Guide to Washing Clothes by Hand

If your washing machine breaks down in the middle of the week and you have to wait for payday before buying a new one, what do you do? You wash your clothes by hand. Most people do not choose to do this just because they want to, but they may be forced to out of necessity. Following is a guide to wash clothes by hand, because not all clothing should be washed the same.

Instructions

1. Separate your clothes. Separate all of your whites, light-colored clothes, and darks. Check tags to see what kind of care each article of clothing needs and then separate the delicates from heavy fabrics. You may also want to separate your towels and wash cloths because of lint. Put white socks in a pile to be washed by themselves since socks are usually the dirtiest items of clothing.

2. Fill a large tub with warm water and add detergent. Cold water can be used for some delicates and lightly soiled clothes, but it doesn't kill germs. Use hot water for heavily soiled clothes, like jeans or towels. Hot water can fade some colored clothes. Warm water is your best choice. Adding Borax to your wash will help get stains out and keep clothing smelling fresh.

3. Take each piece of clothing and swish it in the tub and then scrub it together. Do this until it appears clean. If you have heavily stained clothing, then soak those items before washing.

4. Rinse. Drain the water out and replace it with clean, cold water. Swish the clothes around and dip them in and out of the water a couple of times. Let the water out and then run water over each article of clothing until there are no more suds. You can add softener to the water before draining the second time. You can add ½ cup of white distilled vinegar instead a commercial fabric softener.

5. Wring the clothes out so that you can either throw them in the dryer or hang them on the line. Try not to twist stretchy material like T-shirts because they will lose their shape. Try setting T-shirts on a towel and then wrapping them, pressing the water out as you roll.

Tips & Warnings

• Dish soap can be used to wash clothes that need a mild detergent.

• A washboard can be used to clean your clothes.

• If you use powder detergent you might want to dissolve it before you add clothing. They will rinse easier this way. Liquid detergent can be put in without dissolving.

• Some delicate clothing should not be wrung. Just rinse, then set the item of clothing on a towel and blot; or just lay another towel over it and let it soak up some of the water, then dry accordingly.