Methods for Sorting Laundry

What many people may not realize is that there are, in fact, four basic ways to sort your laundry. By knowing these methods for sorting laundry you are gong to be able reduce the risk of accidentally ruining your clothes. Keep in mind that these methods for sorting laundry are designed to be used prior to washing the clothes, and can actually be incorporated with each other as necessary to get the best possible results for cleaning your clothes. After you wash the clothes, you can sort and store the clothes as you normally would. While you can always go about doing your laundry without sorting, you really don't want to. Yes they will get clean, but they could also become damaged or ruined in other ways. An example of this would be to have a red sock end up in your whites. They will all get clean, but you will end up with a lot of pinks instead of whites.

• Color. Once you get your laundry into the laundry room, begin separating according to color. Place all the colored items (darks, reds, blues, etc.) into one pile, and all the lights, whites, and similar colors in another. As you are separating the colors, take a look to see if there are any particularly nasty stains or spots that need to be pre-treated. Also look into the pockets of any and all garments to ensure that they are free of any items which can cause problems. If you have any questions about where a specific color should go, then simply create a separate pile for that color.
• Washing temperature. Not all clothes, and fabrics can be washed in the same temperature of water. Before you begin washing the clothes, take a look at the care labels to see what the manufacturer's recommendations are. Generally speaking if you have a heavily soiled garment, then you should wash it in water that is between 110 degrees and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, while warm water that is set between 100 degrees and 110 degrees Fahrenheit is good for minimizing wrinkles and lowering the chance of color bleed. If you have particularly sensitive clothes, then you should wash it in cold water that is between 65 degrees and 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Wash cycles. Some clothes should be washed only according to certain types of wash cycles. For example, lingerie, lace, and other similar items should be washed on the gentle or delicate cycles to help protect the gentle nature of the fabrics. Only wash clothes that have a similar wash cycle together.
• "Bleachability." Do not wash any clothes that are dark, or have strong colors with bleach. Even some lighter colored fabrics should not have bleach applied to them in any way. Always check according to the care label to see if it is safe to bleach that particular garment before you wash it.