Laundry- Sorting Clothing

Sorting is the easiest part of washing clothes, right? Wrong. Sorting is the most difficult and time
consuming part of laundry. If done incorrectly sorting ruins clothes and can damage machines. When
done properly sorting saves invaluable time, energy, and money. There are 6 main things to look for
when sorting laundry. Actually placing the clothing in the proper pile is only one of them.

1. Check clothing tags.

Read the tags thoroughly to determine how the clothes should be washed dried and ironed. Most items
will have mainly normal washing instructions. You might be surprised though that you have items that
are meant to be hand washed or not dried in the dryer. Set these items aside in their own “Special Care”
pile. Check here for Fabric Link’s guide to Fabric Care Symbols.

2. Turn clothing right side out.

Make sure none of the legs of your pants, or arms of your shirts are stuck in the garment improperly. If
you are washing overalls, take the time now to clasp the latches of the overalls to their proper buttons,
keeping them from getting broken, stretched or ripped. If you had any clothing tags that instructed you
to wash the clothing inside out, make sure you remembered to do so.

3. Check all pockets.

It’s best to have a bowl nearby to hold the contents of your pockets. Failing to check pockets can leave
some nasty surprises. In my family we’ve accidentally washed lipstick, Dad’s cell phone, and the original
copy of my marriage license. I still don’t know how that one got into a pocket. Checking pockets can be a
good way to make some extra money. My advice is to keep what you find. Family members will soon
start cleaning out their own pockets.

4. Check for sewing repairs.

Make sure there aren’t any loose threads, rips, button repairs, or other sewing repairs. If you find any,
repair them before you wash the clothes. Washing them with problems will only make the problems
bigger.

5. Check for stains.

They will need to be pretreated or soaked before washing and drying. If you dry a stain, you’ll most likely
have a stain for life.

6. Sort the clothing.

There are many different methods to sorting. Some people sort by color. Others sort by fabric type.
There are some adventurous souls who actually never sort clothing. Your sorting method will likely be
determined by the size of your family and contents of your wardrobes. Here are some of the sorting
categories that may demand special attention.

Whites- Whites go separate because we want them to stay white. One red sock that isn’t colorfast can
turn an entire white load pink. More often than not whites need a warmer water temperature than
other clothing to ensure proper cleaning.

Reds and or Bright Colors- Colorfast pinks, purples, reds, and oranges can be mixed together to make a
full load. Warning, red clothing is notorious for losing its color and bleeding onto other fabrics. When in
doubt wash reds separately. Other bright colors can fade or lose their color onto other lighter clothing.

Towels- Towels are lint producers. The lint they give off sticks to other types of clothing. You can wash
towels with blankets, sheets, and robes as long as everything is colorfast.

Specialty Items- These are things that have to be washed separately, are not colorfast, can’t be dried, or
have otherwise special instructions that keep them separate.
Some people like to sort everything else into its color category to get a nice mix of small and large items
for each load. For example, with a large family you may end up with a blue load, green load, khaki load,
black load, etc. If your items are colorfast, (most clothing will be) you can combine colors together.

The Basics of Laundry:

The first step to doing laundry is to sort your clothes into piles by colors. You should have a white and
light-colored pile, a pile of dark-colored clothes, a pile of red clothes, and a pile of bright color clothes.
You want to keep those reds separate otherwise you will have red splotches on all your clothes.

If you just bought new dark-colored items (such as dark navy socks or black pants), you may want to
soak those in the sink first to get out all the excess dye before mixing them with your other clothes. Also,
some dyes will rub onto your wash machine without presoaks.

Put towels in a separate pile from your clothes. These give off a lot of lint so be sure to use a fabric cling
sheet. You may also toss in bed sheets and blankets if they do not require special instructions.

Sorting Tips:

Pull all the pockets out of all your pants, just to be sure there are no “surprises”. Nothing is worse than
forgetting a piece of candy in one of your pockets. Remove all lighters and flammable substances. Take
out papers and tissues. Remove coins, keys, and other lose items. Zip all the zippers. Put your lingerie
and delicates in a special bag made for these (you can find these at local stores for about $4) or use a
pillow case. Turn shirts inside out, especially shirts with designs or writing on them.

