Doing laundry is a never-ending chore. No matter how many times you wash those dirty clothes, more always pile up. But while laundry may seem straightforward—just toss your clothes in the machine and let it run—there is actually more nuance to it. Understanding the laundry settings on your washing machine and how to use them for different fabric types is key to properly cleaning your clothes and making them last.
This article will provide a laundry 101 guide, walking through the basics of laundry machine settings, fabric types, and how to match them. You’ll learn insider tips on special settings like pre-washes and eco modes. We’ll also cover laundry detergents, additives, and common mistakes to avoid. Follow these tips and your clothes will come out looking and feeling fresh and clean every time.
The Basics of Laundry Settings
Modern washing machines come with a variety of settings to customize your laundry cycles. The three key settings are:
Temperature: This controls the temperature of the water, with common options including cold, warm, or hot. Hotter water helps dissolve soils and oils better. But very hot water can fade bright colors over time or make elastic wear out faster.
Cycle Length: This controls how long the main wash and rinse cycles run. Some common cycles are regular, heavy-duty, delicate, and quick. Longer cycles give the detergent more time to work. Quick cycles are convenient but sometimes less effective at cleaning.
Spin Speed: This controls how fast the washing machine drum spins to extract water at the end of the cycle. Fast spins get more water out of clothes, reducing drying time. But high speeds can damage delicate fabrics.
Additionally, many washers have other settings like extra rinses, soil levels, water levels, and more. Understanding what each option does will allow you to customize the cycles for your laundry needs.
Understanding Fabric Types
To get your clothes clean while avoiding damage, you need to consider what fabrics they are made from. Some fabrics can withstand vigorous washing and high heat. More delicate materials need gentler settings. Here is an overview of common fabric types and how they respond to laundering:
Cotton
Cotton is a staple fiber made from the cotton plant. Known for its breathability and durability, cotton can withstand warm water, longer wash cycles, and high spin speeds. Bleach is OK on white cottons but should not be used on colored cottons.
Wool
Wool fiber comes from the hair of animals like sheep and alpacas. It tends to felt and shrink when agitated too vigorously. Wash wool in cool water using a gentle cycle and low spin speed. Lay flat to dry instead of high heat drying to avoid shrinking.
Silk
Silk is a protein fiber produced by insects like silkworms. Very delicate, it loses shape and luster easily when washed improperly. Always use a delicate cycle in cool water for silks and air dry. Adding a silk wash bag provides extra protection.
Synthetic Fabrics
Synthetics like polyester, nylon, and spandex are sensitive to heat and more prone to static. Wash in warm or cool water using a gentle cycle. Removing them promptly from the dryer also reduces static buildup. A dryer sheet can help too.
Delicate Fabrics
Sheer, lacy, sequined and embellished fabrics require extra special care, even if made from cotton or synthetics. Handwashing is best to avoid snags but when machine washing use a bag, cool water, and the most delicate, shortest cycle.
Matching Fabrics to Washer Settings
Now that you know about common fabric types, let’s go over the ideal machine-washing settings for each category:
Cotton
| Temp | Warm, hot ok |
| Cycle | Regular or heavy duty |
| Spin speed | High |
Cotton clothing, sheets, and towels can withstand hot water, vigorous agitation, and high spin speeds. Use regular or heavy-duty cycles to wash most cotton items.
Wool
| Temp | Cool, cold |
| Cycle | Delicate |
| Spin speed | Low |
Wool garments require very gentle wash cycles. Use cool or cold water on the delicate or hand-wash setting. Low spin speeds also prevent distortion and felting.
Silk
| Temp | Cool, cold |
| Cycle | Delicate |
| Spin speed | Low |
Delicate silk items should be washed in cool water on the gentlest spin cycle. Using a mesh bag provides further protection against snagging.
Synthetics
| Temp | Warm, cool |
| Cycle | Delicate or regular |
| Spin speed | Low or medium |
While synthetics can withstand warm water, use delicate or regular cycles to prevent pilling. Medium spin speeds work for most synthetics.
