Washing Clothes

Tide.

I use liquid Tide and cold water. The most common mistake people commit is to use too much detergent. If you are rolling around on the ground or working a job that gets you really dirty, follow the directions on the jug. If you are just wearing the clothes and nothing more, your clothing would just need a light wash. In my case I would use a little more than half of what the directions say.
If you've finished your laundry and the clothes smell strong of soap, you are using too much. Since some clothing makes direct contact with your skin, so will any residual detergent also make direct contact with your skin and skin can absorb these chemicals so be careful. Have a spray bottle with 50% vinegar-50% water. Pre-treat by spraying the underarms of your shirts before doing the wash, or add 1 cup of vinegar to the washer. It won't harm the clothes.

Fading of clothes can be caused by the 'colour fastness' of the garment in question. Colour fastness is where a garment releases its dye when in contact with water, especially warm or hot water. Red garments are notorious for this. Either the garment was saturated with dye when manufactured or the nature of the fabric is condusive to releasing dye. Linens, cottons and even synthetics can be prone to it. Colour fastness can be found in any range of garments from inexpensive ones to very expensive ones. If you are unsure, then hand wash in a sink with cold water. Immerse the garment, let sit for about 10-15 min, then start gently agitating it to simulate a washing machines movements. Let sit for another 10 minutes, then drain, squeezing out the soapy water. Then refill the sink and agitate the garment several times. Then drain-refill another 2 times. Drain, squeezing out the water, hang to dry with a catch tub underneath. You may wring out any excess water along the way.
If a garment is colourfast, it will probably continue to release dye with each wash for several washes. There is not much one can do about it except try to isolate it from the other wash items. Newbie wash tip- never wash white underwear with red clothes unless you want pink underwear left over.

Do you guys use liquid fabric softener when you cold wash/hang dry your shirts? I have a couple times, and it seems to almost make the fabric stiffer. Does it require a tumble dry to actually "soften" clothes? Should I leave it out in the future?

OP, it is possible that some of your clothes need to be hand washed vs machine washed...

Cold water, Gain Apple Mango Tango (I LOVE it), and *gasp* I tumble dry. Why? I live in the city and am so pressured for time I cannot air dry everything. Heresy, I know.

I never use liquid fabric softener. Why would I want even more perfumes and chemicals on my skin? All of my dress shirts are hung 80% dry, then ironed.

I hand wash my good stuff using Arm & Hammer with Oxi Clean

http://www.amazon.com/Hammer-Oxi-Clean-Laundry-Detergent-4-43/dp/B004NGXM20/ref=pd_sbs_hpc_11

Woolite then hang. If there is a heavy pattern to the shirt, handwash it as was mentioned already. Any of my thin cotton requires a handwash, otherwise the pattern will fade unevenly, rending the shirt useless.

For basic washes, I use 7th Generation. Works like a charm, no chemicals, no fading.

What is cold water?

Ariel make miracles with my clothes.Buy cheap viagra or maybe Levitra

Edited by denisM - 9/18/11 at 10:01am

I use Tide products and any whites are washed in hot water with oxy clean.

 

darks are cold water and middle colors (yellows, tans, white stripes) are washed in warm water. pick the right amount of water for the load and also not as much deterggent for small/mid loads.

 

I always tumble dry, except sweaters or items proned to shrinking...I sometimes air dry jeans, but usually wool slacks (if i don't dry clean), polyester blends, and in general any slacks are air dried.

This one...

...cool wash, seems to do the job well. All garments are air dried.

Did you wash and dry inside-out?

Mate I think you should probably buy more cloths and get a good rotation. Where you wear 1 piece of garment say maybe once in every 15-20 days. And if you are working at an office environment and do not sweat they should be ok to wear 2 to 3 times before going for a wash. Good quality fabric should hold the color pretty well. And also some garment are designed to fade . One important thing is to use a FRONT LOAD washing machine rather than TOP LOAD. Top load tangle up the cloths and is rough on cloths. And when you wash in a washer do it your self. Put less clothing in the machine and use less detergents.Wash the garment inside out. Maybe put them in a wash bag(bag made of fishing like net). If the washer has auto wash sensor select manuel and use more water and gentle cycle.And if you are in the market for a washer get "diamond drum" washing machine(My friedn washer sales man advised diamond patternt drum more gentle on clothings). Few years ago I made the mistake and let my GF do the laundry for me. And about 8 shirts and 3 pants faded in less than 3 months – later realized my gf uses fabric softener to make them smell nice. She wrecked many of my favorite shirts.
And for your delicate garments why not hand wash ?