12 Laundry Mistakes That Are Surprisingly Easy To Fix

Are you guilty of using excess detergent? Do you not have enough time to separate your darks from your lights? Or maybe that one t-shirt from college turned everything pink? We get it. Laundry comes with its own precarious challenges. Depending on water pressure, brand of washing machine, detergent brand, volume of laundry, and water temperature -– laundry can be a deceptively complicated and time-consuming endeavor when not thought through.

Complications from laundry can disrupt the functionality and serenity of a home and prevent you from feeling your best. Medium notes that the main issue is that many homeowners are busy trying to do too many things at once to effectively complete their laundry without any problems. But have no fear; we are here with solutions to help you combat some of the more common problems that homeowners face when managing their laundry. So let's pause the folding, turn off the TV, and dive in!

The gut instinct of most people is that a hot wash and hot dry are the best combo for stain removal and an optimal clean. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Fabric fibers tear more easily, and most stains actually worsen under hot water (according to Blanc Living). Instead, wash your clothing as cold as possible. Not only will they last longer, but they will look newer longer. In an ideal circumstance, avoid machine drying your clothes. Though time-consuming, drying laundry on a clothesline is the surefire way to keep your clothes looking fresh and unwrinkled for a long time. But if that setup is not an option, always dry your clothes on low heat. 

And as it pertains to washing, you are likely washing your clothes a bit more frequently than necessary. Thicker items like jeans and heavier shirts often do not warrant a full machine wash after one use. Blanc Living suggests using a scented antibacterial spray to keep them smelling and feeling fresh instead.

Plenty of homeowners set aside time for folding and storing laundry after the rinse and dry cycles. But the preparation before the wash is equally important, and a step that too many people neglect. This can have disastrous effects on clothing. When preparing laundry for a wash, make sure that all zippers are closed. The teeth can slice up and cause unnecessary damage to the other clothes. Contrarily, it is also important to unbutton all clothing prior to washing. Keeping them buttoned can lead to the buttons breaking off earlier than they should. In the interest of your clothes' longevity, this is of vital importance.

Aside from preparing your main pieces, it is also important to make sure socks are accounted for. We tend to chuck them in last as an afterthought. But actually, there is a hack to making this process less stressful. Real Simple suggests using a large laundry bag for all of your socks so that you can keep track of them without any issue. This is an excellent organizational tool for your laundry, and almost a second hamper that will streamline this process with ease.

As your washing machine cleans your clothes, it also keeps itself clean, right? Unfortunately, if you've been operating under this philosophy of thinking, you've been making a mistake. Washing machines that are not cleaned on a regular basis offer the ideal breeding ground for bacteria. Even though water is moving through the machine as it cleans clothing and linens, bacteria can build up on the walls of the drum. These bacteria can come from residues left behind by detergents, fabric softeners, and other cleaners, food, pet hair, and more. Dirty washers can leave behind an unpleasant odor on "clean" clothes.

Aim to run an empty wash or rinse cycle at least once a week to remove excess buildup. Then, once a month, give the washer a deep cleaning. You can purchase special washing machine cleaning tablets online or at the store, or you can make a DIY washing machine cleaner using baking soda and vinegar. Add the baking soda and vinegar to the washing machine, and select the cleaning cycle. If your model does not have a cleaning cycle, choose the longest and hottest wash cycle instead. After the cycle finishes, use a microfiber towel or scrub brush to wipe everything down and remove any remaining residue.

In addition to cleaning the washer itself, be sure to also clean any bleach or detergent trays or other removable components. Many of these can be soaked in vinegar and wiped down. Don't forget to also wipe down the top and front of the machine using a microfiber cloth. Once cleaned, leave the door open for a few hours to give everything a chance to dry.

Not all of your clothing items should be washed in the same way. It is essential to read the care label attached to each garment before simply tossing them into the washing machine or the dryer. Some garments should only be washed using cold water, while others will tolerate warm or even hot water. Labels may also specify whether a mild or liquid detergent is required when washing a given garment. Some of the other important information you can learn by reading a care label is whether the item can be dried in the dryer, the ideal dryer temperature setting, if it should only be hand-washed, if you can use bleach when washing it, whether you can iron it after drying to remove wrinkles, and more.

Failing to read the care label can have serious consequences. When you don't follow the manufacturer's cleaning recommendations, you're risking damaging or even completely ruining the item. The colors could fade, the fabrics could stretch, tear, or pill, or the item could shrink. These may amount to very costly mistakes that could be avoided by just taking a few minutes to read (and then follow) the manufacturer's laundry codes and recommendations.

When you do laundry, do you sort your clothes before putting them in the washer? If you have just been tossing everything in together, then you've just identified another mistake you've been making. There are several reasons to sort your items. One ties back to something we discussed earlier: reading the care label. If you mix items that require different water temperatures, washer settings, or dryer settings together in the same load, then you're running the risk of damaging — or ruining — the fabrics.

Beyond sorting clothing by care instructions, it is also important to sort it by color. If you wash your whites with darker items, they will not look as bright or clean after several cycles. It is also possible that the dyes from a darker item, like a red shirt, will transfer to your whites and turn them pink. After you've sorted by color and wash instructions, take one last look at each pile. Make sure to further separate lighter weight and heavier weight items. A bulky pair of jeans, for example, can rub against your more delicate fabrics and damage them. Moreover, that pair of jeans is going to take a lot longer to dry than a lightweight T-shirt. Excessive time in the dryer can also have a negative effect on your fabrics.

Whenever you buy new clothes, you should always wash them in a separate cycle from your normal laundry. One reason this is necessary is that many new items are not pre-washed, so all of the dyes in the fabrics are not fully set in. When you clean them, some of the dyes will wash out. If you have other items in the washer, these dyes could transfer to them and change their color.

Fabrics are often treated with various chemicals during the production process. New clothes may still have some of these chemical residues on them. Washing them separately from your other laundry will prevent the transfer of the chemicals to your existing items. Keeping your new laundry separated from your old clothes is also a good idea if you want to keep the clothes looking newer for longer. As the more worn-out fabrics rub against the newer fabrics, they're more likely to cause pilling or wear. The dirt and oils on your dirty laundry can also have a negative impact on the new clothes and can make them look dull or faded.