Have you or your parents decided that it's time for you to take the next step in becoming an adult? Have you often pondered how to clean your own clothing only to end up confused and bewildered? Well, if you have, you'll soon realize that doing your own laundry is not as hard or as complicated as it seems, and with a few short easy to follow steps, you'll be on your way to laundry bliss forever!.
As you start your laundry adventure, you want to sort your clothing, making separate piles for whites, bright colors, and darks. If you mix colors with whites, they may bleed onto your whites, ruining them forever. Also, be sure to separate clothes that produce lint such as towels, sweatshirts, and flannels from clothing that tends to attract lint like corduroy, velvets, and perm-press clothes. And make sure to check your pant pockets as you sort because you probably don't want a pen or marker tie-dyeing your whole load, and also remove any paper products or spare change from your pockets. .
After sorting and deciding which load to do, use the measuring cap of the detergent bottle to measure the proper amount of detergent according to the instructions on the label. Then pour the detergent into the washing machine or the detergent dispenser and add some fabric softener, if desired, also according to the product instructions. Now at this point, you need to choose a water temperature for the wash cycle and the type of cycle you desire. You have three main options for the water temperature, hot, warm or cold. In general, use cold water to protect colors and darks from fading or bleeding, and to also protect from shrinkage. And use warm or hot water for more durable fabrics like cotton, and to keep your whites the way they were intended to be: white. As you choose the type of cycle, keep in mind that the regular cycle is sufficient for most types of clothing, and the gentle cycle is proper for delicate fabrics or sheer.