Pretreat:

Spray any deep stains (especially blood and dyes) with pretreatment solutions found at all grocery and
most general retail shops. Read the instructions on the treatment product to know how long to soak
solution on stains. Don’t use pretreatment on dry-clean clothes.

Water temperature:

Generally use cold water for dark colors. Use warm water for lighter colors and cottons. Of course, try to
follow the clothes’ labels and the wash machine instruction manual for proper water temperatures. Hot
water is good for whites and dirty or greasy items. Cold water also prevents shrinkage and color
bleeding.

Washing:

Before adding the clothes, start the wash machine and add the proper soap amounts. Allow the soap to
mix with the water, then add the clothes. Use the proper water load depending on the amount of
clothes. Water levels usually range from small to extra-large. The amount of soap added should be
relative to these water levels. Use a little extra soap for really dirty clothes. Do not over load the washer
as this can both wrinkle your clothes and damage your machine.

Laundry-Symbols, How to get the best from the wash care labels
The Common Industry standard wash care labels

The fundamentals of cleaning.

Sorting the clothes.

Laundry-Symbols aims to bring you all the information on wash care labels and symbols in most
common use.

What ever you need to know about Laundry-Symbols, Wash, care, Label, Detergent, cleaning,
program, pre-spotting, solvents, stain remover, here at Laundry-Symbols I will bring you the answers.

You will understand them and be able to match them to the cleaning process best suited to the fabrics
and dyes in your garments or soft furnishings.

All clothes and items to be washed should be sorted into like products and colors.

White cottons heavily soiled items which will require the hottest wash with the most mechanical
action should be collected and placed in the washing machine with enough space left in the drum to
allow for the maximum drop from top to bottom of the drum.

If they are not too bulky they will settle when water is brought in to the machine which will give them
extra space to get the mechanical action they require.

Heavily soiled items may be improved by pre-spotting with a proprietary stain remover for the
particular type of soiling.

Colored items or dark fabrics should be washed separately, and depending on the type of fibres and
soiling should be washed as cottons, non-iron, delicates, after checking on the wash care label.

Wash items with similar labels together after separating them.

Pre Spotting

Laundry-Symbols

Heavily soiled items may be improved by pre-spotting with a proprietary stain remover for the
particular type of soiling.

Pre-spotting can be as simple as brushing caked mud or spraying a solution of detergent and water to
help the wash process.

By brushing and spraying the liquid into the stain before the wash process the detergents can start
softening the soiling so that it can be removed and floated off during the wash process in the machine.
Where there are stains of blood, ink with a wax base, tar oil from the beach or garage and paint you
will require a spotter containing a solvent, these can be purchased and kept in the cupboard ready for
the day that you need them.

Grass stains are one common stain which will be removed more easily in the wash if it has been pre-
spotted with a light brushing to get the softening process started.

With blood always try to wash out with cold water before it dries hard, dried on blood is quite difficult
to remove and may leave a rust mark after washing which will be fixed permanently by the hot water
in the wash.

Always check your Laundry-Symbols for the correct program.

If you have some knowledge or expertise you would like to share with the world wide web that would
help someone, click on the link and take a look at how easy it is with site build it and all their free
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If in doubt always use your Pre-wash selector button on your machine.

Laundry-Symbols If you are in any doubt about a stain always use your pre-wash button on your
machine. Always check your Laundry-Symbol first.

This is normally an add-on program at the front end before the main wash and is normally a very cool
wash with light mechanical action with quite a high water level.

This is important for blood stains, grass stains, and any stain of an unknown origin.

Use a biological detergent in this section so that the enzymes can set to work on the stain.

Then you can drop back to non-biological for the rest of the wash program if you wish, but biological
detergents will always deal with stains better than a non-bio, especially blood. Learn more about
detergent basics

Soiling can be put into groups:

Laundry-Symbols

What this means is that 10% of soiling is water soluble -salts, sugars, sweat-

15% is solvent soluble-oils, greases, waxes, finishing agents.

The bulk of the soiling or 75% are insoluble-soot, dust, pigments these have to be held in suspension
during the wash then rinsed out and drained away during the wash process.

This means that a modern detergent has to dissolve or remove the soiling from the fibres of the
material being washed and then hold the greases and insoluble particles in suspension so that they do
not get re-deposited back onto the garment before rinsing and draining.

This is why clothes are fresher smelling after washing than when dry cleaned.

This is because a lot of the soils are diluted and not removed completely during the draining and
filtering of the cleaning fluid, which means a small amount is retained within the fibres.

This is prevalent when dealing with urine and sweat on clothing such as trousers which have been dry
cleaned.

Where there is a regular problem with bladder weakness it is always best to wear washable clothing,
which can be washed thoroughly and left fresh and free from any odour.

This also applies for sports clothing which is best washed to rid the garment of sweat as opposed to
just diluting it across the garment.

In fact where sweat has stained the underarm area of a garment washing is the best policy in the long
term.
There are now available chemical additives for washing woolen suitings which enable the protection
of fibers during the wash process from the swelling and felting.

These silicon products adhere to the fibers which allow them to slip past each other without the
damage which would cause shrinkage in a normal wash.

An analogy we can use is, if you take a fresh cabbage leaf - which is after all vegetable fibers in the
raw- after placing a leaf in boiling water for a short time the fibers swell and become soft and
malleable.

This is exactly what happens to the fibers of your garment, and if the wash is too harsh the damage is
permanent. So a balance has to be drawn so that the soiling can be swollen and dissolved without
permanent damage to the fabric of your garment.

Laundry-Symbols follow the guidelines all the time and you will not go wrong.

Wash Care Labels

This is where the Laundry-Symbol comes in, these are the labels on garments or soft furnishings which
will help you decide the correct wash cycle for the fabric being washed, detergent, softener/fabric
conditioner, tumble drying, ironing temperature that you can safely use.

The Circle Symbol for Dry Cleaning guide

The circle sign is the guide for which Dry Cleaning fluid to be used or if at all.

An A within the circle means cleaning with all conventional solvents is OK.

A P within the circle means use Perchlorethylene and mild solvents.

An F within the circle means cleaning only in mild solvents (the old CFC113) or a white spirit.

An X through the circle means do not dry clean.

The Hand Ironing Symbol

The Next symbol is the Iron Sign, this includes rotary irons and presses.

One dot means low temperature ironing for delicates or synthetics 120°C

Two dots means Woolens and silks 150°C

Three dots means Cottons and Linen at 200°C

A large X through the Iron means non Iron or do not Iron.

The Bath Symbol or wash temperature label

This is the most important Laundry-Symbol when it comes to choosing your wash program for your
washing machine.

This gives the different temperatures for wet wash processing which will effect the dyes and fibers of
the fabric.

If there is a line underneath the bath sign or the circle sign it means low mechanical action is required
or a deep water level like a woolens program on your washing machine.

It means that for woolens the fabrics are gently agitated for short times with long rests between
agitations so as to allow the fibers to recover. This prevents shrinkage and felting. Felting is where the
garment tightens up so that the material changes from normal cloth to felt as in a felt hat.

The Triangle or chloride bleach Laundry-symbols

The Triangle or chloride bleach Laundry-symbols

The next item Laundry-symbols is a triangle sign on the label with the letters CL inside which means
chloride bleaches can be used without damaging the fabric.

If there is large X through the triangle this means do not use bleaching agents in the wash or
penultimate rinse which is where the bleach is normally introduced into your washing machine. Care
should be taken that undiluted bleach does not touch the clothing or damage to the color and fabric will
be permanent and final.

If you follow all these guidelines your wash day blues will all be golden, and your fabrics will last for
many years longer than they would have if you had ignored the advice.

The Tumble Dryer Symbol

Laundry-Symbols Tumble Dryer

There is also a tumble dryer symbol which will show the temperature or may have a large X through it
which means do not tumble dry.

Laundry-Symbols Here is a typical wash care label for a Woolen Garment.

As you can see this typical wash care label for a woolen garment, which means if you look at the symbols
starting at the top right hand side the wash bath symbol. This says hand hot water with a picture of a
hand in the wash bath.

The Triangle with a cross through it means no bleaching agents and the text adds that a non biological
detergent should be used.

The Cross through the Tumble dryer means dry on the line which also explained in the text, preferably
flat.

The iron sign with one dot means low temperature or minimum setting 120 degrees Celsius on your
steam iron.

The dry cleaning symbol with the P in the middle means cleaning with Perchlorethylene or mild solvents.