Delicates
| Temp | Cool, cold |
| Cycle | Hand wash or delicate |
| Spin speed | Low |
Sheer, lacy, and embellished items require cold water on the gentlest agitation setting. A lingerie bag also helps protect against snags.
When dealing with mixed loads, opt for cooler temperatures and more delicate settings to safely wash all fabrics together. Synthetics and cottons can typically handle gentle cycles for delicates but the reverse is not true. Play it safe with your nice clothes and linens by choosing the most gentle settings that garments can handle.
Special Laundry Settings
Washing machines include special settings that customize cycles further for particular situations:
Pre-Wash: This adds an extra wash cycle before the main wash to target heavy soil. Useful for sweaty gym clothes or heavily stained items.
Rinse Hold: After the last rinse, excess water is not spun out. This allows clothes to soak longer which can improve the removal of residue from additives. The wash then continues normally.
Eco Mode: Special eco cycles use less water and energy. They often have cooler water temps and longer cycle times to clean efficiently. Great for saving resources.
Extra Rinse: Adding additional rinses helps remove more detergent residue and debris for cleaner laundry and less buildup in machines.
Delay Start: This lets you load the washer and set it to start hours later, a great convenience feature.
Understanding when special modes could be useful allows you to customize your laundry routines accordingly. Pre-wash for grimy items, eco for saving energy and water, delay start to run at night, and extra rinses for sensitive skin or maintenance.
Laundry Detergents and Additives
Choosing the right laundry products for your wash cycles also makes a difference. Here are the main types of detergents and fabric care additives:
Laundry Detergent: Formulated to dissolve dirt and oils and suspend soil so it gets flushed away. Available as powder, liquid, single-dose pods, or bars.
Fabric Softener: Used during the rinse cycle, it coats fabrics to make them feel softer, fluffier, and reduce static cling. Often fragranced.
Dryer Sheets: Added to the dryer, dryer sheets infuse a light fragrance and also reduce static and wrinkles.
Bleach: Removes stains on white clothes by oxidizing and brightening. Should not be used on colored fabrics as it can remove dye.
Stain Removers: Pre-treat set stains with stick, gel, or spray formulations to boost cleaning before washing. Great for collar rings and underarm marks.
Wool Detergent: Formula is extra gentle with special pH to prevent wool from becoming coarse and shrinking. Recommended for wool and delicates.
Be strategic about adding products to different cycles. Use bleach and oxygen boosters in the wash but fabric softeners and dryer sheets only in the dryer as residue left in clothes can affect absorption. Read all labels before mixing products to prevent damage.
Common Laundry Mistakes to Avoid
Even with the best intentions, there are some laundry pitfalls that can ruin your clothing. Be aware of these common blunders:
Overloading: Jam packing can lead to detergent residue and wrinkling. Give clothes room to move around easily.
Mixing Colors: Reds bleeding pink into whites is a classic laundry mishap. Separate lights, darks, and reds if concerned about running.
Over-Drying: Heat damage causes elastic and clothing shape to break down faster. Remove items promptly from dryers and air dry when possible.
Insufficient Cleaning: Just because clothes look clean doesn’t mean smell or buildup isn’t developing. Don’t push limits on washing intervals.
Using Too Much Detergent: Excess suds can trap residue leading to dinginess, skin irritation, and machine problems. Follow guidelines on containers.
Forgetting Garment Care Tags These instructions are on clothing for a reason. Always check them for warnings about heat, drying, chemicals, etc. before cleaning.
Save yourself laundry headaches by carefully handling special care items, not overpacking loads, avoiding color transfer issues, double checking all labels, cleaning the machine itself regularly, and not overusing products.
Conclusion
While throwing on a load of laundry might seem pretty straightforward, to properly care for your clothing and linens, it pays to understand how machine settings, fabric types, and products come into play. Now that you know about temperature, cycle, and spin combinations plus special features like pre-washes and delays, you can customize your own laundry cycles.
Remembering basics like washing delicates separately, treating stains promptly, and following garment label instructions will keep your nice items looking their best for longer too. Share your own laundry wisdom in the comments! And let us know if you have any other cleaning challenges you face at home. ApplianceJournal.com can help make home care easier from laundry, to dishes, cleaning routines, and more.