My Wife Was Right About Laundry All Along — Here’s Why

I’ll admit it: for a long time, I thought separating laundry was mostly unnecessary.

Whites, darks, towels, jeans, delicates — why does everything need its own special category? It all needs to get washed, right? Throw it in, add detergent, hit Start, and move on with your day.

As it turns out, my wife was right.

There actually is a reason to separate your laundry, and it goes beyond accidentally turning a white shirt pink. Washing the wrong things together can cause fading, lint buildup, premature wear, stretching, and damage to some of your favorite clothes.

So, in the interest of longer-lasting clothes — and admitting when I’m wrong — here’s how you should actually be doing your laundry.

Start With the Obvious: Separate Your Colors

You probably grew up hearing that whites and darks should be separated. There’s a reason for that.

Darker fabrics, especially newer black, navy, red, and dark denim items, can release dye during washing. Put them in with your white or light-colored clothes and you may end up with some interesting new colors you didn't ask for.

A simple system works fine:

• Whites: White shirts, socks, towels, sheets, etc.

• Lights: Light gray, tan, pastels, light blue, pink, khaki.

• Darks: Black, navy, dark gray, red, dark green, etc.

• Dark/new jeans: These deserve special attention because new denim can release quite a bit of dye.

  
  

You don't necessarily need six different laundry baskets and a color-coded spreadsheet. The point is simply to avoid putting your brand-new black sweatshirt in with your favorite white T-shirts.

But Color Isn't the Only Thing That Matters

This is the part I used to ignore.

You should also pay attention to fabric type and weight.

Throwing a couple of bath towels into a load of lightweight shirts might seem harmless, but towels are heavier and more abrasive. During a wash cycle, everything is rubbing, tumbling, and moving against everything else.

That means your nice lightweight shirt can spend 45 minutes getting beaten up by a wet bath towel.

The same applies to jeans, heavy sweatshirts, jackets, and other bulky clothing.

Whenever possible, wash heavier fabrics together and lighter fabrics together.

Your clothes will thank you.

Towels Are Basically Lint Factories

If you've ever pulled a dark shirt out of the washer only to discover that it suddenly has a fuzzy coating, there's a good chance you washed it with something like a towel.

Some fabrics produce lint, while others seem determined to collect every piece of lint in the Western Hemisphere.

Towels, fleece, and some cotton items can produce quite a bit of lint. Certain synthetic fabrics and darker clothing tend to attract it.

Keeping heavy lint-producing items separate can save you from spending ten minutes attacking your clothes with a lint roller.

Zippers Are Tiny Weapons

Here's another combination people don't think much about: delicate clothing mixed with jeans, jackets, or anything covered in zippers, hooks, buckles, or rough hardware.

Those items are all moving around together inside the washer.

An open zipper can snag another garment. Hooks can catch fabric. Heavy jeans can rub against thinner material.

Before washing, zip zippers, secure hooks, check pockets, and separate delicate items from rougher clothing.

Mesh laundry bags are also inexpensive and work well for smaller or delicate items.

Don't Wash the Really Dirty Stuff With Everything Else

If you've got clothes covered in grease, oil, mud, grass, food, or whatever else life threw at you that day, don't automatically toss them in with everything else.

Heavily soiled clothes may need to be pretreated and washed separately.

This is especially relevant for work clothes.

If you've spent the day repairing appliances and your shirt has grease, oil, dirt, and whatever mystery substance was underneath someone's refrigerator on it, maybe don't wash that with the baby's clothes.

Just a thought.

Cold Water Is Your Friend

Modern detergents generally work very well in cold water, and for everyday laundry, cold water has several advantages.

It can help reduce:

• Color fading

• Dye transfer

• Shrinking

• Wear on certain fabrics

  
  

Warm or hot water still has its place, particularly when the item's care label calls for it or you're dealing with certain heavily soiled items, towels, or bedding.

But hotter doesn't automatically mean better.

When you're unsure, check the care label. The people who made the clothing probably know more about washing it than either of us.

Stop Stuffing the Washer Until the Door Barely Closes

This one is coming from the appliance repair guy.

Your washing machine needs room to actually move the clothing around.

If you cram the machine completely full, water and detergent can't circulate through the load as effectively. Clothes may not get as clean, detergent may not rinse properly, and you're putting unnecessary strain on the machine.

A washer being capable of holding something doesn't necessarily mean you should keep stuffing clothes into it until you've achieved maximum density.

Give the load some room to move.

A Few Habits Can Make Your Clothes Last Longer

You don't need to turn laundry into a science experiment. A handful of simple habits make most of the difference:

• Turn dark clothing inside out to help reduce visible fading.

• Pretreat stains instead of hoping the washer performs a miracle.

• Don't overload the washer.

• Keep towels and other heavy items away from lightweight or delicate clothing.

• Separate heavily soiled work clothes.

• Use mesh bags for delicate items.

• Check pockets before washing. Your washer does not need another ChapStick, screw, coin, or AirPod.

• Read the care label when you're unsure.

• Don't automatically use the hottest possible wash and dryer settings.

• Remove clothes from the dryer when they're dry instead of repeatedly cooking them.

  
  

So... My Wife Was Right

Apparently, throwing everything we own into one giant load and pressing Start isn't the optimal laundry strategy.

Separating your laundry isn't just about keeping your white clothes white. It's about reducing friction, preventing dye and lint transfer, protecting delicate fabrics, and generally helping your clothes look better for longer.

And while we're trying to make things last longer, the same idea applies to the washer and dryer themselves.

Don't overload them. Keep your dryer vent and lint system clean. Use the right amount of detergent. And pay attention when your appliance starts doing something it didn't used to do.

A little preventative care goes a long way.

And yes, I'll say it one more time:

My wife was right.

At least about the laundry.

If your washer or dryer isn't cleaning, spinning, draining, heating, or drying the way it should, Miller's Appliance Repair provides professional washer and dryer repair throughout the Nashville area. Instead of replacing an appliance at the first sign of trouble, let us take a look and determine what's actually going on.