How to Save Money and Make Your Clothes Last Longer When Doing Laundry
For some people, doing laundry is second nature. Their parents taught them at a young age to use the washer and dryer and not let clothes pile up. For a lot of other people, Laundry is just an unwanted chore that needs to get done. If laundry is a major chore to you, chances are you’ve never taken the time to consider whether or not you’re doing laundry in the most efficient and practical manner. Here are some tips to help you do laundry better.The Right Temperature for the Right Clothes – Many people just throw all of their laundry in and set it to warm. This will cause your whites to not get as clean as they could and your colors to fade. Sort your clothes out into whites and darks; wash the darker clothes on cold, and your lighter clothes on warm.
Load Your Washer in The Proper Order – Put water in first, the detergent in second, and your clothes in third. This will ensure that the detergent is nice and mixed in with the water.
Wash Conservatively – It’s okay to not wash your clothes every time that you wear them. Something might not be anywhere close to dirty after you wear the item once or twice. Washing your clothes every time after you wear them is a great way to wear them out and force you to have to buy clothes sooner than you should have. It’s not stinky, gross, or weird. There’s no reason to wash something if it’s just not dirty.
Make Your Own Detergent – A lot of frugal individuals have taken to creating their very own laundry detergent. There are all sorts of recipes on the web to create your own detergent, and when you do make your own detergent, you can save a ton of money on over-priced laundry detergent. Usually you’ll end up paying about 1/10th of what you normally would on a per-load basis when you make your own detergent.
Get a Front Loading Washer – Front loading washers are a bit more expensive, that’s true, however they save quite a bit of energy. Since the drum rotates horizontally rather than vertically, your clothes will also become much cleaner. Front loading washers also don’t wear your clothes out nearly as much. More often than not, the up-front investment is worth it over a long period of time.
Doing laundry might not be the most fun thing in the world, but since we have to do it regardless, it makes sense to do laundry in a manner that saves money and makes our clothes last as long as possible.
Labels: family
posted by Matthew Paulson @ 8:42 AM
24 Comments:
my washer specifically says to put th detergent in, then the clothes, then water. might want to be careful about giving people advice that doesn't match their machine...
Mine also says detergent, then clothes, then close lid(so water fills)... and I ended up with a load of whites covered in blue detergent spots! I now always always do detergent, close the lid for a little while, then open it back up and throw in the clothes.
I think it's a lot less expensive for your clothes to wear out than buy a front-loading washer. Also, there is no mention of line drying. The dryer is the worst enemy of your clothes.
"anonymous", that depends largely on how much your clothes cost. If you have to replace just one or two $100 clothing items, you're coming pretty close to the break even point.
Plus, the cost difference isn't nearly as much as a lot of people think. Many places offer tax credit and rebates from utility companies, which will drop the price A LOT. I ended up paying about $500 for my $1000 washer after all the credits and rebates I got.
And ditto on the line drying comment. If you REALLY need that "dryer fresh" smell, just toss them in for a few minutes after they're dry.
Are you aware that, in Apple's Safari browser, the entire text of your blog post renders as a link to "Debt Advice Trust?"
If you have a side-loader, how do you put clothes in last? Let it fill up, open the door, let the water pour out, then put clothes in, after water is all over the floor?
hmm...I'll take a look at that safari bug...
The thing about front loading washers is that they do a really good job of mixing the soap and the water together, so it accomplishes the same goal.
When you put your clothes in first, then throw the detergant on and then let it fill with water, is that the detergant and water don't always fully mix, making some of your clothes not get washed as well as they could.
Ummm... You should learn to wash clothes before posting an article on it. Temperature and color don't go together. The key question is fabric. Wash white linen, wool, or silk on hot, and you've got yourself ruined clothing. With cotton, it depends on the type of cotton.
Clothing labels are usually a good thing to look at. The manufacturer knows more about the type of fiber and dye than you do. It's slower the first few times, but once you've looked a few times, you learn which clothing gets washed how, and it goes pretty fast.
As to the issue of temperature and color, I have to disagree with the last anonymous post; dark colors fade faster if the water is too warm, likewise whites stay brighter if washed in hot water. That said, some fabrics cannot tolerate hot water.
