Tag Archives: washing machine professional

3 Washing Machine Best Practices

For your washing machine to function optimally and last for a long time, you need to observe a set of best practices. Wondering which are these practices? Here they are as given by washer repair professionals:

Separate the garments

As much as clothes appear similar, they aren’t—they are made from different materials with different cleaning instructions. To avoid damaging your outfits, check the clothes tags for washing instructions.

While most clothes are machine washable, check the tags for further instructions as some clothes might get damaged. For example, some might shrink if you clean them using hot water, while others might not be able to handle bleach.

You should put aside clothes labeled as dry clean or hand wash only.

Besides separating the clothes by the material they are made from and their cleaning methods, also separate by color. Separate the lights from the darks and wash them separately.

If you are wondering what should go where, here is a guide:

Darks: These include dark blues, blacks, greys, dark purples, and dark reds

Lights: These are whites, yellows, pinks, light greens, light blues, and lavender.

Whites include anything that is 100% white. You should avoid washing the whites with other light colors.

Jeans or dark denims: They tend to bleed their color, and you should wash them in their separate load.

Use the right washing cycle.

The wash cycles determine the speed at which the washing machine spins. Most washing machines have two primary speeds: a speed that agitates or tumbles the clothes with water and another that spins the water out of the clothes.

The cycle you choose should match the fabric of the cloth. There are four main cycles you can use:

Delicate cycle: The delicate cycle uses the slow approach, where it’s meant to reduce agitation and prevent wear and tear. While it’s highly effective at preventing the clothes from getting damaged, it doesn’t properly clean them.

Normal cycle: This cycle goes with a fast approach where it tumbles and spins fast. It’s highly effective at cleaning extremely dirty and sweaty clothes, and it’s the cycle that most people use regularly. Using this cycle, some of the best fabrics to clean are denim, cotton, towels, and beddings.

Special cycle: You will find these cycles in modern washing machines. The cycles vary in functionality and among washing machines. For example, you will find some machines that will sanitize, others steam, and so on.

Permanent or perm press: The perm pres cycle goes in a fast/slow approach, and it’s best for fabrics that need fast agitation to clean but a slow spin to prevent wrinkles. You should use this cycle when cleaning synthetic fibers such as knits, rayons, acetates, and polyesters.

You should use this cycle because synthetic fibers are known to pill or even create small balls of fiber, and spinning the fabric slowly prevents the piling from coming about.

Use the right temperature.

The same way you should use the right cleaning cycle is the same way you should take caution and use the right cleaning temperature. If you do your research, you will find that most experts recommend that you clean your clothes with hot water, which is for a reason.

When you use hot water, you not only have cleaner clothes, but the hot water also sanitizes clothes and kills germs. It also dissolves detergents more effectively and removes any built-up grime, so your clothes look cleaner and brighter.

While hot water is great, it can shrink the clothes, fade the fabrics, or even set certain stains. Some people have even pointed to the hot water being an expensive addition to their energy bill.

If you don’t want to use hot water, appliance repair Alexandria recommends using water at different temperatures, especially if the materials in question allow it.

The common options include:

Cool water: You can use cool water if cleaning delicate items or items with dyes that might bleed. Cool water is also ideal for clothes that aren’t necessarily dirty.

Warm water is best suited for cleaning dark colors and moderately dirty loads.

If you are unsure about the right water temperature to go with, get the input of a professional.

Can You Run A Washing Machine With Just Cold Water? Washer Repair Experts Answer

Ah, the washing machine. Hands down one of the greatest inventions of our time, it not only frees you time but saves you energy too. Homeowners are used to washing their clothes with hot water that they can’t imagine using cold water.

What happens when the hot cycle fails, and you can’t find a washer repair professional? Can you run a washing machine with just cold water?

The answer to this question is a resounding YES. Studies have shown that most of the clothes come out just as clean with cold water.

Washing clothes in cold water? Tips to consider

For you to get ideal results, you should put these tips into consideration:

  • Always sort the whites, lights, and dark colors out and wash them separately.
  • Always use high-quality detergents, preferably those made to be used in cold water. When using the detergents, ensure you use the right amount. Remember, when you use too much of it, most of it will build up in the clothes leaving too little for cleaning.
  • Consider adding additives to the detergents to boost the cleaning power of the detergent.
  • Like when cleaning using hot or warm water, take care not to overload the washer. Loading the washer properly ensures that it optimally which not only saves you time, it also extends the life of the appliance.
  • Before you begin cleaning, search for stained and extra dirty pieces of clothing and pre-treat them.
  • If cleaning many too dirty items, you will find some of the clothes still dirty after running the cleaning cycle. Before you remove the clothes from the washing machine, inspect them and if still dirty, repeat the cleaning.
  • In winter, be ultra-cautious and ensure the water is not below 60f as the clothes won’t clean well at this temperature.
  • For clothes that are heavily soiled and grease-stained, clean them with warm or hot water.

When does it make sense to clean with cold water?

Dark clothes: Washing clothes in cold water is an excellent way of preserving color. Studies also show that dark clothes clean better in cold water. Killing two birds with one stone, you might say.

Delicates: Clothes made from lace or silk can easily get damaged by hot water, which makes it logical to clean them with hot water.

Clothes that wrinkle or shrink easily: Hot water is known to wrinkle and shrink clothes, which gives them a cheap look. If you have clothes where wrinkles could be a problem, you can solve the issue by washing using cold water.

Lack of care label: To avoid damaging your precious clothes, it’s recommended you look out for the care label that guides you on the best way to handle the clothes. If you are getting ready to wash the clothes, then you notice you are missing the care label, don’t fret. Clean them with cold water, and you won’t have to worry about causing damage.

Situations when it doesn’t make sense to clean using cold water

While cold water has its perks, there are several situations when it doesn’t make sense of cleaning with cold water. Some of these situations include:

When you need high levels of sanitation: Some of these situations include when you are washing undergarments, sheets, and sick person’s clothes. Although laundry detergent does a great job of cleaning the clothes, hot water works excellently at killing the germs.

When using powdered detergents: Powdered detergents don’t dissolve easily, and in most cases, you need hot water to dissolve them completely. Using cold water with powdered detergents causes streaks on the clothes, which gives the clothes a cheap, ugly look.

When using a cheap detergent: When you are looking to save on detergents, you are better off using hot water. According to appliance repair Northern VA professionals, cheap detergents don’t have enough cleaning power to properly clean the soil and grime. Hot water comes in handy at helping in getting rid of the dirt.

When you have lower groundwater temperatures: In areas such as Alaska and Maine, where the temperatures are usually too low, the cold water might be too cold for cleaning making, it sensible to use hot water.