Guide
Air-drying laundry: 5 common mistakes and how to avoid them
by Stephanie Vinzens
Washing clothes: these 5 common mistakes are ruining your clothing
12.5.2023
Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson
Doing the laundry is a bit of an art. If you haven’t mastered it, there’s a risk your washing machine will wear out your clothes more than wearing them will.
1. Undone zips and bra hooks
Undone bras, zips or velcro fasteners are a danger to your clothes in the washing machine. They can get caught on your garments, roughen up fibres or even tear holes in your clothes. So before you throw your laundry in the washing machine, make sure all fasteners are closed.
2. Over-intensive wash cycles
3. Excessive use of detergent
The more washing detergent the better? Wrong. An overly high dose may result in heavy foaming, which will affect the wash performance. It also leaves residue in your machine and on your clothes, which can lead to unpleasant odours and discolouration.
4. Unprotected delicates
Remember: garments that stain or wear easily should be turned inside out or even washed in a laundry net. This protects them from friction and twisting. Take extra care with items that have prints or appliqués as well as with denim and fine materials such as silk or lace.
5. Overloaded washing machine
It’s tempting to cram a whole pile of laundry into the machine to save time and energy. But a packed drum can reduce the wash cycle’s effectiveness or even cause damage. If the garments are pressed too hard against each other and against the drum of the machine, excessive strain is put on the fibres. The general recommendation is to fill your washing machine about two thirds at most. This way you make sure that the load has enough space to move freely in the drum.
Header image: Annie Spratt via Unsplash
Has endless love for shoulder pads, Stratocasters and sashimi, but a limited tolerance for bad impressions of her Eastern Swiss dialect.
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