How To Care For Your Clothes So They Last Longer

Clothes wear out in the washing machine and tumble dryer long before they wear out on you. Learning how to care for your clothes mostly comes down to small habits: reading the label, sorting properly, choosing gentler and cooler cycles and using the right amount of detergent. This guide covers everyday washing, delicates, drying and the common laundry mistakes behind faded colours, shrunken jumpers and snagged fabric.

How To Care For Your Clothes, Starting With The Label

Every garment’s care label tells you the highest temperature it can be washed at, whether it can be bleached, tumble dried or ironed, and whether it needs professional cleaning. The number in the wash tub is a maximum that should not be exceeded, not a setting you have to use. One bar under the tub means a milder cycle and two bars mean a very gentle one, such as a wool programme.

If you are not sure what a symbol means, our guide to laundry symbols explained goes through each one. Take “hand wash only” and “dry clean only” labels seriously, as Which? warns these items can be damaged in a machine. For anything valuable or sentimental with a dry clean label, a professional cleaner is the safer choice.

Sort And Prepare Your Laundry

Separating whites from colours is the obvious first step, but a little more sorting goes a long way.

• Keep new, bright clothes away from whites. Dye is most likely to run in the first one or two washes. Reds and oranges are the worst offenders.
• Wash blacks on their own. Turn them inside out and use a cool wash, as hot water can cause fading.
• Take care with stripes and multicoloured tops. Which? suggests hand washing them in cold water the first time, then washing with similar colours at a low temperature.
• Group by programme. Put wool, silk and other delicates together so they can go on a gentle cycle, rather than squeezing them in with jeans and towels.

If you do have to mix colours, a colour-catcher sheet can help trap loose dye.

Before Anything Goes In The Drum

A quick check before loading prevents a lot of damage. Fasten zips, buttons and clasps so they cannot snag other clothes. Empty pockets of tissues, coins and anything else, and take belts out of trousers, as a metal buckle can damage the door glass during a fast spin.

Turn jeans, dark clothes and printed tops inside out to protect the outer surface. Deal with marks before washing rather than hoping the machine will shift them; our guide to getting grease and oil stains out of clothes covers one of the most stubborn types.

Washing Delicates, Wool And Silk

Lace, silk, chiffon, fine knits and wool need gentler handling than everyday cottons. Wool and silk are ideally hand washed. If you use the machine, pick the hand wash, wool or delicates programme, which mimics soaking in cold water with light tumbling.

Machine Washing Delicates

• Put small or fragile items such as lingerie in a mesh laundry bag.
• Use a mild detergent made for wool or delicates, which has a gentler pH.
• Choose the coldest temperature the label allows.
• Keep the load small. The international care labelling guidance for a very mild 40°C wool wash says the drum should be no more than a third full.

Hand Washing

Dissolve a fine detergent in plenty of water first. Let the item float in the water and move it gently, without rubbing, pulling or wringing. Rinse well, press out the extra water carefully and ease the garment back into shape before drying.

Check sequins, beads and trims before washing, and keep embellished clothes out of the tumble dryer, where beads can melt and sequins can damage other garments.

Choose Shorter, Cooler Cycles

Long, hot washes are hard on fabric. University of Leeds researchers compared a 30-minute cycle at 25°C with an 85-minute cycle at 40°C. The quicker, cooler wash cut dye release by up to 74% and released up to 52% fewer microfibres into the wastewater, and the t-shirts kept their colour better.

Cooler washes also save energy. According to Which?, a 30°C wash uses 38% less energy than a 40°C wash, and a 20°C wash cuts it by 62%. The Energy Saving Trust notes that new washing machines have had to include a 20°C option since 2013. Lightly soiled clothes and delicates are well suited to 20 to 30°C.

Some loads still need more heat, such as bedding, towels and clothes worn by someone who is ill. Our guide to what temperature to wash clothes at explains when a hotter wash is worth it.

Get The Detergent And Load Size Right

More detergent does not mean cleaner clothes. Which? says too much can shorten your clothes’ lifespan, leave residue that shows up on dark fabrics, make jeans stiff and irritate sensitive skin. Using far too little is not the answer either, as Which? testing found half the recommended dose did not clean properly.

Measure rather than guess. As a rough guide, a Which? washing machine expert suggests about two tablespoons for a large load and one for a smaller load, but check the pack too.

The type of detergent matters as well. Most washing powders contain bleaching agents that gradually fade dark clothes, so liquids, gels or capsules are a better choice for darks and bright colours, with powder kept for whites. Which? also suggests skipping fabric softener, which can build up on fabric.

Don’t Overload The Machine

A crammed drum washes badly. When clothes cannot move around, dirt gets trapped between them and the detergent cannot spread through the load properly. Which? advises leaving a gap of about a palm’s width between the top of the load and the top of the drum. For towels, keep the drum no more than three-quarters full.

That does not mean running lots of small loads. The Energy Saving Trust’s advice on washing machines is to avoid half loads where possible, and to use the half-load programme if your machine has one when you cannot wait.

Drying Without Damage

Air drying is gentlest on most fabrics. Always check the label for the tumble dryer symbol first, and keep these out of the dryer altogether:

• bras, which heat can bend out of shape
• jeans, which are prone to shrinking
• swimming costumes, whose stretch fibres can distort
• tights and other fine materials that tear easily
• clothes with beads or sequins
• shoes and trainers, as heat can weaken the glue

Avoid drying clothes on radiators, which pushes up heating bills and adds to damp and mould. Indoors, dry laundry in a well-ventilated room with a window open.

Tumble Dryer Safety

If you do use a tumble dryer, Electrical Safety First’s tumble dryer guidance recommends cleaning the lint filter after every use, not overloading the drum and avoiding running it overnight. Plug it straight into a wall socket rather than an extension lead, and register the appliance so you can be told about any safety recall.

Common Laundry Mistakes And Machine Problems

• Washing too often. Which? suggests jeans can go 6 to 10 wears between washes, sweatshirts 5 to 6 and t-shirts 1 to 2. Underwear and swimwear need washing after each wear.
• Using one temperature for everything. Match the temperature to the fabric and how dirty the load is.
• Using one detergent for everything. Keep powder for whites and a gentler product for wool and delicates.
• Ignoring a smelly machine. Mould in the drum and drawer transfers odours to clothes. Run hot service washes with an empty drum, clean the detergent drawer and leave the door and drawer open after use.
• Forgetting pockets and zips. Loose coins, tissues and open zips damage clothes and the machine.
• Overdosing and overloading. Both leave clothes less clean, not more.

When To Call An Engineer

If clothes keep coming out soaking wet, torn or still dirty, or the machine will not drain, spin or stop leaking, switch it off and unplug it first. Then check the simple things your manual covers, such as the filter and the door seal. Anything beyond that basic maintenance should be left to a qualified engineer rather than taken apart at home. For households in Merseyside and West Lancashire, Appliance Repair Men carry out washing machine repairs in Formby and the surrounding area.

Quick Checklist

• Read the care label and never go above its temperature.
• Sort whites, darks, bright colours and delicates.
• Fasten zips, empty pockets and turn dark or printed clothes inside out.
• Use a mesh bag and a gentle programme for delicates.
• Choose the shortest, coolest cycle that will get the load clean.
• Measure detergent and leave a palm’s width at the top of the drum.
• Air dry where you can and clean the dryer’s lint filter after every use.

Good laundry habits protect your clothes, your machine and your energy bills at the same time. You will find more practical home guides at Beyond The Garden Gates.

Kaan Rassad

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