As for efficiency, if you use a clothes dryer, I suggest having a 'laundry day' rather than spreading loads over several days. This takes advantage of a hot dryer, rather than having to completely re-heat the dryer from load to load.
And for the love of Pete, if you are using a powdered detergent, do NOT put it in any trays or dispensers. Those are made for liquid detergents ONLY. All that happens with powder is that it forms a sludge and stays in the dispenser. Put powder directly in the tumbler.
This is directed to all those about to go off to college who have never used a washer before and even after a few months can't seem to figure this out. Drove me nuts.
@sheri - No offense, but I don't know of many people who go around wearing $100 pieces of clothing. I guess maybe that's because I'm a university student, and I'm perfectly fine dressed in a $8 t-shirt or a $15 long-sleeve with $15 pants, looks fine to me. My clothes have been fine for the past 4 years, also, hehe, no major replacements necessary yet.
it's also important to dry with a gas dryer or hanging clothes as opposed to an electric dryer, electric driyer make fabrics brittle, due to the dry heat, which causes them to be easily damaged gas dryers dries without making the fabric brittle and the clothes are softer.
I've done some extensive online-forum research on alternatives to fabric softener (I don't like wasting all those sheets!): a glug of white vinegar in the final rinse will soften the water and help get every last bit of detergent out of your clothes; a tennis ball in the dryer will also soften your clothes, and can last for months. If you need your clothes to smell pretty, a couple drops of aromatic oils on them tennis balls should do the trick.
@zeph
As far as not knowing many people who dont wear expensive clothes, I too am a college student, and I dont drink alcohol (saves hundreds, maybe thousands a year) which i spend on clothes...a good 50 dollar polo shirt is a terrible thing to waste due to careless washing!
@zeph
rich people like us wear $100 shirts $200 jeans and a $400 belt buckle to hold it all together.
oh and i have selina my lovely housemaid clean my clothes. those girls from mexico are simply the best!
i bought a front loader washer and dryer last year. i thought my gas bill and electric bill will be high even though they have energy star. it turns out i save more than going to a card-coin laundromat. i applied for rebates on both gas and electric companies and they gave me at least $100 each rebate. i financed them thru sears and really worked hard to pay them in a year. so far my clothes are fine, nothings worn out even though they're cheap. since it's summer i take advantage of the heat i dry line my clothes.
i like my front loader because i can put the detergent, softener and/or bleach at the same time. no more waiting. thanks.
Matthew: modern-day front loader don't ever fill with water, and in the first 10 minutes you can add garments by pressing the "pause" button.
Rather useless, vague article with little information beyond what most college freshmen are told by their mothers.
If you want a real treatise on laundry by an expert, there are several good books out recently on the science of housekeeping that will fit the bill.
a good idea, but buying new clothes is a good way to not have the same clothes for 3 years. worn clothes eventually motivate you to spend $20 a new shirt every now and then
Spielo,
Most people don't have a choice about whether they use gas or electric. I mean, unless you're building a new house or something (in which case you're not exactly in the target audience for this blog post). You might as well have said, "Hang your wash out to dry at altitudes above 10,000 feet so that your clothes will dry faster."
Key to having lasting clothes is to wash clothes of similar fabric and weight together and to use laundry bags (the perforated white ones). For bras, wash separately from all other clothing by first putting them in a laundry bag (say wash a total of 10 bras at once). Do not wash sweaters and silk blouses together. Do not wash jeans and dress pants together. For delicate clothes use a combo of powdered detergent and say Woollite using desired water temperature setting as indicated on machine. For white blouses use a combo of powdered detergent and baking soda. Hang dry clothes if possible. Dryers are good for towels and linens generally speaking.
A really easy cheap trick: wash clothes inside out. I started this after I noticed my work polos wearing thin due to wear in the dryer. Now I wash all my nice work clothes inside out and only dry shirts for about 15-20 minutes then hang to dry. Now the wear will start on the inside making wear less apparent.
Quick FYI: Some code has been injected at the top of this page that redirects my browser to http://www.americanconsumernews.com/
Not sure if you meant for that to happen when people tried to read your blog, but there it is.
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