Nowadays, it seems there is a machine that takes care of almost all of our daily chores. From a dishwasher to do the dishes to a washing machine to do our laundry, we’re blessed with the inventions that make our lives easier. But sometimes, going back to the exact and original way of doing things can actually be better.
Your clothes are something you want to preserve in their original condition for a long time. Sometimes, we machine wash clothes that need to be washed delicately, and it just worsens the quality of your clothes. How often do you actually take the time to read the wash and care tags in a new garment?
There’s a lot of tips, tricks, and hacks available out there to keep your clothes bright and shiny until the end of time, but are you really equipped to follow those tricks? Well, we have curated a short guide that explains how to hand wash clothes, just for you!
Read on!
What makes each clothing item different?
Fabric, colour, texture, size, shape, elements or embellishments other than the fabric itself are some of the factors that differentiate one clothing item from another when it comes to hand washing. The most common problems faced due to machine washing right now are clothing items getting stretched/shrunk so much from their original size, and stains from other clothing items/staining other clothing items.
Apart from these problems, tearing, fading, etc. are some issues one could face with various clothing items. How to deal with them? Well, hand wash them with love instead of tossing them in your weekly laundry!
Soaking
Hand Washing clothes need a lot of physical work, but do you just not have the time? Alright, soaking is your best friend when it comes to the steps of hand washing. When you think of washing clothes by yourself, make sure to soak them in an appropriate solution beforehand. This lets the dirt wash itself off in the solution itself, and it also lets the cleansing agents and the fragrance seep in.
Agitating
This is a very important step as it would be totally pointless to wash a dress and find last week’s marinara sauce stains still on it. Continually agitating the clothes will help them get rid of any stubborn stains or dirt that might have settled on the fabric or in the tiny spaces between different elements of the clothing item.
Where to use these techniques and how:
Now, all fabrics are different and each one of them needs to be taken care of in a completely different manner. Let us show you some quick ways to tell which methods would be most effective for a particular piece of clothing.
Soak, swish, remove: These are the kind of fabrics you would only prefer wearing occasionally. It could be a bra with laces and embellishments or a shirt with synthetic fabric materials. You just need to fill some lukewarm water, add a gentle detergent to it, soak in these clothes for a while, swish them around to let go of any dirt and wash them off!
Soak, agitate, wring, dry: Jeans, underpants and your regular tops and t-shirts are your most used clothing items. They aren’t too delicate and can be washed with regular detergent as well. You can simply soak them in a detergent solution for a while, agitate well, or scrub them gently by rubbing its own fabric against itself to remove any kind of dirt. You can let it soak for a bit, then rinse it off with cold running water and wriggle it to remove excess water. It is okay to wriggle denim and underpants as it won’t affect their fabric or fit by any means.
Light scrubbing, soaking, rinsing: If you are looking to wash a hat, a cap or anything of sorts, use this chronology to wash them properly. If you are dealing with any kind of sportswear, the same applies to it. With light scrubbing with your hand or a toothbrush, remove the stains and dirt. Later on, use a delicate wash for an overall cleanse to remove the smell and rinse it off with cold water.
Soak, rinse, squeeze: Wool is a whole different fabric that needs different detergent and different techniques for hand washing. Always make sure you use cold water to wash woollen items and never forget a cleanser only meant for woollen fabric. When it comes to wool, no wringing is allowed. Just squeeze out lay flat to dry.
Hand-washing your clothes might seem like a tough cookie to crack but think about it this way. The more you care for your clothes, the more they save you the expense of buying new ones. Although it might not be convenient for us to wash all the clothes by ourselves every day, your delicates and your expensive collection of clothes deserve to be taken care of!