The last thing you want to think about when you’re finally away from home and on your own in college are chores. Unfortunately, just because your parents aren’t around to nag you about a dirty room or doing the dishes doesn’t mean those things stop needing to be done. Arguably one of the most important chores when it comes to your daily comfort is laundry. You’ll be surprised how quickly you run out of clean clothes to wear when you start procrastinating doing the laundry! For many students, that procrastination happens because they dot actually know how to do the laundry. Let’s review the basics so you can be prepared before you’re left with nothing to wear!
Sort Your Clothes
Before you head to the laundromat, sort your clothes. Clothes should be sorted by color and the type of clothing. For instance, you wouldn’t want to wash heavy duty blue jeans with delicate undergarments. Sort things out by what type of clothing they are first, then start sorting by color. The simplest way to sort colors is to make a pile for whites, a pile for brights, and a pile for dark clothing.
Pretreat Stains & Read Labels
If you have stains on any of your clothes, you should pretreat them prior to washing for the best result. Apply a stain remover and follow the directions on the package to determine how long it needs to pretreat. While you’re looking things over more closely, keep an eye out for any clothing items that have a special dry clean only tag or a wash tag with specific instructions. Some clothes need to be washed on a delicate cycle or can’t go in the dryer – everything you need to know is on the tag!
Using the Washer
Add one pile of your sorted clothes to the washer. Don’t fill the Asher so full that you have to force the laundry in. Overfilling can break the washer and makes the wash cycle less efficient. Next, add your detergent. The washing machine should have a labeled spot that says detergent. The cap from the detergent bottle will have measuring lines so you know you’re using the correct amount. Finally, sect the washer settings that align with the type of clothes. When in doubt, choose a casual setting using cool or warm water.
Using the Dryer
Once the washer is done, take out the items that can’t go into the dryer and set them aside to air dry. Move the remaining items to the dryer and select a setting. Add a dryer sheet in with the clothes to prevent static. You can choose to dry using time or an internal moisture sensor, depending on the machine. Most loads take around 45 minutes to dry on medium heat.
Once the dryer is finished, you’re done! Of course, it’s recommended to fold and put away your laundry after washing, but that’s up to you! Having clean, fresh clothes is the most important part. Contact Automatic Laundry today for more laundry tips and services to fit all of your laundry needs.