Whether your favourite pair of dark jeans have lost their colour or your wool jumper shrunk after being washed at the wrong temperature, accidents like these can be prevented. Master the art of laundry: as long as you separate it carefully and know how to use the washing machine programmes the right way, you can keep your favourite garments looking their best. Here’s what you need to do to prevent colour run and shrinkage.
How to use washing machine programmes to prevent shrinking
There’s nothing quite like the frustration of shrinking your favourite item of clothing. But as long as you know how to do laundry the right way, that won’t ever be a problem again. Our laundry tips for beginners will help you keep your clothes sparkly clean and in great shape:
Read care labels and follow the instructions – that will guide you as to which washing machine programme is suitable.
Sort your laundry accordingly – wash delicates together, put hand wash and dry clean only items to the side, darks and whites must be separated.
Stick to the temperature advised on the care label and the instructions provided on the detergent – if you’re going to wash on a different setting, only ever go for a cooler wash, as excess heat can cause garments to shrink or go out of shape.
Don’t tumble dry clothes that can’t take the heat – check the care label.
How to wash clothes to keep them vibrant and prevent colour run
Let’s now move onto how to separate laundry into lights and darks. Laundry that isn’t separated by material and washing instructions can shrink, and laundry that isn’t separated by colour can suffer colour run. You could also dull colours if they aren’t washed with similar pieces. Follow our laundry tips to get the job done right and keep colours bright:
Wash heavily soiled items separately.
Read the care labels and separate laundry by washing instructions and fabric types – cotton, synthetics, delicates, etc.
Sort your washing piles by colour – whites, light and pastel colours in one pile, dark colours in another.
Further divide your dark colours into lighter and heavier clothing piles – i.e. jeans separate from blouses.
Use a quality detergent – Surf Perfect Black Liquid Detergent and Surf Perfect Black Detergent Capsules are great cleaners, designed with a formula to help keep dark clothes looking newer for longer. Surf Vibrant Colour Liquid Detergent will leave your clothes smelling beautiful whilst keeping colours alive for the best results.
How to unshrink clothes
Sometimes accidents happen and you might end up with shrunken clothes, so you need to know how to unshrink clothes. As long as you take the following steps, and your clothing is made of a material that can move a little, you may be able to get yours back into shape:
Add a small amount of conditioner or baby shampoo to a sink of warm water.
Soak your garment for around 30 minutes.
Gently wring out to remove excess water.
While the clothing is still damp, stretch it to the desired size and shape, and use something to weigh down the edges.
Once you’ve learned how to separate laundry and know how to wash clothes in the washing machine correctly, the task of keeping your garments at their best becomes a lot easier. Maintain vibrant colours keep your clothes in great shape.
How To Use Washing Machine Settings
Saving money and saving time are both key to our shopping habits, so that’s why knowing how to use washing machine cycles is so important for so many young professionals and students. Short cycles on low temperatures will save both money and time, and with Surf’s concentrated liquid detergents, you’ll still get great results.
How To Handwash Clothes
Once you’ve learned how to hand wash clothes with Surf’s liquid detergents, you’ll save yourself the expense of going to the pros to get your delicates clean. Always check the care labels first to ensure the garments aren’t dry clean only. Then fill a clean sink with cool water, add a small amount of Surf detergent, and soak your laundry before swishing it around and rinsing.
How To Avoid Laundry Mishaps
There are certain laundry mistakes that can crop up, like clothes shrinking. The way to avoid this is to know what temperature shrinks clothes in the first place. Always read the care label, and never wash at a higher temperature than advised or tumble dry if it’s not recommended.
How To Sort Laundry For Colour Care
We all want our whites to stay white, our colours to remain vibrant, and our darks not to fade. It’s important to know how to separate laundry properly to achieve the level of colour care your clothes deserve. Read the washing instructions on the care labels, and separate laundry accordingly – also by colour and fabric type – and always place heavily soiled garments in a pile on their own. Then wash with Surf’s Colour Care range: keep colours alive with Surf Vibrant Colour, help dark clothes look newer for longer with Surf Perfect Black, and protect your whites with Surf Classic Fresh White detergent.