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Laundry

Washing Laundry at Home

Hand Washing
Most clothes worn on the Vineyard for work or play are safely laundered in a washing machine, and dried in a mechanical dryer. However, there are enough delicate items in the standard household to warrant a mention about hand washing, which is generally thought of as the category between the home washing machine and taking something to the dry cleaners.

Check the Labels
When in doubt, check a garment's label; it usually errs on the side of caution. With careful experimenting, an item labeled "dry clean" (not "dry clean only") can often be hand washed. Dress blouses, clothes or linens with fancy buttons, ribbons and bows, woolen sweaters, silk, lingerie, or stockings, can often be washed by hand.

Hand Wash or Dry Clean?
However, there are a few situations to watch out for. Woven woolens (as opposed to knitted) and fine quality lace, probably need to be dry cleaned. The labels in manufactured woolen garments and blankets recommend dry cleaning, which is especially important to practice if the item is lined because woolen articles tend to shape shift a bit if washed, and lining doesn't. Cashmere is apt to pill, and slubbed, nubby, loosely woven, or knitted pieces can get to looking bedraggled sometimes if they are washed, so turn them inside out first.

Tools and Equipment
If using a sink, basin, or bucket, be sure it is clean before beginning. Grease, oil or grime can transfer to whatever is being washed. There are liquid detergent products dedicated to hand washing and the best known is Woolite, but dishwashing detergent without antibacterials or lotion will do in a pinch. Liquid works best because it doesn't have to dissolve in order to activate in cool water, and cool water guards against shrinking, bleeding or fading.

The Washing Itself
However, there are a few situations to watch out for. As with machine washed laundry, begin by looking for stains, and then pre spot. Washing one item at a time, swish together just enough cool water to cover the article, and a modest dribble of soap before adding fabric. The primary reason to use soap sparingly is suds control - too much detergent makes thorough rinsing difficult, and soap residue means clothes aren't really clean.

Squeeze soapy water through the item and let it soak for a few minutes. Swish and squeeze again, draining off the soapy water. Fill the basin with cool water, swishing and squeezing the garment frequently. Repeat this process until the water runs clear, the item is free of tiny soap bubbles, and the faint sound of soap crackling is gone.

Dry Most Hand Washables
Sometimes the way a thing is dried can be more crucial to successful laundering than the washing. Delicate items often need to be dried horizontally instead of vertically. Laying an article out flat and "blocking" it (shaping it to its original form) is good insurance that it will look and feel right after laundering. Quick heat is to be avoided - another reason to stay away from a clothes dryer, and out of the sun.

Dry Woolen Sweaters
For a sweater, block it onto a towel, and roll up the towel with the blocked sweater in it, and then squeeze. Unroll the towel and repeat the process with a dry towel. When the sweater is merely damp, block it out again on another dry towel or sweater-drying screen to finish drying.

The Basics of Machine Washing

Water Shut Off Valve
Green Martha has know a few instances of ruinous water damage from leaky washing machine hoses, or leaks developing in the lines leading to the machine. Flexible hoses deteriorate over time, and a lot of water can spurt out pretty quickly. Most machine hook-ups have a clearly marked lever to switch on and off the water intake, and it is a good idea to flip it off between loads.

Sort Clothes First
If white socks are taking on a gray ting, grime isn't fully lifting out of dungaree knees, and ring-around-the-collar is here to stay, reconsider the sorting procedure. This may seem like a pesky detail, but unless everything has been washed so many times it's all impervious to change, accurate sorting offers long term rewards.

"Like with Like"
The basic rule is "like with like". A load of grubby work or athletic clothes can stand up to the strong detergent, very warm to hot water, and rough and tumble action necessary for them to come clean. Lingerie, baby clothes, and dress blouses would do well with lower temperature water, gentler agitation, and slower spinning. Wash and wear synthetics and shrinkable cottons fare better if the water is cooler, and bath and bed linens wash well together with the addition of non chlorine bleach. Sorting is easier for big households with large volumes of washables because it's easier to patch together full loads for each category. Single people, and small households may need to hold back some items till the next wash day, or blend groupings together.

Red Flag - First Time Washing and Bleeding Colors
The other criterion to consider is colorfastness. When in doubt, especially if the article is new, wash it by hand, or with other dark pieces, so the dye won't alter the color of everything else in the load.

Don't Over Load the Machine
Overstuffing can be pseudowashing - nothing gets really clean. Water, motion and detergent are what cleans clothes, so stuffing the machine jams up the flow. Set articles loosely into the machine. The capacity of a full sized load will be the top row of holes in the tub or gently full for a front loader. Overloading also adds unnecessary wear and tear to the machine's belts and motors, shortening the life of machine parts.

Washing Small Loads
Bothering to wash less than a full load is wasteful of water and electricity, but if that's what needs to happens, adjust the settings accordingly. The primary dial is the timer, which determines cycle lengths, and often note the appropriate articles for a particular cycle e.g., delicates for a short run, heavy for a long one. Some machines have a knob to be turned, others are electronic with a button and digital readout.

Pre Spotting
Powdered detergent and liquid detergent offer different options for pre spotting laundry. Liquid is easy to apply directly to spots and stains, but powder can be mixed with a little water to made into a paste and applied too. Either way, the application should sit a minute or two before the article gets tossed into the machine.

Be careful not to pre spot with a detergent containing a bleach additive, as it may take the color right out of the fabric. Always test a hidden area first if there is a doubt to the color fastness of an item.

Detergent
The old adage "Too much of a good thing…" is certainly applicable to the usage of modern laundry detergent. Within the last few years, manufacturers of both conventional and alternative laundry detergents have found ways to highly concentrate their products. The label usually says "Ultra" and suggests smaller measures than the old recommended amounts. But we are creatures of habit, and as with dishwashing liquid, we tend to dole out the same amount as before. (click here for more info )

An obvious sign of too much detergent would be small drifts of soap bubbles here and there when the cycle finishes. A tell tale sign would be a slight crackling sound emanating from laundry as it is pulled from the machine. If close inspection reveals tiny bubbles in the folds, then the detergent hasn't rinsed out completely. This means the clothes aren't completely clean, and if fabric softener has also been added to the wash cycle, they REALLY aren't clean. Both residues act as magnets for more dirt in the next wearing.

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