How To Prevent Discoloration in Clothing
A frequent mistake of those new to doing their own laundry is washing all of their clothing in one load and turning everything the same color. To avoid discoloring your laundry, spend just a small amount of time preparing your laundry. Once you get used to the new routine, you won't notice any difference in the amount of time your laundry takes.
- Sort your laundry before washing it. Sort by colors and whites as well as by water temperature. Keep similar colors in the same load. Do not wash dark colors and light colors together. Do not try to wash clothing marked "Dry Clean Only" on your own. This can damage the fabric and cause colors to run.
- Soak your washable clothing first in salt water. This is particularly helpful for new clothing or dark clothing. Add 1 cup of salt to the normal amount of water in your washing machine and let the clothing soak for up to half an hour. Drain the machine and wash as usual.
- Wash new or dark clothing by itself in a separate load. New and dark clothing frequently releases a good bit of dye that can discolor other items of clothing in the same load.
- Use the correct water temperature and detergent for each fabric type. Using hot water on certain fabrics can release the dye from the fabric and cause it to discolor other clothing in the same load. Only use bleach on white clothing and look for information on the label that lets you know bleach is alright to use on that particular fabric.