Need help mixing laundry
Lowell
listing the do's and dont's of mixing colors in laundry, except for
"don't mix reds and whites together." Being the normal male, I could
use some guidance here. :-) What colors can be safely mixed in cold
water (used almost always)? I've heard that reds should be all to
their own load, but I don't have but a handful of red clothing. It
seems a waste if I can mix them after a few washings with other things
(not whites obviously).
So if someone could be kind enough to give some pointers as to what
primary and other colors can be mixed in the wash, I'd be very
thankful! Also, is it more important to keep like colors together
(regardless of whether they're light, dark, or medium)or is it better
to separate the lights from darks regardless of color? For instance,
would you mix a dark blue sock with a light blue tablecloth, or would
you be more likely to take a dark green tshirt, dark blue sock, dark
brown slacks and wash together. Where <I>do</I> browns and greys
enter into the mix? Is it ok to put monochromatic colored items with
the colored, or would greys be more likely to go with the
blacks/browns?
Sorry for the long post, but wanted to explain <I>exactly</I> my
problem. I just don't want to be getting brown stains on my green
shirts, light blue bleed on my dark blue jeans, dark red on my navy
blue, etc. etc.
Thanks!
Vandy
regardless of color. Wash new reds or reds that still bleed with
black, dark brown or other reds where it won't show as much, if at
all. Knit sweaters and fine knit dress shirts should be washed as
delicate fabrics.
Dark browns with the darks, same with grays. Gray, even dark gray,
may wash better with lights unless it is dark enough to be a 'slate
gray'. Mixing by color, regardless of shade, can result in the darker
dyes bleeding into the lighter cloth.
If there is any white in the plaid/ stripe garment it will wash better
with the lights. Washing with the darks tends to make the white gray
out. Sometimes the white in a pattern will gray out due to build up
of laundry detergent/ soap in the fabric. When washing any patterned/
striped/ plaid garment, I tend to put it in the load for the lightest
portion of the pattern. It may be a red, white and blue plaid, but I
will add it to the light load. I won't add it to the white load
because I bleach the whites, bleach would damage the plaid.
Try filling the washer with just dirty clothing and watch as it starts
to churn. If there are suds present, don't bother adding any more.
There is build up in the cloth. If using a home washer, run the
towels with out adding soap to help keep the towels and the washer
from building up old detergent or soap. Of course, if there are no
suds and the water is so dirty that I can no longer see the clothes,
it is time to drain that water and start over. I have several
children and live on a working farm. Clothing gets extremely dirty on
a regular basis due to the lovely red clay.
How do you plan to dry this clothing once washed? Clothes dryer or
line? Either way, I find fabric softener in a softener ball that
opens in the rinse cycle keep clothing more comfortable. Dryer sheets
are kinds of worthless when line drying, plus being more trash to
manage.
Holly E. Ordway
>After several searches on google groups, I have yet to find anything
>listing the do's and dont's of mixing colors in laundry, except for
>"don't mix reds and whites together." Being the normal male, I could
>use some guidance here. :-)
I'm pretty low-key about separating colors. My first separation is on
underwear, socks, and towels vs. all other clothing, because the former
I'll usually wash in warm water while everything else I wash in cold
water. I really don't care about the fact that my red and yellow socks
get mixed in with my white socks, etc. After that, I will just separate
into "light" and "dark." "Light" includes all gray, beige, and light
blue clothing most of the time, but I'm flexible. If I'm going to do two
loads of laundry, and I'm sorting the clothes, I'll put a light blue or
gray shirt into either light or dark depending on which load is smaller
and has more room. Bright red or very dark colors I'll wash with
something like jeans, or dark towels, the first couple of times, and
then they'll go in with the regular darks.
Hope that helps!
--Holly
Lowell
> I believe it is better it separate light clothing from dark clothing
> regardless of color. Wash new reds or reds that still bleed with
> black, dark brown or other reds where it won't show as much, if at
> all.
Wow! I never would have thought that could work! :-)
>
> Dark browns with the darks, same with grays. Gray, even dark gray,
> may wash better with lights unless it is dark enough to be a 'slate
> gray'. Mixing by color, regardless of shade, can result in the darker
> dyes bleeding into the lighter cloth.
