How to Take Care of Your Clothes

In a way, your clothes are an extension of who you are. While it feels great to slip into a stylish, comfortable outfit, sliding into a wrinkly shirt or pair of pants just doesn’t feel great. Don’t worry. While it takes a bit of extra effort, it’s easy to both improve and optimize your laundry routine. Whether you’re snuggling up on the couch for a movie night or heading out to the club with some friends, we’ve got lots of tips to help keep all your clothes in great shape.

Sort your clothes before washing them

Laundry is a big mixing and matching game. It may be tempting to toss all your clothes into the washer at once, but this isn’t always the best option. Instead, sort your clothes by color, as well as by how dirty they are. Also, divide certain clothes, like loose knits and delicates, into their own separate load. It may seem a bit tedious at first, but sorting your laundry helps keep your garments in great shape.
Coloring sorting prevents any unwanted dye transfer during the wash cycle. Sorting clothes by dirtiness stops any extra grime from sticking to your less-soiled clothes.
For instance, you could divide your laundry into 4 color piles: whites, pastels and medium-toned garments, brights, and darks.
You might also separate your really dirty clothes from your less soiled ones.
Experts also suggest washing towels, fuzzy shirts, and fuzzy robes in their own load, since they tend to give off lots of lint.

Read the care labels

Care labels walk you through the best laundry options for your clothes. Check for a soft tag along the inside of your garment—it’ll probably have a series of different symbols on it. These shapes suggest the best wash temperature and cycle to use, as well as any other precautions you should take.
The bucket of water symbol lets you know if and how you can wash your garment.
An open triangle means you can bleach the garment, while a solid, crossed out triangle means you shouldn’t use bleach.
A square with a circle inside represents specific tumble drying instructions.
A symbol of an iron means that the garment is safe to iron.

Treat stains right away

Stains are easier to remove when they haven’t set into the fabric. Experts advise blotting the stain with a clean sponge instead of rubbing it in, since rubbing a stain will only force it deeper into the fabric. Laundry experts also suggest pretreating the stain before tossing it into the wash.
If you spilled coffee on your favorite shirt, soak the stained fabric in cold water and pretreat it with detergent or stain remover. Then, wash the garment with sodium hypochlorite bleach, if the care label allows it.
To treat ink stains, dip a clean sponge in rubbing alcohol and dab it around and over the stain. Flip the garment over, setting the stain face-down on a sheet of clean paper towels. Dab more rubbing alcohol along the back of the stain, replacing the paper towels as needed. Then, rinse out the stain as best as you can, and wash the garment as you normally would.
For fresh blood stains, soak the clothing item in a container of cold water, and wash it as usual. For dried blood stains, soak the garment in a basin of warm water mixed with an enzyme-rich product. Then, launder the clothing item as usual.
To care for light mud stains, spread a powder detergent paste over the soiled area and wash it as you normally would. For heavier mud stains, pretreat the garment in a basin of water mixed with a detergent or enzyme-rich product. Then, add it to your next load of laundry.

Launder T-shirts in cold water

T-shirts are safe to toss in both your washer and dryer. Experts recommend a cold water cycle in the washer, along with a permanent press cycle in the tumble dryer. If your shirts have obvious pit stains, wash them with an oxygen-based bleach.
In general, cold water is better for your clothes, and may keep them from shrinking and fading over time.

Wash jeans infrequently and inside-out

Washing your jeans inside-out will help prevent fading. Experts suggest washing jeans once every 3 wears. Turn your jeans inside-out to protect the color, and wash them in a gentle, cold water cycle. Hang up your jeans to air-dry once they’re out of the washer.