How to Wash your Clothes Properly
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How do you actually wash jeans, T-shirts, jumpers, underwear, socks, and towels? In this article you will find out what is important when washing laundry.
Laundry Tutorial
How much do you wash jeans, T-shirts, pullovers, underwear, socks, towels and tea towels? Which detergent is needed? And what is actually better, powder or liquid detergent? Questions upon questions that many young people ask themselves when they move out of their homes and after a short time find themselves standing in front of their first own mountain of laundry. We have the right answers!
Sort
Sort your laundry according to the care instructions on the sewn-in labels. You can also sort by colour, e.g. white, black and bright, or simply by light and dark. On some labels (often on red items) you will find the words ‘wash separately’ or ‘wash with similar colours’. This is important, because after all, light-coloured items should not look pink after washing! You should also look out for stains when sorting and pre-treat them with a special agent (e.g. extra stain remover) so that they come out better later.
Combine
The temperature indicated is the maximum washing temperature. This means that you can also wash your laundry at lower temperatures than indicated. For example, many garments that are not at all or only slightly soiled can be washed at 30°C in a machine wash cycle with a liquid detergent for coloured or delicate fabrics.
This is what the symbols on the care label mean:
Load the washing machine
The less sensitive the laundry is, the fuller you can load the machine – but not stuff it! You can load the drum full for cooked and coloured laundry, but only half full for delicate items. This allows delicate garments to move loosely without creasing.
Choose detergent
The choice of powder and liquid detergents is huge. Our advice: For non-sensitive laundry (which you wash at 60°C), use a powdered heavy-duty detergent. For sensitive laundry (which you wash at 30°C), use a liquid colour detergent or a mild detergent. Wool jumpers are best washed by hand with a hair shampoo. Extra tip: If your water is very calciferous (you can tell this from the fact that your kettle quickly becomes calciferous), you should also use a water softener (e.g. tabs).
Note: Avoid so-called “washing pods”. They do not dissolve completely during short wash cycles and damage the machine. You should also avoid putting stain cloths in the washing drum as they can clog the machine.
A 60°C wash now and then
When washing laundry, you don’t have to overdo it with hygiene! It is sufficient to wash towels and bed linen at 60°C approximately once a month to destroy bacteria and germs. Otherwise, you can also wash them at lower temperatures. Of course, you should always wash only cleaning cloths at 60°C. And one final tip on hygiene: bacteria like it moist so they can multiply well. So after washing, simply leave the flap and drawer of the washing machine open so that the remaining moisture can evaporate.
Three simple rules
1. The lowest possible temperature
2. Shortest possible wash cycle
3. A detergent that is as gentle as possible
This not only saves energy and protects the environment, but also puts much less strain on your clothes!
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