Thanks! So where would the forest green go? I have some new kakhi
pants that I'm thinking of putting with some olive green shorts. A
forest green polo then falls in line with the mix (at least that's
what I was thinking anyway). Also, I was going to mix dark purple,
dark red, and--this might be a stretch--slate grey/blue.
>
> If there is any white in the plaid/ stripe garment it will wash better
> with the lights. Washing with the darks tends to make the white gray
> out.
So what about very light grey socks with black tops? Would they have
to go with the black pile or more the lighter colors? Grey/red socks?
Sometimes the white in a pattern will gray out due to build up
> of laundry detergent/ soap in the fabric. When washing any patterned/
> striped/ plaid garment, I tend to put it in the load for the lightest
> portion of the pattern. It may be a red, white and blue plaid, but I
> will add it to the light load. I won't add it to the white load
> because I bleach the whites, bleach would damage the plaid.
>
> Try filling the washer with just dirty clothing and watch as it starts
> to churn. If there are suds present, don't bother adding any more.
> There is build up in the cloth. If using a home washer, run the
> towels with out adding soap to help keep the towels and the washer
> from building up old detergent or soap. Of course, if there are no
> suds and the water is so dirty that I can no longer see the clothes,
> it is time to drain that water and start over. I have several
> children and live on a working farm. Clothing gets extremely dirty on
> a regular basis due to the lovely red clay.
>
> How do you plan to dry this clothing once washed? Clothes dryer or
> line? Either way, I find fabric softener in a softener ball that
> opens in the rinse cycle keep clothing more comfortable. Dryer sheets
> are kinds of worthless when line drying, plus being more trash to
> manage.
Clothes lines are not an option here, unfortunately. I'm using a top
loading washer now.
Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm taking notes here! :-)
Vandy
>Thanks! So where would the forest green go? I have some new kakhi
>pants that I'm thinking of putting with some olive green shorts. A
>forest green polo then falls in line with the mix (at least that's
>what I was thinking anyway). Also, I was going to mix dark purple,
>dark red, and--this might be a stretch--slate grey/blue.
The greens together sound like a working mix. I hesitate on the idea
of mixing the slate gray/ blue with the red/ purple load. The slate
gray/ blue would probably be safer with the greens. Still, once items
are washed a few times most dyes are fast. Red is a very unstable dye
and is never really fast, but it does stop bleeding unless exposed to
bleach or hot water.
>So what about very light grey socks with black tops? Would they have
>to go with the black pile or more the lighter colors? Grey/red socks?
Go with the lighter gray tone on clothing sort after first wash.
First wash, put them with very dark loads where color bleed with not
matter.
>Clothes lines are not an option here, unfortunately. I'm using a top
>loading washer now.
If exterior clothes lines are not an option, there are retractable
lines for installation over a bath tub, if that is an option. You may
need a folding drying rack for knit sweaters that will not dry nice if
hung, too heavy, and may shrink in a hot dryer. Wool and wool blend
clothing is usually the most difficult items for a man to manage.
Women have even more delicate clothing fabrics to manage.
Folding drying racks are also usable for all laundry except maybe bed
linens and blankets. Using them during the winter can help humidify
the home and save money drying clothing.
Twinkle Toes
> After several searches on google groups, I have yet to find anything
> listing the do's and dont's of mixing colors in laundry, except for
> "don't mix reds and whites together." Being the normal male, I could
> use some guidance here. :-) What colors can be safely mixed in cold
> water (used almost always)? I've heard that reds should be all to
> their own load, but I don't have but a handful of red clothing. It
> seems a waste if I can mix them after a few washings with other things
> (not whites obviously).
>
> So if someone could be kind enough to give some pointers as to what
> primary and other colors can be mixed in the wash, I'd be very
> thankful!
First of all, any new item that's a bright or deep color should be
washed all by itself for the first time--this goes for shirts, jeans,
towels, whatever. Most fading/bleeding happens in the first wash,
though some fabrics just continue to bleed forever.
As for bleeding, here's what I do:
--assume all reds will bleed. Wash them together, with only other
things that red won't hurt (like blacks or purples).
