It seems ideal:you put your clothes in the washing machine, turn on a certain program and you're done. Unfortunately, many people make mistakes when washing their clothes. 9 Washing mistakes that can ruin your clothes and how to wash them
Convenience serves people and nowadays everyone has a washing machine. Washing by hand is 99% a thing of the past. Ideal, because our busy lives mean we don't have time to worry about things like cleaning our clothes. Yet many people still make a lot of mistakes when washing the clothes.
Below you will find the most common mistakes and what you should do to wash clothes correctly.
Clothes retain their shape and color better if you wash them at lower temperatures. In addition, it does not matter whether you wash your clothes at low or high temperatures, the clothes will be clean anyway if you have a good washing machine and use the right detergent. Only linen and towels may be washed at high temperatures (60 – 95°C) for optimal cleaning. You can wash the rest at low temperatures.
Clothes with heavy stains should be pre-soaked and hand washed. In addition, it is wise to pre-treat the heavy stains with a stain remover before they go into the washing machine. If not, the stains may not come out properly. You can use alternative products instead of a stain remover. Lemon juice is a good stain remover for sweet stains. A mixture of vinegar and liquid detergent can remove grass stains. Port-wine stains disappear when a mixture of water and baking soda in the ratio 3:1 is used.
Reading tip:This is how you remove stains in no time
Too much detergent can clog the detergent dispenser, causing an unpleasant odor. Too much fabric softener, on the other hand, makes the clothes less easy to rinse. Therefore, always read the user manual carefully. Also use a measuring spoon for washing powder. Are your clothes really dirty? Then choose a prewash program or run the program twice.
A common mistake is using fabric softener for all clothes. Fabric softener is used to soften fabrics and make all clothes easier to iron. Unfortunately, it also has a downside. The more often you use fabric softener for your laundry, the less the absorbency becomes. Therefore, do not wash towels, sportswear and other items made of microfiber, elastane and spandex too often with fabric softener.
Washing machines are very handy, but a washing machine is disastrous for your lingerie. A bra in particular can quickly suffer due to loss of shape. It is therefore best to wash bras by hand. The same goes for bathing suits and lace underwear. You can wash tights in the washing machine if you take the following into account:
Chlorine bleach is a very aggressive product that weakens the fibres, so use sparingly. This is especially true for materials such as elastane, lycra and spandex, which quickly lose their elasticity when washed with bleach. What you should do then:
Do you want to keep your jeans in perfect condition? Then you really shouldn't wash it in the washing machine at all to maintain the color optimally. If you're not ready for that (which is quite understandable!) then it's best to wash your jeans every 2 to 6 months. That sounds very unappetising, but it really helps if you wash your jeans in a limited way. How often you have to wash the jeans depends on how often you wash the jeans and how your body is.
Not only washing incorrectly, but also drying incorrectly can have the opposite effect on your clothes. Below you will find a number of tips to prevent incorrect drying:
Dirt, detergent residue and anything that can stick to the inside of your washing machine will sooner or later end up on your clothes. That in turn causes stench and white spots on your clothes. It is therefore important to maintain the washing machine. To avoid this, follow the tips below:
If you follow the tips above, you will not only enjoy your clothes and the colors of your clothes for longer, but you will notice that washing becomes a lot more fun.
Which washing tip described above did you not know yet?