How to Sort Clothes for Washing

Wash bright, sports weight clothing together.

Invest in the time to sort your laundry correctly before turning on the washer. Sorting the laundry, rather shoving it all in the washer in one big load, saves your clothes and linens – and if done correctly, saves time as well. The more precisely you sort the laundry, the cleaner it will be at the end of the wash and the longer it keeps its like-new appearance.

Instructions

1. Turn clothes inside out before you sort to protect trims and finishes. As you work, familiarize yourself with the care and fabric content labels. Synthetic clothes, for instance, are more likely to pick up dyes from other garments and may discolor if you add bleach.

2. Sort clothes by color. Sort into loads of white, lights and brights and darks. To keep whites as bright as possible resist the temptation to mix white shirts with loads of pale or pastel clothes.

3. Sort by weight and fabric type to protect delicate fabrics. Keep laundry that sheds lint -- towels, plush and flannel -- away from permanent press and corduroy items that collect lint. Tuck hand washable lingerie in a laundry bag and wash it with a load of lightweight linens or clothing.

4. Sort heavily soiled garments and linens into a separate load. Dirt in the water from heavily soiled items can settle on lightly soiled garments turning them gray and dingy.

5. Sort towels and linens into separate loads. For convenience, sort the loads by room. Wash kitchen towels, which may be greasy or have food stains, separately from bathroom towels.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't overload the washing machine. No matter how you sort, unless there's room in the drum to agitate the clothes and enough water to suspend the dirt, the laundry will not get clean.

References

• Univeristy of Nebraska-Lincoln; Sorting Laundry Saves Time and Money; Lorene Bartos
• Good Housekeeping; How to Sort Laundry; Heloise