Tips for a Great Wash

queenwashandfold.com

Maybe you just stuff all your clothes into a machine or two, dump in some soap and hope for the best. If so with just a few tips you could get a much better wash while helping to protect the environment.

Fact Sheet: Water Conservation in Self-Service Laundries

1. Use front loading machines - FLM's - instead of top loading machines. FLM's's use as little as one third the water of the top loaders, are quieter and much gentler on your clothes. Top loaders can stretch clothes and eat socks!
   
2. Sort your laundry items. At a minimum separate the whites and the darks. Use the appropriate cylcle for each i.e. hot for whites and warm for darks.
3. Turn clothes with patterns, printed T-shirts and pants inside out. This will protect the coloured surface from abrasion by other items. The colour and pattern will last much longer.
   
4. Use the recommended amount of soap. Remember FLM's use less water so they cannot rinse out excess soap.
5. Use fabric softener. It will make your clothes feel softer when they dry. However, as it coats fibres, it will make your towels less absorbent.
   
6. Do not overload the machine. Yes it is tempting to stuff just one more garment in and then another. But you will not get a good wash or a proper spin. Any money you save will be spent on the dryers. Plus there are greater thrills in life than handling sopping wet laundry.
   
7. Pack clothes evenly i.e. a large garment (e.g. pants) then a few small garments (e.g. socks) then larger garments and so on. Remember the machine will spin at high speed to drain, but it will not spin at maximum speed if it is unbalanced.
8. Fasten zippers, buttons, hooks, etc. Why? Otherwise they can snag and rip any fabric they come into contact with in the washer.
9. Wash bulky items - down jackets, comforters, etc. - in double or triple loaders. There is not enough water in a single loader to wash them properly. Nor will the machine spin at high speed (unbalanced load) to drain the bulky item. This leads to long expensive drying times.
10. After emptying the washer spin the drum. Often a small item will cling to the fins on the drum. No more will you know the anguish of an unpaired sock!
    

So now you know how to get a great wash from those FLM's. If your laundromat does not have any tell the owner that he will save in water, heating and maintenance costs if he replaces his top loaders with FLM's.

Next tip series will be on how to use dryers effectively. Efficient drying means no or little ironing.