this post was submitted on 15 Dec 2024
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I usually make 3 piles of laundry to wash according to color and not fabric: black clothes go in one pile, every other clothe I own goes into a second pile (colors white to navy blue). The third pile is for my bed linens and towels, (100% cotton, so I can wash them to 140°F)

Now, I don't know if I should make more piles instead, because my bed linens and clothes sometimes combine several colors and I don't know if they bleed and I'm slowly degrading them:

I was thinking of making a pile for black clothes, one for white clothes, one for every other color clothe I own (I have purple, yellow and green stuff plus denims), one for my bed linens (all of them are mixed colors, including dark and clear colors like red, orange, green and black in one piece) and another pile for my towels (one color only, but different ones, including green, purple, white, yellow and navy blue).

Regarding fabrics, I have 100% cotton, 100% merino wool, 100% polyester and mixed fabrics, so the number of piles can grow considerably.

I live alone, so sometimes I can need a lot of time to get a laundry worth pile of stuff to wash if I create as many piles as I suggested here.

I may be overthinking it but I'd like to do the laundry the right way and keep the stuff I already have in good condition. How do you do it?

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Everything together in cold water

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago
[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago

I try to wash whites alone, but that's it, and even then I'm not super strict about it. It helps though that probably 90% of my clothes were thrifted, bleeding is mostly a problem with brand-new fabrics

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago

I may be overthinking it but I’d like to do the laundry the right way and keep the stuff I already have in good condition. How do you do it?

Like others, i don't mainly,
Just few things are washed separated from the "rest", mainly what its fragil, like my lingerie.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago

i just wear dark clothing

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago

Yeah if it doesn’t survive the gauntlet then it’s not meant to be. For like suits, coats, and other things that probably shouldn’t be washed I’ll send them to the cleaners.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago

Generally, after two or three washes, you don't need to separate any more. You really only get bleeding with new fabrics, and even then only with cheap fabrics. As an example, if you order Amazon's cheapest towels, not only wash them separately, wash them before you use them unless you want the color on you. But even those eventually stop bleeding.

If you're going to sort, the way I was taught is to separate colors from whites, with blacks being a separate load as well. The idea is that the bleed from any of the colors isn't going to be enough to matter since there's already dye present, which means there's less ability to take on new dye. That can fail, and you end up with the color of things changed. So you still always test any new fabrics before throwing them in with other colors. But, generally speaking, if you don't have the time, don't have enough of that color to make a load, or just don't care about color change, the risk of any color change being huge is low nowadays.

The only reason to do blacks on their own is that it mutes other colors when it bleeds.

If you're really paranoid about it, either do each color on their own, or make batches where the colors bleeding wont be as significant. Like, blues and greens, or greens and yellows. Any bleed that does happen like that won't be as noticeable, if it is at all.

But I never saw in all my years washing other people's clothes anyone that had enough of every color to make multiple loads without waiting way too long between washings. Maybe in a really big family you'd pile up enough mixed colors in a week or two to make full loads of multiple single colors, or even two colors.

You're also usually okay washing bed sheets and clothes together, though you can pull out stuff with zippers and metal buttons if you take want to maximize life spans of the rest. Being real though, making a load of those together is just going to shift which items get the teeny, tiny extra bit of wear from the fasteners. It might be worth it with heavy denim, but I wouldn't and don't bother personally.

Now, as far as types of fabric, you run into some issues. Good wool might need its own special care, but you'd want to refer to the label to determine that. Silk is hand wash only unless you like ruining silk. Cotton, linen, polyester, rayon, and nylon can all be washed with any other fabrics, no issues. At worst, you might run into a little extra pilling with the natural fabrics being washed together, but I've sever seen it actually happen more than what the fabrics do on their own just from being washed.

