5 laundry mistakes to avoid

Laundry can be frustrating at times. It could be being unable to get rid of that smell no matter how times you clean your favorite jumper, your trousers always getting all twisted up in every cycle, or the color of the kids’ t-shirts fading whenever you give them a wash. Check out the 5 laundry mistakes to avoid below to make sure you aren’t making the same errors.

Don’t wait for dirty clothes to build up before washing

There might be the temptation to let those dirty clothes pile up in the washing machine so you can wait to wash a full load and save power and money, but you may be doing more harm than good by doing so.

Firstly, the washing machine will turn into a breeding ground for bacteria as the laundry builds up. Secondly, it may seem letting the washing machine fill up to do less washes would save more power, but in fact, full load washes actually consume considerably more power. So use a laundry basket instead to store those dirty clothes and try not to exceed a capacity of 70% when you do load the washing machine.

Don’t bundle different clothes together

In our everyday lives, it can be hard to remember to wash all our clothes properly. One of the most common mistakes that we make when rushing about our daily routine, is to bundle all different types of clothes into the same wash.

Mixing socks and underwear with shirts and jackets leads to cross contamination of bacteria. Another major issue caused by washing different types of clothes together is the fading and dyeing of colors caused when mixing deep color clothes and light color clothes. A simple rule of thumb to follow is to wash underwear and socks apart from the rest of your clothes, while soaking deep color and light color items separately.

Don’t throw clothes into the wash unzipped

You may not realize it, but you really need to watch out for zippers in a washing machine. It doesn’t matter if they are metal or plastic, those zippers can get all twisted up with other clothes. Not only can they tangle up your laundry, but they can easily scratch the inner wall of the drum when washing at a high speed.

So make sure to zip up all your zippers on your clothes before putting them in the washing machine, and while we are discussing metal and plastic objects, check all pockets for any lose items that could damage the washing machine.

Don’t close the door again after washing

You may think it is good practice to shut the washing machine door immediately after emptying a fresh wash, but the best thing to do is to actually leave the door open for a while. The inside of a washing machine is a humid place without much ventilation, making it a breeding ground for bacteria. By leaving that washing machine door open for a 1 or 2 hours first allows for the drum to dry out first.

Don’t try to overcompensate by adding more detergent

Sometimes when faced with a particularly dirty set of clothes, you may think the best thing to do is just add more detergent. Unfortunately, more detergent does not help you deal with particularly pesky stains.

Not only does adding more detergent not help you, it actually makes it harder for the clothes to rinse thoroughly and the residual detergent can trigger skin allergies. The best way to handle more challenging piles of laundry is to soak them and scrub off the stains before putting them into a regular wash.

Let Toshiba SenseDose handle the detergent for you

When talking about how to know how much detergent to use, it is worth pointing out that some washing machines provide an automatic detergent dispensing function. With Toshiba SenseDose, all you need to do is add detergent and the washing machine will automatically work out the dose according to the weight of the clothes and the level of the water.