3. WASH

The actual act of washing clothes is simple. After you've gathered all of your materials and done the proper sorting, you're ready throw the clothes into the machine. Here are our tips:

  1. First you must pre-treat any visible stains before washing for maximum effectiveness of removal. Before combining the stained garment with other clothing in the washing machine, add a dime-size amount of detergent or stain remover to the affected area and rub into the stain. Then you can add it in the washing machine and hope that the stain comes out in the agitated washing cycle.

  2. What you do next depends on the type of washing machine you're using.

    • If the washing machine does NOT have a detergent dispenser on top, then you must put the detergent into the machine before you throw in the clothes. For these old-school washers (they prefer Run DMC to Eminem), simply insert your quarters, choose your cycle (more on that below), and pour the detergent into the basin as it starts to fill with water. Once the water begins to get nice and sudsy, add your nasty threads a little at a time (distributing the weight evenly) until your full load is inside.

    • If it's a newer machine (or one that has a detergent dispenser on top), simply load the pile of clothes into the washing machine (making sure the weight is evenly distributed), choose your cycle, pour the detergent into the dispenser, and pop in the quarters. The machine with fill with water and suds before your disbelieving eyes.
  3. Laundry machines vary tremendously: some require you to specify the water temperature; others ask you to choose the washing cycle. The latter is much easier for the neophyte:

    • Whites require a "hot" cycle in which there is a vigorous agitation cycles and hot water rinse. The hot water gets your whites nice and clean, because it doesn't have to worry about draining out colors

    • Lights and darks require a "warm" or "permanent press" cycle which has a more mild agitation cycle and adds an extra cool water rinse. The cool water protects the colors.

    • Delicates (that, of course, are not being washed by hand) require a "delicate" cycle with an extremely short and gentle agitation spin. This will be a "cold" cycle.
  4. Again, most clothes will tell you how to handle them, saying "wash cold only" or "wash warm with like colors." As long as you can read (and we suspect you can), you can never go wrong with instructions.

  5. A washing cycle usually takes 25 to 40 minutes, so bring some reading material or entertainment if you are waiting at a laundromat. If you are using communal washing machines, please be aware that an implied laundromat etiquette does exist. Leaving your clothes in the machine for hours after the cycle is over is inconsiderate, so please be present when your clothes are finished washing.

  6. Then there is the age-old question of whether you should have the right to remove someone's already-washed clothing so that you can use the washer. To avoid any sort of confrontation, violation, or clothing robbery, give the washer about 10 minutes of grace time. After that, if the laundromat is incredibly crowded, you can consider self-removal.

  7. The biggest problems that people encounter during the wash cycle are that they either 1) overload the washer, or 2) use too much detergent. You should never have to stuff clothes into a washer… if there's no room inside for more clothes, then there's no room inside for water to reach grimy places. So never fill a washer more than about ½ - ¾ full. As for the detergent, only use the "full" measurement if you have a real heavy load of towels, jeans, and other "thick" objects. If you're doing a light load of whites and t-shirts, a half a cup of detergent is fine. What's wrong with too much detergent? Not only will it ruin your clothes (it's like using too much soap on your skin), but it also encourages sitcom writers to write stupid scripts about Dads making washing machines overflow with bubbles.