Life Skills for College

Laundry

Doing the laundry is not quite as easy as it looks! Here's a step-by-step guide to the world of washers and dryers:

Step 1. Sort your clothes into four piles: white, dark (blues or blacks), colors, and delicates (bras, rayon, and other synthetics -- check labels!).

Step 2. Feed coins into machine (if it's coin operated), and choose temperature (hot for whites, warm for darks, cold for colors, cold/gentle for delicates).

Step 3. For front-loading machines: Fill machine with clothes, add a cup of liquid laundry detergent to detergent compartment, and start cycle.

For top-loading machines: Start cycle. When machine has 3 inches of water, add a cup of detergent. Wait until detergent disperses in water, then add laundry and close lid.

Step 5. When washer comes to a complete stop and all lights are out, take out clothes. They should be damp but not sopping.

Tips: Wash bras in a mesh bag; they wear out less quickly that way. Most silk and wool items need to be dry cleaned or washed by hand.

Step 1: Sort clothes into normal heat (sheets, towels, jeans), low heat (cottons that you don't want to shrink), and hang dry (bras, rayon, spandex -- check labels!).

Step 2: Clean leftover lint from dryer's lint screen.

Step 3: Deposit coins and add laundry to dryer.

Step 4: Run dryer for 30 to 40 minutes or until dry. (Avoid over-drying -- it's hard on clothes.)

Step 5: Remove and fold promptly (or else you'll have a pile of wrinkled clothes).