How to Wash Laundry the Right Way: A Simple, Repeatable Routine

You’ve been doing laundry for years. You sort sometimes, use whatever temperature seems right, and pour in detergent without measuring. Your clothes come out clean enough, but they fade faster than they should, and your towels aren’t as soft as they used to be. You’ve read conflicting advice online: wash everything in cold water, use hot water for whites, don’t use fabric softener, use vinegar instead. It’s confusing. The truth is, washing laundry is simple when you have a repeatable routine. Here’s one that works.

Washing laundry is the process of cleaning clothes, towels, and bedding using a washing machine, detergent, and water. The right routine gets clothes clean, prevents fading and damage, extends the life of your garments, and saves money on detergent and energy.

To wash laundry the right way, sort by color and fabric type, use 2 tablespoons of enzyme detergent per load, choose the right water temperature for the fabric, don’t overload the washer, and clean your machine monthly. Skip fabric softener for towels and use vinegar instead.

Step 1: Sort Your Laundry

Sorting is the first step and the most important for preventing damage.

Sort by color:

• Darks (black, navy, dark gray, brown)
• Lights (white, light gray, pastel)
• Whites (pure white)
• Colors (red, blue, green, yellow)

Sort by fabric type:

• Towels and bedding (wash separately, they produce lint)
• Delicates (silk, lace, lingerie, use a mesh bag)
• Activewear (synthetic fabrics, wash separately)
• Everyday items (cotton, polyester blends)

Sort by soil level:

• Heavily soiled (work clothes, gym clothes)
• Lightly soiled (worn once, no visible dirt)

Don’t wash towels with dark clothes. Towels produce lint that sticks to everything. Don’t wash delicates with heavy items like jeans.

Step 2: Treat Stains Before Washing

Treat stains before putting clothes in the washer. Stains that go through the wash and dryer become permanent.

Common stain treatments:

• Food and drink: Rinse with cold water, apply liquid detergent
• Oil: Apply Dawn Ultra Dish Soap, let sit 10 minutes
• Blood: Rinse with cold water, apply hydrogen peroxide for dried stains
• Grass: Apply liquid detergent, scrub with toothbrush, let sit 15 minutes
• Ink: Apply rubbing alcohol with cotton ball, blot

For tough stains, use OxiClean Max Force Spray. Spray, let sit 10 minutes, then wash.

Step 3: Measure Detergent

The most common mistake is using too much detergent. The measuring lines on detergent caps are 3 to 5 times larger than needed.

Load Size	Detergent	What It Looks Like
Small	1 tablespoon	Quarter cap
Normal	2 tablespoons	Half cap
Large	3 tablespoons	Three-quarter cap
Heavily soiled	4 tablespoons	Full cap

Use an enzyme detergent like Tide Free and Gentle. Enzymes break down protein, oil, and starch stains. Without enzymes, detergent can only remove surface dirt.

Step 4: Choose the Right Water Temperature

Temperature	Best For	Why
Cold (60 to 80F)	Darks, delicates, bright colors	Prevents fading and shrinking
Warm (90 to 110F)	Everyday loads, synthetic blends	Good cleaning without damage
Hot (120 to 140F)	Whites, towels, bedding, heavily soiled	Best cleaning, kills bacteria

General rule: When in doubt, use cold water. Cold water cleans most everyday loads effectively and prevents fading and shrinking. Use hot water for whites, towels, bedding, and heavily soiled items.

Step 5: Choose the Right Cycle

Cycle	Best For	Agitation
Normal	Cotton, polyester, everyday items	Medium
Permanent Press	Synthetics, blends, dress shirts	Medium with cool-down
Delicates	Silk, lace, fine knits	Low
Heavy Duty	Towels, bedding, jeans	High
Quick Wash	Lightly soiled, small loads	Medium, shorter time

Step 6: Add Boosters If Needed

For odors: Add half a cup of Arm and Hammer Baking Soda to the wash cycle. Baking soda deodorizes and boosts detergent.

For hard water: Add half a cup of white vinegar to the rinse cycle. Vinegar binds with hard water minerals.

