Laundry mistakes are not uncommon and can often cost you money. If you have ever pulled your favorite sweater or pair of jeans out of the dryer to find them too small, you understand what we are talking about! Even a person with years of adulting experience is bound to make a mistake occasionally. Take a look some of these laundry mistakes you may be making.
NOT CLEANING YOUR WASHER AND DRYER
We tend to neglect cleaning our washer and dryer and it can come back to bite us in a big (and stinky!) way. The washer can get a lot of mildew and grime that will cause your laundry to smell musty—something no one wants. Take the time once a month to give your washer and dryer the attention they deserve.
NOT SORTING YOUR CLOTHES
Sorting your clothes is important to make sure you run the correct wash and dry cycle for each category. Most of us at least sort by darks and lights, but you should also be sorting by types of material as well. A nice blouse should never be washed or dried with towels even if they are both the same color. Not only is sorting your clothes important to maintain the color and vibrancy of each piece of clothing, it preserves the health of your clothes.
LEAVING ZIPPERS UNZIPPED OR BUTTONS BUTTONED
When you leave the zippers on your pants or jackets unbuttoned during the wash, the metal can damage other pieces of clothing that are in the wash. Always make sure you zip them up to minimize the contact the zipper has with other things. On the opposite spectrum, button up shirts should be unbuttoned so the movement of the button inside the eyelet does not weaken the threads and stretch out the holes. And while we are on the subject, be careful of washing items with Velcro with your clothes. We recommend washing them separately. Velcro always seems to attach itself to your favorite shirt and cause damage.
USING TOO MUCH DETERGENT
Not accurately measuring your laundry detergent or using too much detergent is another common mistake. The lines on the included measuring cup can be hard to see, so we often end up estimating. Take a sharpie and draw the lines where you can see them. Too much detergent does not make your clothes cleaner. In fact, you may find your clothes appear dirty because the suds hold a lot of dirt and if you use too much, the rinse cycle will not rinse away all the detergent. Not to mention, using more detergent than is needed costs you more money in the long run.
DRYING CLOTHES FOR TOO LONG
Some dryers have sensors that assist in making sure you don’t over dry your laundry, but many do not. And we have all have procrastinated putting up our clothes and used the “I think they still feel a little damp” excuse to run them through another cycle. But unfortunately, over drying our clothes can be doing quite a bit of damage. The more you put your clothes through the dryer, the more the fibers will break down. In the end, this means a shorter life for your clothes.
Have you made any of these laundry mistakes? Stop by our online Zippy Shell community and share your laundry horror stories.
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