What is all this about Lights, Darks, Colours, and Delicates? How do I know how to separate them effeciently?

Question

Well, I've taken up the habit of doing my own laundry even tho i haven't even left High School yet, but everytime I get new clothes I fret that I might mess them up by washing them with the wrong clothes. Well, the thing about separating Lights from Darks is elementary, but what of Colours? Are Colours colours that aren't Dark, and are Darks black or any colour that is dark? And there's the matter of some Darks looking like they don't belong with each other, and the same with some Colours. It's all very confusing. Could someone please categorize and clearly define these terms for me, and if possible, include some hints? Oh, and what of multi-coloured clothing - like shirts with a misture of red, black, and white and shorts with a mixture of dark blue, light blue, red, and white - what category do they fall under?

Answer 1

Kudos- on doing your own laundry.... I wash most clothes (lights,darks, delicates) cold wash/cold rinse... I wash bed linens, white (socks, underwear) Hot wash/cold rinse...

That should clear up any confusion if you have new clothes, it's best to turn the garments inside out and wash cold/cold with darker clothes in case anything runs...

I also turn any black clothes inside out and check the pockets for tissue's... They can leave lint... I hang jeans, slacks to dry, most cotton t's I will put in the dryer...

Cotton T-shirts w/ screen prints/logo's I also wash inside out to keep the design intact...

Sweaters should be washed delicate cycle with like colors cold/cold and laid flat to dry...

If you are confused look at the tags inside to at least give you a guideline on how to wash... Most mens clothes are pretty simple.. As for clothing that has multiple colors try and wash together cold/cold permanent press....

It's also good to pre-treat spots/stains if you don't have a laundry stain remover use some detergent and dab on the spot leave on for a few minutes BEFORE putting in laundry...Then check it again BEFORE you put in the dryer- once the item goes in the dryer any spot is likely to set in....

Good luck and the *Golden rule is always check the whites and make sure nothing RED is in there or you will have PINK underwear.. However, everyone does that at least once... !!

Answer 2

BLEEDING IS one of THE PROBLEMS:

Some very nice blouses or underwear, I wash separately, by hand to make sure nothing happens to them. I could put those in the delicate cycle, but I don't because never have enough of those for a full load.

Beware of RED items. Wash reds alone until you are sure any bleeding will be minimal and then only wash it with very dark colored clothing. Reds tend to turn everything else pink.

Good quality sportswear shirts usually don't bleed. Prints with mixed colors that I suspect might bleed, I always wash separately, if they are nice shirts or blouses, always by hand first just to observe how the color holds, if the water changes color, if bleeding from one part of the pattern to another part. If colors hold, then I throw all the clothes with mixed colors in the wash together with other things and we don't worry about it after that.

Sometimes new jeans, and other darks will bleed the first few times they are washed. So wash new jeans only with darks or other like-colored items.

After jeans have gone through a number of washings, usually they don't bleed anymore.

With no new clothes in the hamper to wash: If we have only enough laundry for one load, we don't separate lights and dark pieces -- they all go in together. If we have enough laundry to do more that one full load, we do separate into light and dark loads. We developed this habit to save water.

Answer 3

Since colors fade in the wash and dyes tend to dye other clothes, you can have many more new pieces of clothing by washing this white thing with that color thing one day and bleaching it the next.
When you've done that you can always soak a color in bleach for a few minutes and lighten its color, or change it altogether.
If you then want to go get more dyes, you could.
Then when you feel you have worn these new mutilcolored clothing articles too many times you can wear two at a time, or this one with that one, and then cut one up and change it's appearance that way as well.
It would not hurt to try the salvation army. They have everything that people only wore once and it's always nice to have original clothes. They also have a lot of hats there.

Answer 4

i usually do all my laundry together- regardless of light or dark... hasnt got me in trouble yet!