Rules for washing things in a washing machine

Nowadays there is no need to wash by hand - there are automatic machines for this. Thanks to sensors and built-in algorithms, modern machines are able to completely replicate hand washing, making it safe and effective. The main thing is to properly sort the laundry and prepare it for machine cleaning. By following the basic rules of washing in a washing machine, you can further protect your items and improve the quality of washing. Let's consider all the nuances and recommendations.

Preparing dirty clothes for washing

You need to prepare things for washing from the moment they become dirty, otherwise a small stain can develop into a difficult “thorn” to remove. Hence the first rule is to wash regularly, without accumulating a pile of dirty clothes. Especially if wine or grease gets on the fabric: you must immediately wash the stained area and treat it with a stain remover. Don’t forget about the storage conditions for clothes. It is important to choose containers with holes so that the laundry “breathes” and does not provoke the appearance of mold and unpleasant odors.

It is necessary to check the pockets of things before loading them into the drum - documents, keys, money, bank cards and garbage may remain there.

The second point concerns sorting. It is not recommended to wash everything in a washing machine at once. Before washing, all items must be placed in piles. First, we divide by color into light, dark and colored, and then by fabric type. Delicate materials, such as silk, wool and synthetics, should be loaded separately from thick cotton and linen. We put faded clothes in a special “pile”.

It is important to prepare sorted items for direct loading into the machine. We are talking about the following manipulations:

• check your pockets (they may contain both important items and forgotten garbage);
• tie your shoelaces, fasten all zippers and buttons (buttons, on the contrary, unfasten them);
• turn inside out (especially down jackets, jeans and trousers);
• remove all detachable items and decor (pins, key rings, belts);
• unfasten the hood;
• shake out the fuzz from the corners (if bed linen is being washed).

It is recommended to use protective laundry bags. It is better to place small items, underwear and overly decorated items in such nets. This way, you can solve several problems at once: prevent small items from getting into the tank, protect the fabric from being rubbed off on the drum, and prevent the decor from scratching the machine and other clothes.

Features of loading things into the drum

Another rule for washing clothes concerns ensuring that the drum is sufficiently loaded. Each model has its own capacity - from 3.5 to 15 kg. This parameter must be given in the instructions and duplicated on the machine body. Moreover, there are two values: minimum and maximum.

It is important to remember both the minimum and the maximum. Excessive or insufficient loading is fraught with imbalance, which can lead to serious mechanical damage to the washing machine. To prevent this, you must:

• do not fill the drum to capacity;
• distribute things evenly along the walls of the cylinder;
• do not wash bulky and small items at the same time (for example, bedding with socks);
• When cleaning shoes, add old items to the drum.

Each washing machine has a maximum and minimum drum loading weight!

There is no need to weigh each stack of items before loading them into the machine. It is enough to focus on approximate standards. So, it is allowed to fill the drum completely with cotton, but not compact it.Synthetics are allowed to load no more than half. If you are washing wool or an item with down filling, then you need to leave at least 2/3 of the tank volume empty.

Finding a suitable mode

The cycle parameters are selected taking into account the color and type of clothes being washed. Ideally, you need to rely on the label sewn to the item - it contains the manufacturer’s recommendations for caring for the product. If there is no such information, then we are guided by the general washing rules:

• light and white cotton underwear is washed in water heated to 60-95 degrees and wrung out at maximum;
• colored cotton - heating to 60 degrees and spinning at 800-1500 rpm;
• synthetics - warm water and medium spin speed;
• for delicate materials, programs with heating up to 30-40 degrees and minimal spin are selected;
• Fading items can be washed in cool water at any spin cycle.

There is no need to manually configure the cycle - just activate one of the factory modes. Modern washing machines have more than ten of them, and there are also additional options and functions.

Which powder should I take?

The machine requires appropriate cleaning products – marked “Automatic”. Powders and gels for hand washing are characterized by increased foaming, which is dangerous for the washing machine. It is also important to look at the composition: it is better to choose natural ingredients, without phosphates and aggressive brighteners.

When choosing a powder, we also focus on the type of stain:

• sweat, salt - any powder;
• dust, grease, paint - dry cleaning, bleach;
• tea, coffee, grass, wine - bleach;
• starch, chocolate, blood - enzymes.

Ideally, you need to have several products at home at once: for white and colored linen, children's clothes and delicate fabrics. Down jackets and blankets can only be washed with gels, since powder granules dissolve less well in cold water and settle in the filler.

Advice from experienced housewives

To ensure that machine washing does not bring surprises, it is worth remembering lesser-known recommendations. One of them is a preliminary check of the fabric for shedding. Thus, experienced housewives advise moistening an area of ​​clothing and then wiping it with a white napkin. If the paint has not peeled off, you can wash it.

A few more tips:

• When rinsing terry towels, add salt to soften the material;
• Hem the slots for buttons on knitted and knitted fabrics to prevent deformation;
• When washing, add baking soda to the tray to soften the water.

Salt and baking soda soften hard water and fabric!

Modern washing machines are equipped with many modes and functions that make cleaning safe and effective. The user just has to select the right powder, sort the clothes, load the drum and start the cycle.

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