--assume any dark color (navy, forest, black, dark purple, dark brown)
will bleed a bit the first time it is washed. The same goes for
bright colors--royal blues, oranges, etc.
--light colors may bleed a little, but usually don't stain any color
but white
--bleeding from one thing normally can't stain something that's darker
in color (i.e. blacks are almost never stained even by red, light
blues won't stain darker blues, etc)
--bleeding colors generally work like watercolor paints--they cover
things in a wash of color that just sort of tint things, but don't
completely cover them up. E.g. I actually have a pair of underwear
that started out baby blue--they accidentally ended up going in with a
load of blacks and reds, and came out a lavendar color (though the
elastic didn't change color, so they were lavendar with baby blue
edges). It's generally safe to put dark blues and greens together,
for example, since a slight tinge of blue on a green item won't hurt
it (or probably be nocible), and vice-versa.
--Fabrics bleed and shrink more when they're washed in warmer water.
If you have something like a red sweater that bleeds every time you
wash it, then switch to cold water for the wash. Most of our loads
are warm wash/cold rinse. All the delicates are cold wash/cold rinse.
I almost never use hot water (maybe for an entire load of smelly
white athletic socks, but I can't think what else I'd use it for).
--twinkle
Karen Wheless
> > primary and other colors can be mixed in the wash, I'd be very
> > thankful!
I used to be very careful about separating all my colors when I had a
washer, but now that I use the laundromat, I really can't be so
particular. It's not possible to do separate loads for every color
variation without paying huge amounts.
Anyway, I separate my clothes into lights and darks. I'm more picky
about the lights, since any "mistake" would be more obvious. I only put
whites, pale greys and yellows, and prints that are predominantly white
into that pile. Everything else goes into the other pile. If I have
enough room, I separate out my towels and sheets, although I often throw
those in with the regular clothes in order to fill the washer and I've
never had a problem. Sometimes I wash reds by hand, but usually I just
put them in with the darks or with the sheets and towels. The only
thing I always wash by hand are my bras.
Anyway, despite my lack of separating, I've never had any problems. My
whites are still white, my reds are still red, and everything in the
"dark" pile from pale blue to darkest black still looks fine. This may
not be the perfect solution, and some people may buy clothes that need
more separating (I just don't buy things that won't wash well) but it's
worked for me. My mother's dire warnings about the disaster that would
strike if I put my red shirt in with my jeans hasn't come to pass.
Karen
Mom
> Anyway, I separate my clothes into lights and darks. I'm more picky
> about the lights, since any "mistake" would be more obvious. I only put
> whites, pale greys and yellows, and prints that are predominantly white
> into that pile. Everything else goes into the other pile. If I have
> enough room, I separate out my towels and sheets, although I often throw
> those in with the regular clothes in order to fill the washer and I've
> never had a problem. Sometimes I wash reds by hand, but usually I just
> put them in with the darks or with the sheets and towels. The only
> thing I always wash by hand are my bras.
Karen, I do laundry similar to you. I wash bras in the delicate cycle
then hang to dry. I also wash sweaters in the delicate cycle. I
separate into three piles: lights, darks, and whites. The lights and
darks are washed in cold water and whites in hot. I found that when
the kids were younger, I just didn't have the time and energy to
separate laundry into more discrete piles. I haven't had a problem
doing it this way, and the clothes look just fine.
FWIW, soaking an item that might bleed in water with vinegar will set
the colour. After that, washing in cold water shouldn't be a problem.
Me
"Lowell" <Lten...@prodigy.net> wrote:
> After several searches on google groups, I have yet to find anything
> listing the do's and dont's of mixing colors in laundry, except for
> "don't mix reds and whites together." Being the normal male, I could
> use some guidance here. :-) What colors can be safely mixed in cold
> water (used almost always)? I've heard that reds should be all to
> their own load, but I don't have but a handful of red clothing. It
> seems a waste if I can mix them after a few washings with other things
> (not whites obviously).
I guess this depends on the type of material you have. My clothes are either
cotton, polyester, or some mixture of the two. I just dump the clothes in my
washer, throw in some detergent and wash on the warm setting. The only
exception is my undies which I like to bleach and wash in hot water so I
wash them separately. This has worked well for me for nearly 20 years.