Avoid the risk of turning your white shirts pink by properly separating clothes into different piles – lights, darks and delicates.

• Lights: Can be anything from white clothes to pastels.
• Darks: Need to be separated from lights because they tend to bleed colors.
• Delicates: Any lace, silk, or satin garments.

Pro Tip: It’s also smart to separate clothes that tend to attract and create lint. Lint creators are sweatshirts, towels, flannel clothes while lint attractors tend to be nylon blouses and microfibers like men’s and women’s athletic gear.

It’s also smart to prep clothes before throwing them in the washer and dryer – make sure to unbutton shirts and pants, unroll cuffs, and tie drawstrings to avoid these from snagging in the washer or dryer.

Alright, you made it past separating your clothes – that can be a pain – now on to the wash. The most important thing to remember is not to overload the washing machine – fill to about 80 percent with your clothes.

• Light clothes: Should be washed with hot water – this also includes heavily soiled items to remove bacteria.
• Dark clothes: Should be washed with cold water to avoid color bleeding.
• You can also use cold water along with the delicate or gentle wash cycle to clean delicates.

The first thing you absolutely must do before even placing your clothes in the dryer is removing and cleaning the lint screen. A dirty lint screen is a fire hazard and will affect dryer performance. Next, add a few items at a time to avoid clothes from clumping in the dryer causing wrinkles. Check the label of your clothes to find the recommended dry setting. After the cycle ends, it’s important to fold or hang your clothes quickly to avoid wrinkles.

All clothes, towels, cloths, and any other garments have a label with washing instructions you can follow. But the rules are certainly not set in stone. However, knowing how to at least read the label is helpful. Here’s a helpful guide detailing all of the different symbols you’ll see on a label.