An Easy, Simple Way to Hand Wash Clothes

Even though your washing machine has a setting for washing delicates, you may trust it with certain pieces from your wardrobe. You may feel that you will get better results if you wash the items by hand. This approach will preserve your garments and provide many more benefits for your household. Hand washing your clothing can cut back on your electricity usage, save lots of water, and protect the fine details on your apparel. This way of cleaning may seem like a time-consuming chore to undertake, but it is not as challenging as you think. However, it can get easy for you to accomplish this task with the proper steps. Keep reading below to learn a simple way to wash your clothes by hand.

Hand Washing Your Clothes

Step 1: Review The Label

Hand washing your attire is more delicate on your clothes and often the best way to prevent damage. However, you still need to review the label to discover what must get done to protect the item. Based on what you read, use a detergent that matches the recommendations. If there is no suggestion, pick a mild detergent or dishwashing liquid.

Step 2: Fill Your Container With Water

You may choose a clean tub, basin, or sink to use when hand washing your clothes. Fill this container with water at the temperature advised by the label. Once you have added an appropriate amount to cover your garment, pour in a teaspoon of detergent. If you have something very large or multiple items, feel free to add more detergent.

Step 3: Soak Your Item

Immerse the garment in sudsy water and allow it to soak for five minutes. Once that amount of time has passed, gently swish the item through your soapy water without twisting or scrubbing them. Continue with these movements until your garment is clean. If you plan to do this regularly, you can buy handwashing tools to make the process much easier.

Step 4: Rinse

Empty the water from the sink or tub you have used, and refill it with cool water. Press the garment up and down in this water until all the suds get extracted. When you are uncertain if the suds have gotten removed, smell the item to see if the scent is gone. If you detect remaining traces of soap, push the fabric back into clean water again.

Step 5: Drying Hand-Washed Clothing

After you have washed your clothing by hand, you will need to dry them right away. Doing so will prevent the items from growing mold and developing foul odors.

Step 6: Remove Excess Water

Begin by grabbing one piece of laundry at a time and squeezing the water from it. To prevent the fibers from stretching and becoming misshapen, you should not wring or twist the material. Instead, you can compress it between your fingers until you cannot get any more moisture out of it. From there, you can lay the item on a dry towel and roll up the towel with your object inside. Gently press on the towel so it will absorb any water left in your laundry.

Benefits of Air Drying Your Garments

A clothing dryer gives you a quick way to dry your garments but skipping it limits the wear and tear. When you have your clothing for much longer, you will save money and protect the environment by using less energy and limiting items in the landfill. Air-drying also thwarts laundry accidents like accidentally shrinking a garment or permanently setting in a stain. Along with that, it keeps black and other darker colors looking good for much longer.

Once your garments are clean, place them on a clean, dry towel. Choose a towel that is a neutral color, like white or tan, so it cannot stain your clothing. Use it as it rests on a flat moisture-resistant surface. As your clothing dries, you can occasionally flip the pieces over to allow air circulation and quicker drying. If your towel becomes damp, replace it with a dry one as often as needed. You can also speed up the process by positioning your clothes near a fan or a heat vent. Or, you can hang your clothing indoors or outside on a clothesline or drying wrack.

Items to skip

Although hand washing your clothes has many advantages, here are some items you should skip and take to the cleaners instead:

Suits, Blazers, and Coat

With these garments, reinforced material and padding provide needed structure and can incur damage if not cleaned correctly.

Leather or Suede

When you wash these materials, you put your items at risk for stiffening or discoloration. It is better to use a brush or wipe and a specialized cleaning solution to maintain the appearance.

Silk items that are patterned, darkly colored, or darkly colored

Printed and tinted silk can excessively bleed when it is wet. Your pattern can get ruined if the colors ooze onto each other. It is better to let a dry cleaner handle the risk.

By following these steps, you can correctly hand wash your clothing, preserve them to last longer, and cause them to look their best. As you get this done, you can allow our Cleanzen Chicago team to care for the rest of your household. If you would like more information about our housekeeping services or to schedule an appointment, we would be happy to help. Please give us a call today.