For towels: Add half a cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle instead of fabric softener. Vinegar softens without coating fibers.

For whitening: Use oxygen bleach (not chlorine bleach) for colored whites. Chlorine bleach is only for pure whites.

Step 7: Dry Correctly

Check the care label. The label tells you whether to tumble dry and at what heat.

Don’t over-dry. Over-drying creates static and damages fibers. Use the moisture-sensing setting if your dryer has one.

Clean the lint screen. Clean it before every load. A clogged screen reduces efficiency and is a fire hazard.

Use dryer balls. Wool dryer balls reduce drying time and static without the waxy residue of dryer sheets.

Air dry delicates. Silk, wool, and delicate knits should be air dried. Lay flat or hang to dry.

Don’t leave clothes in the dryer. Remove promptly to prevent wrinkles. If you can’t remove immediately, use the cool-down cycle or wrinkle shield setting.

What Not to Do

Don’t overload the washer. Overloading prevents clothes from moving freely and detergent from circulating. Fill the drum no more than three-quarters full.

Don’t use too much detergent. Excess detergent leaves residue on clothes and in the machine, causing odors and skin irritation. Use 2 tablespoons per normal load.

Don’t use fabric softener on towels. Fabric softener coats towel fibers and reduces absorbency. Use vinegar instead.

Don’t wash and leave. Don’t leave wet clothes sitting in the washer. Transfer to the dryer or a drying rack within 2 hours to prevent musty odors.

Don’t ignore the care label. Care labels tell you how to wash, dry, and iron each garment. Ignoring them can cause shrinking, fading, and damage.

Don’t mix fabric types. Don’t wash towels with darks (lint transfer), delicates with jeans (damage), or new dark items with lights (color bleeding).

Monthly Maintenance

Clean the washing machine. Run a cleaning cycle with affresh Washing Machine Cleaner once a month. This removes detergent residue and prevents odors.

Clean the dryer lint vent. Clean the lint screen before every load and deep-clean the dryer vent every 6 months.

Check hoses. Check washing machine hoses for cracks or bulges every 6 months. Replace every 5 years.

Wipe the rubber seal. Wipe the rubber seal on front-loaders every 2 to 4 weeks to prevent mold.

FAQ

How do you wash laundry the right way? Sort by color and fabric type, treat stains before washing, use 2 tablespoons of enzyme detergent, choose the right water temperature and cycle, don’t overload the washer, and dry according to the care label. Clean your machine monthly.

How much detergent should you use per load? 2 tablespoons for a normal load. 1 tablespoon for small loads. Up to 4 tablespoons for heavily soiled loads. The lines on detergent caps are 3 to 5 times larger than needed.

Should you wash clothes in hot or cold water? It depends on the fabric and soil level. Cold water for darks, delicates, and bright colors. Warm water for everyday loads. Hot water for whites, towels, bedding, and heavily soiled items. When in doubt, use cold water.

Should you sort laundry by color? Yes. Sort by color (darks, lights, whites, colors) to prevent color bleeding. Also sort by fabric type (towels, delicates, everyday) to prevent lint transfer and damage.

Can you use fabric softener on towels? No. Fabric softener coats towel fibers in a waxy film that reduces absorbency. Use half a cup of white vinegar in the rinse cycle instead, which softens without coating.

How often should you clean your washing machine? Once a month. Run a cleaning cycle with a dedicated cleaner like affresh Washing Machine Cleaner. This removes detergent residue, prevents odors, and keeps the machine running efficiently.

How do you prevent clothes from fading in the wash? Wash darks in cold water, wash inside out, use less detergent, don’t overload the washer, and don’t over-dry. Air dry when possible, as dryer heat fades colors faster than washing.

References

1. Tide. “How to Do Laundry.” tide.com.
2. The Spruce. “How to Do Laundry.” thespruce.com.
3. Good Housekeeping. “Laundry Tips.” goodhousekeeping.com.
4. Whirlpool. “How to Wash Clothes.” whirlpool.com.