Laundry—there is a right way and a wrong way to do it, contrary to popular belief.  When teaching someone how to do laundry, it’s important to keep this in mind.

Children can be taught how to do laundry at a fairly young age, once they understand there are a few dangers involved. Sadly, some kids never learn how to do it the correct way, and when they go to college or first live out on their own, their ruin some perfectly good clothing in one of several ways.

Doing the wash is a simple process that is a part of everyone’s list of house cleaning chores. Whether you do it once a week or a load or two every day, it’s important to learn how to do it well.

How to Safely Do It

Don’t laugh! People have been hurt doing laundry. Children are sometimes intrigued by the pretty colors of some of the new detergent pods. Some have attempted to eat them. They are poisonous. When teaching a child to do the wash, they must be old enough to understand this very important fact.

While some new washing machines stop agitating when the lid is opened, a few older models don’t, and people have been injured in their attempt to remove clothing while the agitator is still moving.

It’s important when teaching someone how to do laundry that these safety factors are set in place. Its never too late to learn How to Clean a Laundry Room.

Sorting Your Clothes

Yes, there are new products that claim you no longer need to sort your clothes. It should be sorted anyway.

Separate whites from colors, and delicates (clothing made from materials that might not withstand a hearty agitation in your washing machine) from everything else.

Washing Whites—Hot Water

These days not all whites are white. When teaching someone how to do laundry, this is a very important fact to point out. Towels might be blue or gray, but they still need to be washed in hot water.

Underwear comes in a variety of colors, but like the towels, they typically require a hot water wash.

If any of these items is being washed for the first time, do so separately to avoid the color running into other items in the same load.

Washing Colors—Cold Water

If your clothing isn’t white and doesn’t fall into the aforementioned category, it gets washed under the heading of “colors”. This means the setting on the washing machine temperature is set to “cold.”

A cold-water wash is gentler on clothing than hot water. Colors won’t fade and the fabric won’t lose its shape as quickly.

Read All Instructions

Of course even the best-laid plans can sometimes go awry. If ever in doubt as to which kind of wash your clothing belongs in, read the instructions on the garment itself.

Yes, this sometimes means doing more loads of laundry than you’d like to do, but it’s well worth it when you’re not replacing articles of clothing—right?

How to Wash Clothes

Turn the dial (or push the correct buttons) on your washing machine to the correct size, temperature, and cycle. Most washing machines have settings like “heavy” and “delicate,” as well as “permanent press.”

Use “heavy” for exceptionally soiled clothing, towels, etc. “Delicate” is perfect for lace, special undergarments, and anything you fear might not survive the washing process. The “permanent press” cycle results in clothing with fewer wrinkles.

Turn the machine on, so water begins filling the tub. Add detergent. If you like liquid fabric softener, add that, too—per the product instructions. Most washing machines have a specific place in which to pour liquid fabric softener.

Add the clothing and close the lid. The washing machine will do the rest.

Drying Laundry

Yes, drying laundry is really quite simple, but if you haven’t read the instructions on your garments, it could mean the difference between a lovely size medium top you plan to wear all summer and one that fits your two-year-old. The dryer will shrink items not meant to be machine dried.

Settings on dryers vary, but most indicate the strength of heat. A load of towels requires more heat than a load of t-shirts and underwear.

If you didn’t use fabric softener in the washing machine, toss a dryer sheet into the dryer with your clothing and turn the dryer on.

Folding Laundry

When teaching someone how to do laundry, make sure they understand that the last house cleaning task in this list is folding the laundry and putting it away. There’s nothing worse than walking into a room and looking at baskets of heaped-up, clean laundry. Sure, it’s better than mounds of dirty clothes, but it’s still an unsightly mess. Fold or hang up all articles of clothing, and put them in their designated places.

Once everyone in the house knows how to do laundry, there’s no excuse for house cleaning to get out of hand.

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