Are your clothes from your washing machine still coming out dirty? While it’s easy to accuse the laundry detergent for unclean clothes, it could actually be the result of improper loading (we’re not kidding). Think of your dishwasher for instance—if you over stuff it, your dishes usually end up with food bits cemented to everything accompanied by streakiness (you can learn ways to avoid that here). The way you load your laundry, bedding and other items, affects the functionality and results of cleanliness from your washer. Below are some tips you can start doing today for best cleaning results.
Pour Laundry Detergent First Instead of pouring your detergent as the last task when loading your washing machine, you should make it your first priority. After you turn on your washer, add laundry soap (even if it is homemade) to your unit with the water before tossing your clothes in. Detergent is optimized when it's fully mixed. Plus, if you have more delicate items, you don’t want to run the risk of discoloration due to the detergent. Instead of pouring it on top of your laundry, it now has a chance to dissolve prior to the cycles your washer goes through. Also, take this as an opportunity to pour some vinegar in your washer as a natural fabric softener.
Shake Out Your Clothes Just like we mentioned about giving your wet laundry a quick shake to optimize drying time, you should do the same to optimize cleaning. As you load your washer with your clothing, make sure your items are not wadded and bunched up. How can water and dissolved laundry soap penetrate a tangled up shirt? Also, this is a great time to check pockets for pens, money, cosmetics and other small items that could create a headache to clean. When shaking your clothes out, use this as an opportunity to scout out any articles of clothing in need of a stain pretreatment. Loosely Place Items in Your Washer Instead of cramming and dumping your hamper in your washer, take the time to place your clothing in your unit, one by one. This will help decrease tangling and overburdening your appliance. Also, by taking extra precaution, you will decrease the risk of your clothing getting caught on the agitator edge or tub ring. When placing your clothes in your washer, make sure to even out the weight of your laundry load with like items. By balancing your washing machine, you decrease the chances of damage from your appliance bouncing around.
Don’t Overload As tempting as it is to jam all of your clothes in your washing machine, this method increases your likely hood of unclean clothes—and truly defeats the purpose of a washer in the first place. How full is too full? Although all machines are different in their capacity, a general rule of thumb is to fill your appliance about 70%-75% full. If you have a top loader, a few inches of the inner tub should be exposed; if you have a front loader, your clothing shouldn’t be falling out.
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