You specified merino wool. Afaik, you should machine wash as the default. But wash in cold only, and go with the bare minimum of detergent. Make sure you pull it out as soon as possible to reduce wrinkling, and hang to dry. Yeah, in theory your can machine dry merino, but if you're asking this at all, you want to maximize the life and appearance of your clothes, so hang to dry.

Hand washing works as well as you're willing to put in the work on, but wool tends to hold on to oils and sweat residue more than most fabrics, so you have to really work at it compared to something like cotton that gives up oils as easily as any natural fabric will.

If you're having a problem with lint on your laundry, do your towels and other terry fabrics on their own. Most of the time, that's where excessive lint is coming from. But if you aren't having that issue, don't worry about it.

A lot of separating of types of fabric goods, like sheets from clothes, isn't about what they'll do to each other or needing different types of care, it's about convenience. Folding and storing sheets all at once is easier than dealing with a mixed load, as an example. You do benefit in being able to run things like towels hotter than you'd want with most clothing, but it's a marginal benefit imo.

My laundry isn't sorted much at all unless I get new stuff. Towels and washcloths and the like stay in their own loads. Clothes together, with only a few extra heavy fabrics on their own (like my canvas outdoors stuff and gis). Bed linens tend to be a load of their own since there's two beds worth of those at a time, there's just not room for more. But, when that's not the case, I tend to throw them in with towels.

And, as always, check your labels. While it isn't a guarantee, the recommended care on them really is the best pick. You'll run into some chinese fabrics where it's just generic instructions, but those tend to default to the least wear options anyway, so it won't hurt anything, it just isn't ideal. The companies using outsourced labor still specify the label contents, so it's only when it isn't a brand at all that you see the generic labels.

I also tend to recommend that you avoid fabric softener. They really don't do anything useful, they cost extra, and a lot of people are sensitive to them and don't realize it. If you're getting itchy a lot, and you're using them, try a few weeks without. Same with rashes where the fabric is extra close to skin.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago

Red, orange, yellow, green, brown in one pile. Blue, grey, black in a second pile. White stuff in a third.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I don't.

And haven't for 30+ years. I also wash everything on cold (my cold water is about 65°), and use the shortest cycle.

Minimal drying time at low temp.

The only time I separate is when there's something new - that will get washed once by itself or with like colors to ensure the dye is set. And I avoid washing reds with whites.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago (2 children)

I don’t think I do it correctly tbh, but since I have to drive to the laundromat to do my laundry, and pay out the ass for it ($12 per fucking load!!), all I want is to get in and out of there as fast as humanly possible. So I have two piles, one for all my clothes regardless of color or material, and the other for sheets and towels, regardless of color. I haven’t noticed any colors bleeding or extra degradation, and my clothes generally look pretty undamaged and crisp. I also typically use the hottest cycle for everything, which again, probably isn’t great, but it seems to work for me.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago

The cost of doing laundry is insane. I started doing mine by hand at home.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago

$12? I'm glad I was already lying down when I read that. It was only $2 (total) per load when I was in college 15 years ago, and I was already trying to min-max it then. I'd go back to hand washing and line drying if I saw that.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago

Ive seen clothes bleed like twice, once was a set of dark sheets I washed for the first time, which bled a shitload, and the other was a cheap promotional shirt I bleached which turned the water black.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I separate by the kind of detergent and cycle a thing is run on.

Gym/sleep t-shirts, denim, towels all get a hot wash with oxi-clean and fabric softener because I love the smell come at me bro.

Elastics - things that are mostly elastic/spandex/polyester - socks, underwear, leggings, sports bras. They get a hot/cold wash with a pre soak and extra rinse. The they get the free and clear detergent that washes cleanest and leaves no smell.

Daily wear/delicates - gentle cold wash with woolite with low tumble dry or hang dry. I only ever have like 4 of these with each wash. Generally the nice, more expensive stuff I wear in public that I want to last a long time.

