How to Do Laundry in 10 Easy Steps

Learning how to do laundry is not difficult. Today’s fabrics, detergents, and machines prevent most laundry mistakes. First, determine if every item of clothing needs to be washed; you can wear many items more than once.

Read the labels for washing instructions and follow these 10 basic steps and laundry hacks for washing clothes and you’ll always have clean laundry.

• 01of 10Read the Labels The Spruce / Erica SchroederCheck the care labels on your garments and linens. They will tell you whether or not an item can be machine-washed. Also, every type of fabric has properties that determine how it reacts to heat, water, and cleaning solvents:
  • Care of Cotton Fabrics
• • Care of Synthetic Fabrics
• • Care of Wool Fabrics
  Place all clothes that are labeled “wash separately” or “hand wash” into separate piles. If the label says, “dry clean only,” believe it and place it in a bag to take to the dry cleaner. There’s no need to risk damaging any special fabrics by trying to save time or money and tossing them in the washer. In the future, try to avoid buying delicate items if you prefer not to deal with special laundry care.
• 02of 10Sort the Laundry The Spruce / Erica Schroeder  Start by sorting the laundry by color:
  • Whites, pastels, light grays, and white background prints will go in one pile.
  • Deep-colored clothes—black, red, navy, brown, dark gray—go in another pile. 
  • Heavily soiled clothes should be washed separately.
• 03of 10Sort Again The Spruce / Erica Schroeder Sort each pile one more time by type of fabric. For instance, in the whites pile, separate towels, and sheets from apparel. In the dark colors, separate t-shirts and jeans from lighter-weight items like blouses and dress shirts.Washing by fabric type allows you to use different water temperatures and keeps drying cycles simple. To reduce lint, never wash lint-producing fabrics and lint-attracting fabrics together!If there are not enough items for a full washer load of each type of fabric and you are in a hurry, you can wash all items of each color together. Just be sure to choose the washer cycle to fit the most delicate garments in the load.
• 04of 10Select a Detergent The Spruce / Erica SchroederSelect an all-purpose laundry detergent; one with enzymes will provide the best cleaning results. Read the directions to determine how much to use based on the size of the load. Always measure your detergent.Add the detergent to the washer drum or dispenser before loading it. This will prevent residue on your clothing.If your clothes have stains, pre-treat them with a stain remover or a bit of laundry detergent before placing them in the washer.
• 05of 10Pick a Water Temperature and Cycle The Spruce / Erica SchroederUnless your clothing is caked with dirt and heavily stained, washing in cold water will serve your needs and prevent most laundry disasters. The exception is cotton underwear and bedsheets that need hot water to remove body oil.Bed linens and towels need to be washed at the highest recommended temperature at least every other wash to sanitize them.You must also choose the best washer cycle for the type of fabrics in the load. The “normal” cycle will be fine for most loads, but you may also need to use “permanent press” or “delicate” for certain fabrics. “Heavy-duty” is great for articles like jeans and towels.
• 06of 10Do a Final Check The Spruce / Erica Schroeder Double-check everything before you load the washer to prevent mistakes. Look for any stains and pretreat them.Certain types of stains require special techniques to remove them, while many can be handled with a spot treatment. There’s also a proper approach for mystery stains when you’re not sure what caused it.Also, check that all pockets are empty—no tissues or paper, either—to prevent disasters. Remove any accessories such as belts and jewelry.Close all zippers, VELCRO, and buttons to prevent them from catching the fabrics.
• 07of 10Load the Washer The Spruce / Erica SchroederLoad items into the washer one at a time, making sure they are not in a wad. Do not cram the washer too full. The clothes need room to move about in the water.To protect fabric finishes and reduce the “washed out” look, turn knitted items, corduroy, textured fabric, and dark colors inside out. 
• 08of 10Unload the Washer The Spruce / Erica SchroederPromptly remove wet laundry from the washer to lessen wrinkles and prevent mildew. Hang items to air dry, lay flat to dry, or place them in the dryer.
• 09of 10Load the Dryer The Spruce / Ana CadenaIf you did not separate loads by fabric type when washing, do it now before placing items in the dryer. It’s important to dry all lightweight items together and all heavy fabric items together and choose the correct dryer cycle for each.This will help prevent shrinking and protect your clothing. Add wool dryer balls to speed drying and reduce static.There are many good reasons why you might consider air drying your laundry outside or on an indoor drying rack. Chief among those are saving energy (and money) and less damage to your clothes.
• 10of 10Hang, Fold, and Store Your Laundry The Spruce / Erica SchroederAs soon as your clothes are dry, you’ll want to take care of them right away. Hang or fold each piece of clothing as it comes out of the dryer to prevent wrinkling. And, of course, iron your clothes if you must. As soon as possible, return clothes and linens to the proper closet or drawer.

Additional Laundry Tips

Mistakes happen. Everyone makes them but here’s some help to save the day—or your favorite shirt.

• Save a Shrunken Sweater
• Remove Dye Bleeding
• Save an Iron-Scorched Garment

Laundry is much less overwhelming if you do it frequently. If you let a mountain of dirty laundry accumulate, it can become scary. It may feel like a hassle to go to the laundromat, so find ways to make the trip better like using the time to read, relax, and enjoy the scent of your fresh laundry.