This is a guide for the dry cleaning operative.

You can have a look at the Japanese Laundry-Symbols and see that they are very similar except they give
the temperatures in in Celsius.

Laundry-Detergent: Some basic information to help you understand how it works.

Laundry-Detergents,

Detergent is the term used for a group of chemical products, which when applied to materials and
fabrics aid the removal of dirt and foreign matter from the contaminated surfaces or fabrics.

Until the 1940’s, soap was the only important detergent.

Today soap is one of many detergent products. The ingredients of detergents are often called surface -
active - agents, or surfactants, because they act upon a surface.

A common feature of detergents is that they are made up of comparatively large molecules (molecular
weight over 200) One part of the molecule is soluble in organic material, and the other part is soluble in
water.

During the 1938/45, war the shortage of fats, from which soaps were made, spurred on the
development of soap-less or synthetic detergent, primarily in the United States.
After the War the Persil formula was given to Britain as war reparations from Germany, so the value of
these formulae can be appreciated for the success of the chemical industries in the ensuing years.

Also after the WW2, the need for new types of detergents for automatic washing machines accelerated
the trend for new products.

Synthetic detergents are made by treating an aromatic, or benzene-type, compound with sulphuric acid,
followed by neutralization with an alkali to convert the product to its sodium salt.

The detergent products of these reactions came into wide use in the late 40's and early 50's and proved
to be effective in hard water and cool or cold water, whereas soap is often ineffective under both
conditions.

These detergents, however, became a public nuisance because, unlike soaps, they were neither soluble
nor biodegradable; that is, once put into water they tended to remain there, resisting conversion into
less complex and more soluble substances.

The detergents tended to create foam in cesspools and in sewage-disposal plants as well. They even
appeared in the naturally occurring ground and surface waters. By replacing the aromatic compound
with a so-called linear alkyl-type compound in the process described above led to a more desirable
product.

Laundry-Detergent

It was as effective as the former kind in its detergent action but was more biodegradable and soluble.
The new linear alkylate sulphonate is changed to harmless products by micro-organisms in cesspools,
sewage treatment plants and ordinary soils.

Manufacturers of detergents in the U.S have changed their processes to produce only biodegradable or
soft detergents voluntarily between 1963 and 1965. And this is the case now in most of the developed
world.

Laundry-Detergents non phosphate products

Laundry-Detergent,

Although the phosphates used in the laundry industry have proven a problem for the environment, most
laundry equipment manufacturers have found that reduced phosphate detergent, caused other
problems that had to be overcome.

The first was that the detergent does not work so well with reduced phosphates, so the amount of low
phosphate soap had to be increased, which was not a good thing, as this causes too many suds in the
drum and sewage system.

This increased suds within the machine, which also reduced the mechanical action of the machine by the
damping the "Mechanical Action" in the drum, this also increases the time needed to clean the fabric.

To get round this problem most modern washing machines are designed to use as little water as possible
during the main wash cycle, which means the chemical mix is strong without using too much detergent.

This means a reduction of the amount of phosphates discharged into the drainage and water system.

This will be most apparent in the cotton wash, where if you look into the drum during the main wash
cycle you will see very little water.

Just very wet clothes being lifted to the top of the drum and dropped to the floor producing the
squeezing action.

So if you use the minimum detergent that provides clean fabrics in your machine, you can reduce the
amount of phosphate waste levels dramatically.

An indication that you have the correct chemical mix is to see very few suds within the drum during the
main wash cycle.
Remember suds dampen the "Mechanical Action" factor, which would require increasing the time or
temperature to attain the same result. With the possibility of fabric damage.

This has been found to be the best way to reduce the amount of phosphates in environment, without
compromising the quality of the wash, and it also reduces costs of power and water supply.

Plus no damage to your fabrics.

And because there are less chemicals in the main wash water the rinses become more efficient in
removing traces of detergent in the finished product.

Action of Detergent Molecules on soiled fabric

From this picture you can see how the hydrophobic end of the detergent molecule attaches itself to the
soiling of grease, or soot etc.

Thus presenting the hydro-phyllic end to the water, which in effect is then dissolved in the water by
being held in suspension and then flushed out with the drain and rinse sections of the wash program.

This is the same for all wash processes, be they in a washing machine Dishwasher, or washing up bowl.