How to Do Laundry Without Ruining Your Favorite Hoodie
Nobody teaches you this. Care label symbols decoded, how to sort and which settings to use, plus the rule that keeps your clothes from shrinking.
In this guide
Doing your own laundry is one of those things nobody officially teaches you. Then one day your favorite white hoodie comes out pink, or your jeans shrink a size, and you realize there are rules.
Good news: there aren’t many. Here’s how to do laundry step by step, without ruining anything.
What you need
- Laundry detergent (liquid, powder or pods, any of them work)
- A washing machine and a dryer, or a drying rack
- A laundry basket or two, so you can sort
That’s it. Fabric softener, stain remover and dryer sheets are nice to have, not must-haves.
How to do laundry, step by step
1. Check the care label
Most clothes sold in the U.S. have to come with care instructions. The Federal Trade Commission requires manufacturers to tell you how to clean what you buy. Look for the little tag inside the collar or side seam. Anything that says “dry clean only” or “hand wash” stays out of the machine.
The symbols, decoded:
- A tub of water: you can machine wash it. Dots inside mean temperature: one dot is cold, more dots means warmer. A hand in the tub means hand wash. A tub with an X means don’t wash it.
- A triangle: bleach. Crossed out means no bleach.
- A square with a circle inside: tumble dry. One dot is low heat, more dots means hotter. Crossed out means don’t put it in the dryer.
- An iron: ironing. Dots mean heat level again.
- A plain circle: dry clean.
2. Sort your clothes
The simplest sort is three piles:
- Darks: black, navy, dark gray, jeans.
- Lights: whites, pastels, light gray.
- Towels and sheets, if you’re washing those too. They shed lint and need more room.
New, bright-colored clothes, especially red ones, can bleed dye the first few washes. Wash them with darks or on their own. That’s how the pink hoodie happens.
3. Prep everything
- Empty the pockets. One forgotten tissue covers a whole load in white fuzz. One forgotten lip balm can stain everything.
- Zip zippers and close the velcro, so they don’t snag other clothes.
- Turn graphic tees, jeans and dark clothes inside out. It protects prints and keeps colors from fading.
- Put delicates in a mesh bag, if you have one.
4. Load the washer and add detergent
Fill the drum loosely, no more than about three-quarters full. Clothes need room to move to get clean. Use the amount of detergent the bottle says for your load size, usually up to the first line on the cap. More soap doesn’t mean cleaner clothes. It can leave them stiff and sticky.
Pods go in the drum before the clothes, not in the detergent drawer.
5. Pick the setting
- Cold water works for most everyday clothes and keeps colors from fading or shrinking.
- Warm or hot is for towels, sheets and very dirty or sweaty stuff, if the label allows it.
- Normal cycle for most loads, delicate or gentle for thin or stretchy clothes.
6. Dry it
Clean the lint filter first. Every single time. The U.S. Fire Administration warns that a dirty lint filter raises the risk of a dryer fire, and says to clean it before and after each cycle. It takes five seconds.
Then move clothes to the dryer soon after the wash ends so they don’t start to smell. Use low or medium heat for most clothes. High heat is what shrinks things. Hang up or lay flat anything that says not to tumble dry, plus sweaters, leggings, swimsuits and bras.
7. Fold or hang right away
Taking clothes out while they’re still warm means fewer wrinkles. Leaving them in the dryer for two days means ironing.
How to not ruin your favorite hoodie
- Wash it inside out, in cold water, with similar colors.
- Dry it on low, or hang it up to dry if it has a big print.
- Don’t wash it after every wear. Hoodies, jeans and sweaters can usually go a few wears unless they’re sweaty or stained.
Quick stain fixes
- Act fast. Fresh stains come out much more easily.
- Use cold water on blood and sweat stains. Hot water can set them.
- Blot, don’t rub. Rubbing spreads the stain.
- Check before drying. If the stain is still there after washing, don’t put it in the dryer. Heat sets stains. Treat it and wash it again.
Period stain on your jeans or sheets? Cold water, a little soap and patience, and it’ll usually come out. Our period kit checklist helps you avoid the emergency in the first place.
