7 Favorite Tips For How to Do Laundry Fast & Well

You’re ready to advance once you’ve mastered the fundamentals of laundry. Whether you’re washing laundry for one person or a large family, it might seem like an endless chore. However, with a positive attitude and a few basic tips and tactics, you can wash laundry quickly and get back to doing the activities that get your clothes dirty in the first place.

Teeanime’s 7 Favorite Tips for How to Do Laundry Fast & Well

Many laundry suggestions appear to presume that you have a limitless amount of time and patience for laundry. We understand that you are busy and that laundry is not your primary job or hobby. You want to complete the task, do it correctly, and move on. There are ways to improve your laundry workflow and make this unavoidable aspect of adulthood a little easier.

The best part is that you don’t have to wear an apron, whistle while you work, or pray to mystery laundry gods to be successful. Make these simple changes to your laundry routine to improve your life.

1. Smaller Laundry Loads are More Efficient

Do laundry more often and less at a time. This is why:

1. When there is room to move inside the washer, the clothes get cleaner. Items in a washer are agitated or tumbled to make friction and get rid of dirt. You also need enough space for the detergent to spread out through the load.
2. You’ll wash things that are alike, which is better for them. Sorting your clothes is one of the most important steps in doing laundry. This will make your loads smaller and make sure you follow the care instructions for each item, such as the best water temperature and washer setting.
3. You have a better chance of finishing. Smaller loads are easier to deal with on a mental level. When you have less clothes to fold and put away, it’s easier to get yourself to do it.
4. Washers change how much water they use. Most of the time, it’s not true that you’ll use more water if you have less to wash. Front-load washers have sensors that adjust how much water they use, and other machines let you choose the size of the load so you can use less water and get the best performance.

2. Use a Mesh Laundry Bag to Keep Socks Together

Really, a mesh laundry bag is a great way to do laundry that doesn’t get enough attention. These bags, which used to be called “lingerie bags,” are great for a lot more than just bras and underwear. They can save your life and your laundry. They are great for things with small straps or strings that can get tangled up in other things, and you can’t live without them if you want to keep your socks matched up.

There are different sizes of mesh laundry bags. Keep one next to your laundry bag or hamper so you can sort things right into the mesh bag before it’s time to do the laundry.

Tip: Put your dirty socks in a mesh laundry bag, zip it up, and wash it with the rest of your clothes. If you put the whole mesh bag in the dryer, your socks will stay together and not get lost. Instant upgrade!

3. Turn Dark-Colored Items Inside Out to Prevent Fading

As you put dark-colored clothes in the washer, turn them inside out. This lets the detergent get to the inside of the garment, which is where it picked up dirt and smell from your skin, and keeps the outside from fading and pilling.

Pro tip: Wash dark colors in cool or cold water to keep them from fading, and use a color-safe bleach that doesn’t contain chlorine to make them brighter and help get rid of stains.

4. Tie Drawstrings Before Washing to Keep them In Place

During the wash cycle, the drawstrings on sweatpants, pajama bottoms, hoodies, and other clothes that have them can come out of their channels. No one has time to fish the string back through the hole, and you may end up throwing the item away or cutting the string out of frustration.

This won’t happen if you tie the drawstrings together loosely before putting the item in the washing machine. Make sure they are still tied before putting them in the dryer. This will also keep the strings from getting twisted around other things and making a mess when you open the machine.

5. Use Baking Soda or Scent Boosters to Deodorize Smelly Clothes

Keep an ARM & HAMMERTM Baking Soda box or shaker bottle by your laundry hamper, in your laundry room, or with your laundry supplies.

1. If you can’t wash your stinky laundry or gym bag right away, sprinkle baking soda in them to get rid of the smell.
2. Add a half cup of baking soda to the clothes in the drum. Find out more about this method for getting clothes even cleaner.
3. Use ARM&HAMMERTM Clean ScentsationsTM In-Wash Scent Boosters to give clothes a pleasant scent that lasts.

6. Add Ice Cubes or a Damp Towel to Unwrinkle Clothes Left in the Dryer

We often forget to take garments out of the dryer as soon as they come out of the dryer. The end result? Wrinkles. Here’s a quick and easy way to “steam” the wrinkles out of your clothes in the dryer.

1. Toss a handful of ice cubes into the dryer with the dry, wrinkled garments. Alternatively, run a hand towel under the sink to get it moist but not soaked, then place it in the dryer with the clothing.
2. Set the dryer on the “wrinkle release” or “rapid fluff” setting for 5 minutes.
3. This time, remove the things as soon as possible! You’ve been given a second chance!

7. Use a Laundry Booster for Heavily Soiled Items & Hard Water

Approximately 85% of Americans have “hard water” going into their home through their pipes. Hard water contains minerals that are beneficial for drinking but not so beneficial for washing laundry.

Minerals in water, such as calcium and magnesium, can reduce the effectiveness of laundry detergent. If you have hard water, choose a liquid detergent with nonionic surfactants that are resistant to water hardness, such as Arm & HammerTM Plus OxiCleanTM Fresh Scent.

Other laundry tips for hard water include:

1. Increase the amount of laundry detergent you use. More detergent means more cleaning chemicals to assist prevent the interference of minerals.
2. To help improve detergent efficacy and make your clothing cleaner, use a laundry booster. For a powerful cleaning boost, try ARM & HAMMERTM Super Washing Soda.

The Only Hack for Folding Clothes You Need: Just Do It

There will most likely be many tricks on folding garments and the age-old dispute about folding vs. rolling stuff. There are various methods for folding clothes, but the bottom line is to fold garments (however you do it) as soon as they come out of the dryer.

Why? Because if you don’t fold and put away the clean items, laundry time never ends, which might make you annoyed or unmotivated. The best folding hack is to shift your perspective about it.

1. Include folding garments in the overall laundry time. Don’t merely keep track of how long the clothes are in the washer and dryer. Allow yourself 30 minutes after the dryer has finished to remove, fold, and store the clothing. It probably won’t take that long, but having a different expectation will give you the buffer you need to finish it in the time you set aside and feel good about it.
2. Immediately folding clothes prevents creases. Putting in the effort now saves time (and stress) later!

Pro tip: If you don’t have hangers or space to hang items in your laundry room, sling them over your shoulder as they come out of the dryer. Finish folding other articles before going to your closet or wardrobe to hang them on your shoulder. This way, they’ll be less wrinkled and easy to hang individually rather than balled up in the basket.

1. Don’t succumb to the urge to dump stuff into the basket and “fold later.” You always have the best intentions, but they inevitably wind up on the bed or in the “is it clean or dirty?” game. Items are clean when they are folded.
2. Immediately after folding, place folded clothing where they belong. Put your folded, clean clothes away in a closet, drawer, shelf, or milk box to keep them clean and ready for the next wear. It only takes a few minutes, and as you close the door or drawer, you’re finished!