an accurate fasteners and keeps them from snag- fresh detergent. indication of load size. Judge the size ging other clothes. of wash loads by bulk (amount of space the items occupy) rather than Kansas State University Agricultural Experiment Station and Cooperative Extension Service 2 pounds. Load wash baskets loosely, as a cold washer. If your water heater is wash. If you use this method, be sure clothes must circulate freely for set to deliver water at 110° to 120° F the warm water setting on your thorough cleaning and rinsing. Over- (43.3° to 48.8°C), you would have to machine provides water in the warm loading can cause poor cleaning, use the hot water setting on your range—from 100° to 110° F (37.7° to excessive lint and extra wear washing to get water in the warm 43.3° C) is best. Your hot water heater on clothes. range. If you use the warm setting and will probably have to be set at 140° F For best washing action, wash mix 110° F (43.3° C) water with 40° F (60.0° C) to accomplish this. articles of different sizes together to (4.5° C) cold water (as it could be in the Use the regular amount of detergent allow good circulation. For example, winter), the wash water would only be in both soak and wash cycles. Since don’t put more than two or three sheets 75° F (23.8° C) on the warm setting, some granular detergents do not in a load; fill it out with small articles. and the clothes will probably not be as dissolve completely in cold water, it Permanent press and synthetics should clean as you would like. Most washers may be best to use a liquid laundry be washed with fewer items per load to use a 50/50 mix for warm water, but detergent in the soak. A granular minimize wrinkling and improve some new machines are using a 60 detergent should be pre-dissolved to cleaning. Washing machine capacities percent cold and 40 percent hot water gain full benefit from it. are increasing; read the instruction mix. To check water temperature, hold In most cases a soak period of 30 manual for your machine to determine a candy thermometer under the flow minutes or less is sufficient. For a load sizes. to determine the actual water tempera- longer soak, increase the detergent ture on each setting of your machine. slightly or use a special presoak Select the warmest water possible for product. It is important to have brief Water Temperatures the fabrics. periods of agitation at the beginning of In general, the hotter the water the the soak to help dissolve detergent and better the soil removal. However, many during the soak to flex the fibers to clothes cannot be washed in hot water Energy Conservation remove loosened soil. because shrinkage or fading may occur. Eighty-five to 90 percent of the A cold soak with detergent is Read care instructions to determine energy used in doing laundry is for effective. Even though the soak temperatures needed. If clothes are heating water. For a load washed in hot solution is at a reduced temperature, 1 1 heavily soiled but cannot be washed in water with a cold rinse, ⁄4 to ⁄2 kwh of there is enough time for the detergent hot water, it may help to presoak electricity is used to run the machine to loosen the soil. clothes or increase the amount of and about 5 kwh to heat the water. You By adding detergent to both the detergent and lengthen washing time to can save energy by always using a cold soak and wash cycles, the detergent improve cleaning. water rinse, no matter what the wash (chemical energy) is compensating for Check the actual water temperature water temperature. Rinsing is merely a the reduction in wash water tempera- on the warm setting of your washing dilution process; research shows that ture (thermal energy). machine. This could vary from summer cold water is just as effective as hot. In Even though the best cleaning takes to winter because the temperature of addition, cold-water rinsing minimizes place in hot water, you can save energy the cold water coming into the house wrinkling in fabrics made from by moving to warm or cold water can be much colder in the wintertime. man-made fibers and those with washing. If you do, remember to Also, hot water temperature varies crease-resistant finishes. compensate for the lower temperatures according to the water heater setting Using a cold rather than warm rinse by such methods as presoaking, 1 and the heat loss as the water goes will save about 2 ⁄2 kwh of electricity prespotting or increasing the agitation through the pipes. per load for water heating. If the time. Some granular detergents do not ° ° Hot water is 130 F (54.4 C) or clothes go into the dryer cold rather dissolve well in cold water. Add them above. The temperature range for warm than warm, it does extend the drying to the wash water first and thoroughly ° ° ° water should be 90 to 110 F (32.2 C time. However, research indicates this dissolve before adding clothes, or use ° ° ° to 43.3 C). Cold water is 80 F (26.7 additional drying time only uses about liquid detergent for cold water launder- C) or below; however, very little soil .2 kwh more electricity, so a cold rinse ing. Keep in mind that lower wash ° removal occurs in water under 60 F still saves approximately 2 kwh for temperatures result in increased ° (15.0 C). Detergents, even those each load. bacteria count remaining on the fabric formulated for cold water, lose their Presoaking clothing is another at the end of the wash cycle. Ordinarily cleaning ability below that tempera- energy-saver. Laboratory testing has this is not a concern, but it may be ° ° ture. About a 10 F (5.6 C) drop in shown that a combination of a cold advisable to use hot water or disinfect temperature can be expected as hot soak, followed by a warm wash cycle, clothing when there is illness in the water travels through the pipes and into provides cleaning equal to a hot water family, when washing infants’ clothing 3 and when using public laundry speeds if abrasion of fabrics would product creates a suds problem, don’t facilities.