How to Do Laundry in College When You Have Never Done It Before

Sorting Your Laundry

The most important sorting decision is separating colors from whites. Dark and bright colors — reds, blues, greens, blacks — can bleed dye onto lighter clothing in the wash, particularly in the first few washes of new items. Keeping your whites, light greys, and light pastels in a separate load from your darker items prevents the pink-shirts-that-were-white outcome that many first-time laundry operators experience.

The second sorting consideration is fabric type. Delicate fabrics — lingerie, silk, wool, and items labeled ‘hand wash’ or ‘delicate’ — should be washed separately from regular items or put in a mesh laundry bag and washed on the delicate cycle. Heavy items like towels and jeans take longer to dry and do not need the gentle treatment that lighter clothes require.

In practice, many students simplify to two loads: a darks load and a lights load. This is an adequate approach that prevents the most common color disasters without requiring elaborate sorting. Checking the care label on any item you are uncertain about tells you the specific requirements for that garment.

Washing Machine Settings

The two main settings you need to understand: water temperature and cycle type. Cold water is appropriate for the majority of your clothing — it preserves colors, is gentler on fabrics, and is more energy-efficient. Use warm water for heavily soiled items and bedding. Use hot water only for whites and towels that you specifically want to sanitize.

Cycle type: regular (or normal or cotton) for most everyday clothing, delicate (or gentle) for delicate items, and sometimes a heavy-duty setting for towels and heavily soiled work clothes. The cycle type affects how aggressively the machine moves the clothes — delicate cycles are gentler and prevent damage to fragile fabrics.

Detergent: use the amount specified on the detergent packaging for your load size. More detergent does not produce cleaner clothes — it produces excess suds that are harder to rinse out and can actually leave residue on clothing. Many people use significantly more detergent than necessary, which wastes money and is not more effective.

Drying Your Clothes

Check the care label of any item you plan to machine dry before putting it in. Some fabrics — wool, silk, rayon, certain synthetic blends, and many structured garments — should not go in the dryer because the heat shrinks them or damages the fabric. ‘Lay flat to dry’ or ‘dry clean only’ on a label means the dryer is not appropriate for that item.

For items that can be machine dried, use medium heat for most everyday clothing and high heat for towels and bedding. Avoid over-drying — remove items while they still have slight warmth and fold or hang immediately. Leaving clothes in the dryer after it stops leads to wrinkles that take significant effort to remove.

Items that should not go in the dryer should be laid flat on a clean surface or hung on a clothes horse or hanger to air dry. Hanging knitted items can distort their shape — lay these flat. Most items that cannot be machine dried are dry within a few hours in a reasonably aired indoor space.

Treating Stains

Treat stains as soon as possible — the longer a stain sets, the harder it is to remove. Blot liquid stains rather than rubbing, which spreads them and pushes them deeper into the fabric. Apply stain remover to the affected area before washing rather than hoping the regular wash cycle will remove it.

Different stains respond to different treatments. Blood is best treated with cold water (never hot — heat sets blood stains permanently). Oil and grease respond to dish soap applied directly to the stain. Protein-based stains (food, sweat) respond to enzyme-based stain removers. Wine and coffee respond to prompt blotting followed by cold water rinse and stain remover application before washing.

Building a Laundry Routine

The most common laundry failure among students is waiting until everything is dirty before doing laundry — which produces an overwhelming quantity of laundry when the need is urgent. A weekly laundry session on the same day prevents this accumulation and ensures a consistent supply of clean clothes without the emergency laundry experience.

Choosing a day and time when the laundry facilities are least crowded — typically weekday mornings or early afternoons rather than weekend evenings — reduces waiting time for machines and makes the process faster and less frustrating.

Frequently Asked Questions

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