Highly or lightly soiled laundry, durable or delicate fabrics, light or dark colors–how to have perfect laundry every time?

Maybe you are a CMBL (World Champion of Laundry in the Washing Machine) and therefore this article is not for you … but if on the contrary you are part of that large group of doubters, no more anxieties about a discolored, ruined or shrunken wardrobe!

Make yourself comfortable and grab a pen and paper because here you will find answers to your questions, useful tips and maybe even a few tricks to unravel the most tangled situations.

Come on, we are sure that you too, at least once, have asked yourself one of the typical “Hamletian doubts” about laundry, such as:

• How do you properly sort the laundry before putting it in the basket?
• I need to wash delicate but very dirty fabrics … what wash temperature to select to get a nice clean without ruining such delicate garments?
• the washing temperatures indicated on the clothes labels are incompatible with those indicated on the washing machine–what to do?
• I have purchased a new detergent and the washing programs proposed on the label confuse my already unclear ideas even more…
• I set myself the ambitious goal of “sustainable” laundry, but why do I end up doing constant (short, low-temperature) washes with unsatisfactory results?
• How do I make sure that the spin speed is the most appropriate for the fabrics I put in the basket?

Here, if you recognize any of these doubts as your own, rest assured, you will be fine, you are on the right page. Read on and you will find the answers you seek!

Let’s start with one of the most classic doubts, especially for those who are new to laundry in the washing machine: how do you properly sort the laundry before putting it in the drum?

The first thing to do, which is absolutely essential for successful washing, is to divide garments with “light” colors (white, cream, beige, soft gray, etc.) from those with “dark” colors (black, blue, dark green, anthracite, etc.). The classic blue sock that ends up in the basket, hidden among your teenage son’s (light-colored) underwear, can have disastrous effects on his self-esteem…! Joking aside, the risk of darker colors partially “releasing” their tint into the water (regardless of its temperature) is quite high, especially in the first few washes. The color released into the water is easily transferred to other garments, causing unpleasant color mixing on lighter-colored garments.

So the first piece of advice is: when you have to wash garments with dark colors, especially if they have just been purchased, put them in the basket exclusively together with other equally dark colors.

The second and equally important thing is to separate garments with the strongest fabrics (such as cotton) from the more delicate ones (such as wool and silk) that require more attention (such as lighter centrifuges if not even stop with water in the tub).

After sorting the cloths by light/dark colors and durable/delicate fabrics (or before, if you prefer to get it out of the way right away), there is a tedious yet essential step to put in place to save garments and the washing machine: checking the pockets… Check for (a) handkerchiefs or pieces of paper that can create an annoying confetti-effect at the end of washing, (b) coins/small objects that can creep between the seals and irreparably damage your appliance.

Ready to put the laundry in the basket? Not a chance!

Check the clothing for particularly difficult-to-remove stains (such as grass, blood, oil, wine, tomato sauce) and if so, pre-treat the stains. How? Moisten the offending stain before placing the garment in the basket. We know that there are many specific stain removers on the market.

However, it is not always necessary to use a specific pre-treatment. Let us let you in on a little secret: often pouring even a small dose of the same detergent on the stain that you will then pour into the washing machine tub is sufficient as a pre-treatment action! Think about this the next time you find yourself deciding whether or not to buy yet another specific stain remover … and also consider the fact that very often the stain removers on the market are based on chemical formulas that are quite harmful to the environment.

Finally, here are 3 little tricks on loading for consistently perfect laundry:

Do not overload the washing machine, otherwise the clothes will not wash well. Be careful, however, not to even run the washing machine with a half-empty load, otherwise you will consume water and electricity unnecessarily! How can you tell when the porthole is filled to capacity? Simple: if you stick your hand in the basket and your clenched fist sits perfectly on top of the laundry it means that the amount of clothing you put in is okay!

To protect very delicate garments, place them inside a pillowcase before putting them in the washing machine drum and remember to always turn the clothes upside down so that the outer surface of the fabrics is better preserved

Remember to completely unroll sleeves and pants if they are rolled up to prevent detergent buildup from remaining in the rolled-up areas

Well, now that you have properly placed the clothes in the drum, you are ready to move on to the next step: it is time to dose the detergent and choose the program (temperature and spin cycle) best suited to your laundry.

At this point we can address together the 3 “absolute truths of laundry” … which then perhaps are not so absolute … have we ignited your curiosity?

Great! Keep reading our blog, next week we will dispel some myths….