Laundry: Doing It Yourself

“Laundry wash day” are words that strike fear in some people. For some reason, doing laundry is a daunting task to people, especially residents who’ve never had an apartment to rent before – and thus have never done their own laundry before. Never fear, we are going to break down the laundry process into steps that every apartment dweller can follow.

Laundry: Step One

Before you even begin doing laundry, make sure that you have everything you need. It’s no fun to gather a load of laundry and then have to go on a search for detergent. So gather up the laundry detergent, fabric softener (either in sheet form or in liquid form), stain remover, laundry basket, and quarters (if you are using a community laundry room), then head to the washing machine.

Laundry: Step Two

The next step in doing laundry is to sort your clothes into colors. You will want to separate the whites, the bright colors and the darks from each other, otherwise your white socks might end up looking pink. Don’t forget to check the pockets to make sure you don’t wash anything that shouldn’t get wet. You might even find money in your pockets. Now that’s a nice reward for getting that dirty laundry washed!

Laundry: Step Three

Once you have separated, it is time to start loading up the washing machine. First, you should add the detergent and then start filling the washer with water. Use cold water for your colors and warm water for your whites. The regular cycle should work for most everything, but for delicate clothes, the gentle cycle is best. Once you have about half of the machine filled with water, toss in your clothes and close the lid. The washing cycle can take anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes.

Laundry: Step Four

Once your clothes have finished washing, you will want to move them to the dryer. First, separate out the delicate clothes and the clothes that shouldn’t be dried in a dryer (refer to your labels), you will want to put these clothes on a drying rack. For the rest of the clothes, throw in a dryer sheet with the laundry and then set the drying temperature. I recommend low or medium for everything to avoid shrinking your clothes. The drying cycle should take about 45 minutes to an hour.

Laundry: Step Five

Once your laundry has finished drying, promptly remove it from the dryer and fold it to avoid wrinkles. See, that wasn’t too hard, was it?

One final tip: if you are using a community laundry room, please respect your neighbors and remove clothes from the washer and dryer as soon as they are finished. Happy washing!