Common Laundry Mistakes You Should Avoid Making

Is there too much detergent in the machine? What, you're stuffing the washer to the gills with dirty clothes? Have you used too much bleach? It's easy to slip up and make one of these common laundry mistakes, even if you've been doing laundry for years. Avoid making these common laundry mistakes to prevent your smell of musty towels, your whites from turning yellow, and your shirts from losing their crispness due to stains.

8 Common Laundry Mistakes to Stop Making

If you want a spotless washing machine, follow these instructions. Everything you wash, from clothes to sheets to towels, will come out spotless and smell great.

1. Irresponsibly Washing a "Dry-Clean Only" Item

It's not always a huge mistake to wash something that's supposed to dry-clean only. Even if the label says "dry-clean only," you can usually wash and dry the item by hand. Natural fibers like linen and most silk fall into this category. Colorfastness testing comes first. Put some mild detergent on a cotton swab and test it on a seam you won't often see to see if any of the dye is coming off. Otherwise, you can wash the item in a sink full of soapy water once or twice before rinsing it and rolling it in a towel to remove excess moisture. Some garments, however, are best left to the dry cleaning experts. These include leather, suede, silk dupioni, embellished items, and structured garments (like blazers).

2. Excessive Detergent Use

Extra suds can trap dirt and bacteria in hard-to-reach places like under the collar, even after several rinses. The solution is to use only half as much detergent as usual, and if the laundry isn't clean enough, use a little more. However, you may need to increase your soap consumption if you have hard water. You may want to double-check the detergent bottle's recommendation for hard water.

3. Your Washer Isn't Evenly Placed

Vibrations from a washer that isn't level can wear down vital parts like the shock absorbers and the tub bearings faster than normal and even damage your floor. (There's also that awful noise.) Use a level to fine-tune the machine's height, then screw the feet up or down as needed. If this doesn't work, you can reinforce the floor with a piece of plywood 3/4 inches thick and slightly bigger than the machine's base. As a result, vibrations will be dampened.

4. Rubbing Stains Intensely

Rubbing the stain can make it spread and can also damage the fabric. Use caution and a systematic approach instead. Time is of the essence when attempting to remove a stain, so do what you can to get to it as soon as possible. And remember always to use a white cloth to avoid color bleeding. Instead of rubbing the stain, dab at it from the outside.

5. Not zipping up zippers.

Fabrics that are easily snagged, such as silks and wool, should not be washed with metal teeth. The solution is elementary: close the zippers before throwing the garments in the washer. Doing the laundry in a mesh laundry bag is a good idea if you have any delicate items in your load.

6. Washing Buttoned-Up Shirts

It may seem like a good idea to button up shirts before washing, but doing so can put unnecessary strain on the buttons and buttonholes, eventually causing the buttons to burst. Unbutton your clothes entirely before washing them.

7. Ignoring dry settings

Your dryer's permanent press setting, a medium-heat cycle with a cool-down period, in the end, is an effective crease-curber. Another advice is not to stuff the bag too full of clothing; this will cause the items to wrinkle. As for the washing machine, see above. Wrinkles and the inability to wash your clothes due to overstuffing are two problems that can result. Moreover, it can place stress on the machine's bearings and shock absorbers, leading to the early failure of these components.

If you fold your clothes while they're still hot from the dryer, you won't have any creases (or, if you prefer, right out of the pile you dumped onto your bed). To prevent wrinkles, give each item a quick shake. Instead of piling a load of laundry on top of itself in the hamper if you don't have time to fold it right away, give it a good shake to separate the pieces and lay them flat in the laundry basket.

8. Neglecting to clean the dryer

After each use, you empty the lint filter, but if enough lint accumulates in the duct, it can become a fire hazard and prevent air from flowing. Symptomatic of a blocked dryer vent? Drying a load of laundry takes more than an hour. Once a year, disconnect the dryer's exhaust hose and clean the lint trap with a long brush. Additionally, use a small toothbrush dipped in detergent once a year to clean the lint filter. Cleaning is as simple as rinsing and letting it dry in the air.

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