With these savvy shortcuts, you're looking at the quickest loads — and newest-looking clothes — ever.
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1
Know which clothes play nice together.
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When you're prepared to toss in a load, keep the items that shed, like towels or fuzzy sweaters, away from garments that attract lint, like corduroy pants or black slacks. And separate lightweight clothes, like sheets or T-shirts, from heavyweight stuff, like towels or denim. The reason? "If you wash heavy and light clothes together, the light clothes will dry more quickly in the dryer, so they'll be in there too long," says Carolyn Forte, director of the Good Housekeeping Institute Home Appliances, Cleaning Products, and Textiles Lab. "This can damage the fibers and lead to shrinkage." (Translation: You'll be replacing those leggings faster than your daughter can grow out of 'em.)
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2
Wash your jeans inside out.
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Washing and drying is tough on clothes; they rub against each other and the machine, losing a little color and potentially getting pulled out of shape. To help minimize color loss, turn jeans inside out before placing them in the washer, and leave them inside out until you remove them from the dryer, Forte says. (She also recommends using a detergent designed to preserve colors: "They really do work." We like Woolite Darks and Tide Plus Colorguard.) Zip zippers and fasten flies to prevent snags, too.
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3
Add a splash of vinegar.
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Some people swear by the cleaning staple; it may zap a mildewy smell and help your colors come out bolder and your whites whiter. (And no, your clothes won't smell like vinegar!) Just toss in a capful of white vinegar after the detergent. Another smart cleaning trick: If a garment comes out of the wash with a stain still on it, don't toss it in the dryer. "The heat will set it," Forte warns. Instead, air-dry and wash again.
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4
Soften your water.
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Hard water contains magnesium and calcium — harmless when ingested, but not so great for your laundry. "Those minerals cause detergents to not clean as well," Forte says. "Clothing looks duller and feels stiffer because the detergents don't lather or rinse as well." Hard water can also clog your pipes and appliances with buildup. A whole-system filter, such as Morton System Saver Water Softener, removes minerals right at your water supply pipe.
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5
Rinse delicates in a colander.
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When you hand wash a garment, such as a sweater or silk blouse, there's a moment when the danger of ruining the piece is very real: when you're giving it a rinse. The mistake? Holding the wet item up under the tap. "Water is heavy," Forte says. "Once an item of clothing is filled with water, if you lift and stretch it, it'll lose its shape." The better way: Drain the sink of sudsy water, then scoop up the garment and place it in a colander. Then move the strainer around under the faucet to get rid of any detergent. "That way, the whole sweater isn't hanging down from the weight," Forte says.
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6
Create a clean-clothes sorting station.
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You already have a handful of baskets for pre-sorting, right? When clothes come out of the drier, line those baskets up again and toss each family member's freshly washed clothes inside — then everyone in your crew can grab his or her own bin and fold and put away whatever's inside. Teamwork!
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7
Tuck your bras carefully into a drawer.
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Folding your bras in half or placing them in other funny contortions can ruin them (and bras are not cheap!). Instead, neatly nest them inside of each other in a drawer — like you see at a lingerie store. Keeping them tidy also helps you find things when you need them and fit more bras into a drawer.
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8
Don't hang your sweater like a shirt.
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If you store a chunky sweater on a hanger, gravity will stretch out the neck and shoulders — no bueno if you'd like to wear the knit for years to come. Your sweaters can still live in the closet sans warping if you fold them in half and drape them on hangers like above.