I don't care what color anything is.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago

I put whites into one pile, which allows me to use bleach if I want. The rest I split into “rough” or “heavy” fabrics (think jeans) and more “gentle” fabrics (think slacks). I’m not worried about the colors so much as wear on the clothes that can’t take a beating by getting mixed.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago (1 children)

We don’t, we separate into bulky clothes (sweats, jeans, heavy shirts), everything else, and delicates. We wash with only cold water (modern machines and detergents don’t need hot water and it won’t get things any more clean, it just wastes energy). Bulky goes in first, then normal, then delicates. I’ve done this for at least 10 years with zero issues across a variety of machines and water hardnesses.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago

Same here. And I only separate by weight to help my dryer out. Now my normal clothes are done a half hour sooner and my jeans don't come out damp.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Most damage comes from heat, and rough handling, so I sort by structure/texture and wash almost everything on cold. And tumble dry on low, auto-sense.

We might go a few weeks between running batches so we can separate things out just because there is enough to fill out it’s own load.

The only color I wash separate is white so it can run hot and with bleach.

Undergarments and deli sites go together, might add leggings or lightweight tops to fill out a load

Socks are separate merely because we like fluffy wool socks and they will fill their own load. Otherwise they’d be with undergarments. Might run on warm if the foot stank is real bad.

Sturdy fabrics like denim all goes together in a denim cycle it’s just cold/cold with a heavy spin

Sweats and other heavy bulkys go together so they don’t twist up lighter clothes

Lightweight tops and button down shirts go together Lightweight bulkies might be get mixed in too.

Then general laundry is t-shirts, slacks leggings, etc. all

Towels get a hot cycle to get cut down on microbial growth. NEVER USE FABRIC SOFTENER/DDRYER SHEETS ON TOWELS. It makes things softer by adding oils THAT prevent them from absorbing water, which is the whole point of towels.

and bedding might get a warm cycle and pre wash to help cut through accumulated body grease, etc.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago

Undergarments and deli sites go together

Now I'm not allowed back in Subway.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Low heat alone will help a ton like you said, high heat seems to ruin everything and it's just not needed unless unless it's towels maybe.

I knew that fabric softener would stop towel absorption but I never thought about dryer sheets too. I thought those were just antistatic.

Also the "deli sites" typo made me laugh.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Bleach pile, no-bleach pile, performance outdoor pile (wool, polypro, nylon/down, whatever)

E: oh, and extra-bleach pile: kitchen towels, dog towels

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago

Easy. I only have black clothes. If there's bleeding, I can't see it.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago

Basically this

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago

I have hot wash for towels and bed stuff. Cold for literally everything else. I've never had anything bleed, even new stuff.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago

Slap them all in the washer together and enjoy any new coloured clothes I have.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago

I don't separate colours, only new clothes I put in with towels, sheets or clothes that I wouldn't care if colour bled.

I never wash with hot water, only warm or cold. Low heat dry and cold water washing is really the best effort-for-performance to get your clothes to last, you can hang dry some of them but I personally can't be arsed.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago

You're completely overthinking it. I keep white separate. Colors get their own basket. Denim goes in a separate piles after it really smells (it honestly shouldn't be washed very much). Towels get their own load due to shedding. Sheets sometimes go in with the colors.

I do everything on cold. I use the plainest of plain detergent. If there's a smell in polyester or nylon clothes I'll put in some Clorox 2.

Dryer on low or medium until mostly dry. I've got a fancy one with a moisture sensor that actually works so I let that determine how long. Usually 25-30 minutes.

Citation: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/wirecutter-show-podcast-20240821-better-laundry-secret/

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago

I keep and wash my whites separate in hot or warm water. Everything else goes together in cold water. Wool stuff gets air dried, while the rest gets the dryer.

Add a cup of white vinegar to the wash with the clothes if anything is extra smelly, during the wash cycle/beginning.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago

We do: my wife's stuff and our t-shirts with pictures for delicates wash and literally everything else goes in on a standard wash cycle.