Introduction#
I love doing laundry. I love the magic of taking a basket of dirty clothes and guiding them through whatever they need to produce a stack of fresh, clean, soft clothes ready to be worn. And since laundry is something that I will do for my entire life, I think it’s worth investing time to learn how to do laundry well! The writings in this section are some of my learnings about laundry. Hopefully they can help you too.
Getting Started#
Very little of what I’ve written here is meant for beginners. If you are just getting started on your laundry learning journey, there are some good resources available on Dirty Laundry. There is also an active community of folks over on the r/laundry forum on Reddit. Be aware that on reddit you will get a wide range of perspectives and opinions so it’s good to stay curious and double-check things as you go.
Building up a knowledge base that allows you to be successful across all the crazy things that laundry can throw your way takes time, patience, and experimentation. Sometimes there’s failure and frustration along the journey. I find I’m at my calmest when I stay calm and curious. If there’s one tip I can offer new folks it’s that knowing your water hardness matters so look it up.
Diving Deeper#
Once you’ve got the basics down, you might find that you want to dive deeper. Here are a few things that I find helpful to keep in mind throughout the learning process:
We all have different preferences for laundry. Some folks care a lot about energy efficiency. Some folks care a lot about time efficiency. Some folks care a lot about minimizing fabric wear. Some folks like fragrance in their clean laundry, and some folks can’t tolerate fragrance at all. Whatever your preferences, being clear about them will help you get to the right result for you. And what’s right for you might be different from what’s right for someone else.
Not all laundry is the same. What’s ideal for a chef washing greasy work clothes might not be great for an accountant washing polo shirts. A load of towels is going to have a completely different fiber surface area than a load of polyester track suits. A wool blanket is going to require different handling than a set of flannel sheets. Understanding the textiles you’re washing is essential to washing them well. Get to know your fibers and make adjustments based on those differences.
Different machines can have wildly different behaviors. An old school top loader works differently than a modern top loader, and both work differently than a front loader. A machine with an impeller works different than a machine without an impeller. A direct drive front loader has different agitation and balance dynamics than a belt driven front loader. A European machine usually has different temperature behaviors than a US machine, which has to meet DOE energy usage requirements. Wash cycle times can run anywhere from a few minutes to as long as a few hours. Machines may offer anywhere from one to as many as five or more rinse stages based on cycle and settings. All of this really influences what chemistry will work best for you. To truly perfect your result you will have to figure out and understand how YOUR specific machine works. And manufacturers don’t reliably disclose these details so it’s often a process of discovery.
Laundry detergents are a complex blend of chemicals all working in concert to produce a specific result. Surfactants, enzymes, alkalinity builders, oxidizers, and water softeners all play specific roles. Anti-redeposition agents, oxidizer activators, optical brighteners, and other specialty chemicals can also play particular roles. Understanding what these chemicals are and how they work will greatly improve your success rate.
My Preferences#
Since my preferences and circumstances will inform what problems I have and what solutions I explore and write about on this site, I think it’s worthwhile to share those preferences and circumstances plainly:
- I live in a place with very soft water. This means rinsing performance is something I am ALWAYS paying close attention to. It also means I can be more flexible on detergent formulations that I use.
- I am strictly fragrance-free. In fact, there are even some fragrance-free detergents that I don’t love the smell of on things that get close to my face (e.g. shirts, towels, and bedding).
- I don’t wash in cold water. My lowest wash temp is 30C / 86F. Yes that includes my wool blankets. Washing in lower temperatures is an unnecessary “hard mode” that I avoid.
- I use LG front loaders not because I think they are great washers, but because I have invested a lot of time in understanding how they work. If you have or are considering an LG front loader, you should probably read all my writings about them on this site.