Getting Ready to Wash Clothes

Division Of Student Affairs; Western Michigan University

Inspect the Clothing:

1. Empty the pockets.

2. Remove ornaments and pins.

3. Mend tears and rips.

4. Close zippers, hooks and fasteners.

5. Check for stains.

Sorting the Wash:

Before you put the clothes into the washer sort and check them. By taking time to sort the clothing, you will find stains, locate damages and choose the right water temperatures for the different fabrics. Care labels located in the neck or back of the garment will indicate which cleaning methods are suggested by the manufacturer.

Sort clothing according to groups:

1. Wash dark colors together.

2. Wash whites together.

3. Wash colors that run seperately or with clothes of the same color.

4. Do not wash lightly soiled clothes with heavily soiled clothes.

5. Sort clothes that shed lint from those that do not.

6. Separate delicate items from sturdy ones.

7. Turn corduroy pants inside out to prevent them from collecting lint.

Pretreating & Removing Stains:

The pretreating of stains is done before washing. To remove soil from shirt collars and cuffs, rub the area with a wet bar of soap, liquid detergent or a paste made of powdered detergent and water.

To remove stains from permanent pressed clothing, pretreat the spots with soap or detergent. Let it stand a few hours before washing.

Stains that can usually be removed by pretreating are:

• Cosmetics

• Ice Cream

• Crayons

• Grass

• Milk

• Light Scorch

Soaps & Detergents:

Soap or detergent removes the dirt from clothing and keeps it in the wash water. All-purpose, heavy duty detergent does a satisfactory job of cleaning most clothes. Fine washables that are done by hand require a gentler kind of detergent.

High Suds Detergent Powders: The most common type, the least expensive, should not be used in front loading machines. Tide, Cheer, Duz, Breeze and Fab are examples of high suds detergents.

High Suds Liquid Detergents: Works like high suds detergent powders. Wisk, Era, and Dynamo are examples of high suds liquid detergents.

Low Suds Detergent Powders: Easier to rinse from clothing than high suds detergents, will not damage the machine. Bold, All, Cold Power, and Dash are examples of low suds detergent powders.

Low Suds Liquid Detergents: Works like low suds detergent powders. An example of a low suds liquid detergent is Cold Water All.