We know how frustrating it is when you pull your whites out of the machine only to find a stray red sock had sneaked in with them and turned everything pink. Follow our simple tips and say goodbye to laundry accidents forever.
- How accidents happen
- Sorting laundry loads
- Choosing the right laundry basket
- Symbols
How accidents happen
Here’s how the most common accidents happen:
- Reactive dyes – these dyes aren’t always stable when they come into contact with detergents that contain bleach, so may leak out onto other items in the wash. Detergents containing oxygen bleach also cause colours to fade.
- Bleed from direct dyes – sometimes dyes can bleed out of one particular garment into the wash – even in cold/lukewarm water.
Sorting laundry loads
It may be easy to throw a load of mixed laundry into the machine, but if you don’t want everything to turn an odd shade of pink or grey, follow our simple tips.
Sort laundry into groups: whites, light colours, dark colours and delicates (wools, silks etc). If you only have a small amount of one group don’t be tempted to put it in with another – save it for a full load.
It’s very important to wash your lights and darks separately, as darker dyes can ruin lighter fabrics. Sort your greys, blacks, navies, reds, dark purples and similar colours into one load, and your pinks, lavenders, light blues, lights greens and yellows into another laundry.
Once you have sorted your laundry by colour, it’s time to sort them by fabric type: Never wash your delicates (items such as lingerie, pantyhose and washable silk), cottons and denims together, as they all require different water temperatures.
Assigning clothes to separate piles based on their level of dirtiness is another wise strategy to follow if you want the best results. Heavily soiled items usually need to be pre-treated and need more agitation from the machine to be properly cleaned. Go through your heavily soiled clothes with a stain remover before loading them into your washing machine to prevent the redepositing of stains.
For dazzling whites - use a laundry detergent containing bleach, such as Ariel Original Washing Powder.
Quick tip: Turning your clothes inside out will protect them during the wash. It stops jeans turning white at the seams.
For colours - use a detergent without bleach, such as Ariel 3in1 PODS Washing Capsules Colour & Style, Ariel Colour & Style Washing Liquid or Ariel Washing Gel Colour & Style.
Quick tip: Stains on coloured clothes is not an issue anymore. Try Ariel Original Washing Liquid that is tough on stains but gentle on your coloured garments.
Choosing the right laundry basket
Use a partitioned laundry basket – it’ll save you time sorting it all out later. In case someone places something in the wrong section, check labels for the manufacturer’s washing recommendations.
If in doubt, test an item for colourfastness by applying warm water to an inconspicuous part (for instance, the inside of a hem), then press with a warm iron between two pieces of cloth. If any colour leaks, it’s not colourfast.