Delicate clothes are the most difficult to launder. The fabrics or designs of these clothes are sensitive to a machine’s normal settings and can easily get ruined. Without proper care, you might end up ruining the special items in your load. The items require special handling to keep their appearance, shape, and longevity.
This post explores delicate clothing and suggests tips to handle these items at the laundromat. Read on.
What Qualifies as Delicate Clothing?
If you want to take care of your delicate clothes, learn to identify these items first. Here’s a quick breakdown of some items that qualify as delicate clothing:
- Delicate fabric materials: These include silk, wool/cashmere, linen, chiffon, lace, and , velvet, very thin cotton clothing, and other lightweight fabrics
- Special clothing: Mostly include undergarments, such as lingerie and bras
- Fabrics with embroidery/embellishments
- Knitted garments
Tips to Handle Delicate Clothing at a Laundromat
The last thing you want is to leave the laundromat with a shrunken cashmere sweater or ruined lacy bra. Most of the delicate clothing items are costly, hence the need for special care.
Here are some helpful tips to handle your delicate clothing:
- Preparing Delicate Clothing
When sorting your laundry, put aside the delicate clothing. The best way to identify delicate clothing is through the labels on the back and check the type of washing cycle required. Most delicate items have a “hand wash” label or the “gentle cycle”. The best laundromats have machines with ideal washing cycles for delicate clothing.
- Sorting by Type
At this stage, sort the items by time to avoid damage. For instance, put cashmere clothing together to avoid damage by other items that might have accessories. Delicate fabrics and cloth designs can easily snag, stretch or shrink.
- Sorting by Color
Just like with the rest of your clothing, sort delicate items by color. White cloths go with other delicate white items. This avoids the risk of damage because of color bleeding.
- Fastening
If any of the delicate items have zips, hooks, buttons clips or other fasteners, make sure you close these attachments. This reduces the risk of snagging or stretching which can ruin your valuable clothes.
- Stain Pre-treatment
Before you wash your delicate clothing, first pre-treat any stains. Avoid commercial stain removers because such products might be too harsh on delicate fabrics such as wool and silk. Go for natural stain removers such as lemon juice or white vinegar. Dab the stain remover on the site and run the material gently. Make sure you have a washer ready to get started on the washing.
- Use a Mesh Bag
One of the most effective ways to protect your delicate clothing items is by use of a mesh bag. Put the sorted delicates into mesh bags before loading them into the washing machine.
- Washing the Delicates
Use a mild detergent or any cold-water detergents and consider the color of the delicate items. If the machine has a pre-soaking option, use it for more effective results. Use the gentle cycle or the hand wash cycle. Choose cold water which is ideal for delicate clothing. Don’t overfill the machine to prevent tangling.
Washing delicate clothing at a laundromat can be stressful, but with these tips, you can get it done easily.
Need help with your delicates or don’t know how to clean them? Leave it to us. Let us take care of all the work for you with our full wash & fold services.
At Laundry Unlimited, washing these or any other clothing is easy because the facilities have modern machines with multiple cycles. For the best laundry solutions in Charlotte, and Greensboro, NC, visit Laundry Unlimited laundromats.