What Colours Can You Wash Together? Sort Your Laundry Like a Pro
Putting off doing the laundry is something that every one of us can relate to. Whilst it doesn’t involve doing as much work as the dishes or household dusting, there’s just something about it that gets on our nerves. That’s why we’re here to make life easier for you, starting with the hardest part of every laundry journey: separating and washing different colours. By reading this article you will learn how to sort, wash and dry clothes by colour, fabric and category like a champion.
WHAT COLOURS CAN YOU WASH TOGETHER?
This is the most frequently asked question in regard to laundry washing. You should always separate your whites, darks and bold colours from each other first. After this, you should assess which category all the items with less specific colours should fall into. Here’s a list of categories by colour and function that can be washed together:
1. PURE WHITE.
This includes t-shirts, vests, bedding, and any pure white items you own. You may include pure white items with small sections of colour. These are best washed at 60°C.
2. LIGHTS & PASTELS.
This includes off-white, cream, ochre, light and pastel colours, and towels. These are best washed at 40°C.
3. DELICATES & EMBELLISHED.
It's best to wash your delicates and embellished items by hand. If you require the use of a washing machine, place your delicates such as lace and linen together in one laundry bag and your embellished items in a separate laundry bag (e.g: sequinned items together and beaded items together), and put on the same cycle. These are best washed at 30°C.
4. BOLDS - BRIGHT.
5. BOLDS - DARKS.
This includes bold blue, green, orange and light grey colours. These are best washed at 30°C.
6. PURE DARKS.
This includes dark blue, black, and dark grey. These are best washed at 30°C.
7. SPORTS.
Sportswear can be washed with delicates or on their own. These are best washed at 30°C.
ADVICE: Rinse mixed coloured items in cold water first, then let them sit in a bowl or basin of water for 20 minutes to determine colour fastness. If a significant amount of dye is released then launder the items in the washing machine inside out. You can often find colour fastness details on any garment care label, located on the interior seam of garments.
HOW TO SEPARATE LAUNDRY:
We understand the frustration that is felt when you go to get your whites from the washing machine only to realise that a stray red sock ended up in there too and turned everything a garish pink. It’s enough to make you want to laugh and cry at the same time, so to help you avoid those intense feelings, continue reading our blog so that you can say goodbye to laundry mishaps forever and always garner a crisp white wash.
STEP 1:
Read the garment care label. Before categorising and washing any of your laundry, read the garment care label usually found on the interior seam of each item. This will convey information about how it should be washed, and its fabric composition.
STEP 2:
Categorise your blended fabrics first. The easiest way to figure out how to wash a blend of fabrics is by following the instructions of the garment with the highest percentage of the fabric composition. If a garment states that it is 70% silk and 30% polyester, follow the washing instructions for silk. ADVICE: When it comes to delicate fabrics like silk, cashmere or wool, we recommend always using care instructions for those particular textiles.
STEP 3:
Sort into piles. To hone in further on categorising your laundry loads to ensure no mishaps occur, separate your piles into groups, such as:
- Pure whites.
- Lights & pastels.
- Delicate & Embellished items.
- Bold - Brights.
- Blod - Darks
- Dark, black & dark grey.
- Sports (can also be washed with delicates)
STEP 4:
If you have patterned items, sort them based on their dominant colour and if you cannot decipher it, put it in a pile of your choice. After sorting these, wash each pile separately.
STEP 5:
Launder each pile by fabric composition. If you’re unsure how to wash it best, refer to our articles that detail how to wash specific fabric types to learn the safest and most foolproof way to launder those items.
WHAT COLOURS CAN YOU WASH WITH WHITE?
You can wash your light-coloured clothes safely with your whites, although to avoid premature fading and to be completely safe, you can wash them separately if you wish. The light colours mentioned above would include light greys, pale yellows and beige and cream.
For more advice on how to wash different colours, fabrics or clothing items visit our Journal.
RELATED BLOGS:
