When it comes to caring for your clothing, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. While certain garments can withstand a regular or even heavy-duty washing setting, your delicate pieces will require a shorter, delicate cycle at a lower speed to prevent the stretching and ripping of fabric. To help give you a leg up on laundry day, City Laundry has provided a helpful guide to assess which of your clothing items should be washed on a delicate setting.

Wash These Laundry Items on Delicate

Undergarments

As undergarments are typically made of delicate materials such as silk, satin, or chiffon, you shouldn’t just toss them in the washer and dryer and hope for the best. These garments require a delicate cycle to keep them damage-free and looking like new. To help extend the life of your undergarments, select the cold delicate cycle on your washer and use a mild detergent. Once they have finished washing, avoid placing them in the dryer, as the heat can destroy the fibers. Instead, let them hang dry or lay them flat and out of direct sunlight.

Items with Delicate Materials or Fancy Trims

If you have a crocheted item or one with a fancy trim such as lace or sequins, you want to make sure that it doesn’t become entangled with other items and tear while washing. To avoid tangling, place these items into a mesh bag before putting them into your washer on the delicate setting. The mesh bag will prevent your delicate items from catching on the washer’s drum machine or on other garments.

Clothing Labels That Specify Gentle Wash

If you’re ever unsure of how to properly wash a garment, simply read the label inside for explicit instructions. If there are any strictly forbidden cleaning methods such as machine washing, for example, the label will include an “X” through the laundry machine graphic, signifying that the item cannot handle the spin cycle. If you ever have doubts about placing a delicate item in a machine, you can always err on the side of safety by hand-washing it with a gentle detergent instead.

If your delicate laundry could use some TLC, take it into City Laundry in Lincoln, NE. This coin-operated and commercial laundry service features large-capacity machines and can handle garments of all types. To take advantage of their high-quality self-service laundry machines today, give them a call at (402) 483-2113 or visit their website for more information.