We know how frustrating it can be to pull your whites out of the laundry just to find them tinted pink from a stray red sock. Or your favorite light-colored pants come out dull and dingy after repeated washes. If you end up with lots of problems with your clothes after their trip through the laundry room, it could be your fault. Perhaps, you don’t know how to sort laundry. Properly sorting laundry can seem like a mystery, but when you follow our simple tips, you can say goodbye to these laundry accidents.
Sorting Laundry Made Simple
Clothing should be sorted by color, fabric type, and washing requirements. Utilizing separate laundry hampers or a laundry hamper with sorting sections can make this task easier. Once you understand these basics, you can set yourself up for laundry success. Below, our experts share some helpful tips if you’re wondering how to sort laundry.
Read the Label
The best laundry tip we can offer is to always read the care instructions before laundering anything. The label shares valuable information like whether the item can be machine washed, what temperature to use, and how to dry the fabric. Clothing labels that read “wash separately,” “hand wash only,” or “dry clean only ” shouldn’t be ignored and placed into separate piles.
Sort by Color
Clothes with deep colors are more likely to bleed dye and run when washed. You can avoid damaging whites and light-colored clothes by sorting them according to color and grouping dark, medium, and light colors together.
Sort by Fabric
You can further sort each pile by type of fabric. In the white/light-colored collection, divide towels and bedsheets from shirts, underwear, lingerie, and slacks. In the dark colors, separate t-shirts and jeans from blouses and dress shirts. If you have dark towels or sheets, you can separate them from your clothes to reduce lint. Check out this quick guide to help you divide your laundry up by fabrics:
- Delicates – knits, lingerie, or fabrics that require gentle washing
- Cotton – T-shirts, leggings, and cotton blends with more than 50% cotton
- Polyester – shirts, blouses, and poly blends with more than 50% polyester
- Jeans – denim, pants, khakis, and other heavy materials
- Athletic wear – shorts, tanks, leggings, and spandex
- Towels – towels, washcloths, hand towels
- Sheets – sheets, pillowcases, and blankets
Wash Heavily Soiled Clothes Separately
Athletic wear, children’s sports gear, and other heavily soiled items with ground-in dirt or oil stains should be divided by color and fabric but washed separately from your other clothing items. Washing heavily soiled items will prevent the dirt, grime, and strong odors from redepositing on other clothing.
Laundry Tips from Your Friends at Bakers Centre Laundry
Make discolored clothes and laundry mistakes a thing of the past when you enlist the help of Bakers Centre Laundry! We offer affordable self-serve and drop-off laundry services for your convenience, making laundry day easy. Our friendly, professional staff are available to answer any questions you may have or help with our machines, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Stop in today and see why we’ll be your new favorite laundromat.