How to Wash Dark Laundry

Separate lights from darks before washing your laundry.

Doing laundry is tends to be a chore, but it has to be done. Part of doing laundry is sorting and washing clothes based on their colors. Don't just toss your dark jeans and black blouse in with your white towels. Dark laundry must be washed the right way to ensure that the colors stay vibrant and no damage is done to the fabric itself.

Things You'll Need

• Laundry pre-treatment spray
• Bleach-free liquid laundry detergent
• Oxygen bleach -- optional
• Fabric softener -- optional

Instructions

1. Wash dark laundry only with other dark items. Mixing dark and light colors can cause the dark fabrics to bleed on the light-colored fabrics. Treat any stains with a laundry pre-treatment spray.

2. Set the washer on the shortest cycle and the cold-water temperature setting. If your washer has a setting for the type of wash cycle, such as heavy-duty, light or permanent press, select the right setting based on the care label on the clothing. Different materials may require different wash settings.

3. Turn the washer on, and let it begin to fill with water. While it's filling up, add the appropriate amount of laundry detergent according the bottle's label. Avoid using too much or too little detergent. Using too much can leave residue on your clothes, while using too little can leave your laundry dirty. Choose a liquid detergent without bleach additives.

4. Add oxygen bleach along with your detergent, as well as fabric softener, if you would like. Oxygen bleach is safe for colors and helps to brighten the hues of the fabrics. Refer to the label on the oxygen bleach and fabric softener for specific amounts to use.

5. Put your laundry in the washer. Push the laundry into the water so the clothes are submerged. Avoid overfilling the washer. This hinders your washing machine's ability to get your clothes clean.

6. Let the washer run its complete cycle. Take the clothes out of the washer promptly. Dry the laundry according the fabric-care label. Some items may be safe to put in the dryer, while others may need to be laid flat or hung to dry.

Tips & Warnings

• Avoid washing dark towels with your clothes or washing dark towels with light-colored ones. Towels shed lint, which can transfer to your clothes. Also, dark towels can be washed in hot water, while most dark clothes cannot. To keep colors vibrant, add 1 cup of table salt to the wash cycle the first time you wash your dark towels to keep the color from fading too quickly.

• Always check the care label on your clothing for specific washing and drying instructions.

References

• Texas A&M University; Clean Getaway: Learn to Do Laundry the Right Way; Melanie Maxcey; July 1998
• Drexel University: What's Up With The Laundry?
• "Talking Dirty Laundry with the Queen of Clean;" Linda Cobb; 2001

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish