Laundry :

1st step - Preparation

Start by checking the pockets and closing the zippers of your clothes. If these are new, remove the labels. To avoid possible discoloration (jeans), put them inside out. Also make sure not to include your socks in the laundry round. Sort.

2nd step - Water temperature

The recommended cleaning temperature for your clothes is always mentioned on the care labels inside. Washing your clothes at the specified temperature ensures you get clean laundry without damaging the fabric. Cleaning with hot water is more effective, but makes the fabric more vulnerable to damage. Therefore, always prefer cold water to hot water, if your tour does not require intensive cleaning.

Also keep in mind that the hotter the water, the more likely your clothes will bleed. So remember to separate white fabrics from bright or dark colors before washing them with lukewarm or hot water. Wash towels, bed sheets, socks and underwear in the hottest water possible. Here again, don't forget to sort your laundry according to color: A simple red sock can transform a dozen white towels into pink towels.

Trick :

If you never take the time to read care labels, you can be sure you're taking no risks by washing everything in cold. If you have more than one round of laundry to do, at least take the time to separate light colors from dark colors. This economical tip is a real time saver for women's clothes, which, most of the time, must be washed in cold anyway. Men's clothing is often less delicate and holds up better to washing in hot water. This tip is therefore less effective in saving time.

Whitening:

Bleaching your clothes is useful to make them more beautiful and bright, to deodorize and disinfect them, but it considerably shortens their lifespan.

Delicate textiles:

Hand washing is ideal for delicate garments such as bras, tights and other lingerie.

Trick :

Save money. The more clothes you have to wash, the more you increase your chances of being able to separate them into groups (white, dark colors, bright colors, etc.). Don't hesitate to wait a month if necessary (and if you can) to do the laundry so you can do a hot round of bright colors, another of dark colors, jeans... So all your clothes will be perfectly clean.

Drying :

Let me be clear, the dryer is what does the most damage to clothes. Heat shrinks clothing and distorts elastic fibers. As on top of that the drum action is quite harsh, be sure to close all zippers before drying.

- Limit drying time. Lint perfectly illustrates the rapid aging of your clothes when placed in the dryer. Lint (or pilling) are these small pieces that you collect in the filter provided for this purpose at the end of the program. Generally, we get a good bunch of them after a tour. Of course, some clothes pill more than others but it is because it harms the lifespan of our wardrobe that the dryer should be used sparingly. Clothes should spend as little time inside your dryer as possible. On the other hand, do not hesitate to dry your towels and sheets at high temperatures in order to preserve their mass. Clothes that you prefer to fit properly and tend to stretch (socks, undershirts, tops , jeans, etc.) should generally be dried at a medium temperature.

Trick :

If you never take the time to read care labels, put all clothes (except those prohibited on the care label) in the dryer on low heat. If your laundry is not dry in one round, hang your laundry on a line or let your clothes hang on a hanger, taking care to leave space between each item so air can circulate.

The washing line and the dryer:

The life of your clothes will be significantly improved if you take care to hang them on a washing line rather than opting for the dryer. This is especially true for delicate textiles. Clothing made of silk, embroidered, or made with significant amounts of elastane should not be put in the dryer. So opt for the washing line or the dryer. Likewise, clothes ( pants , dresses , jeans, etc.) that you do not want to shrink should not be put in the dryer or at low temperature.

To fight against wrinkles:

To prevent wrinkles (or creases) on your clothes, remove them from the dryer immediately while they are still hot. If possible, try to fold them or hang them on a hanger before they cool. If your clothes cool down while there are small wrinkles on them, these will be fixed.

If you're a fan of washing line or drying, massage the fabric when it's semi-dry to remove wrinkles. This is especially important for jeans. Clothes dried on a line are sometimes a little stiff. To remedy this you can put them in the dryer for a few minutes at low temperature.

Bonus tip: vinegar.

Vinegar is especially useful in a laundry room to deodorize. If you forgot a round of laundry in your washing machine and the smell of your laundry is not the most pleasant, add a cup of vinegar to the wash water. Likewise, if you have a lingering odor in your dryer, soak a towel in vinegar and dry it on low heat.

And you ? Do you have any little tips or tricks regarding laundry and clothing care? If so, please feel free to share them with us.