How to take care of every outfit in your Closet

Nothing lasts forever but they can if we take proper care of them. Clothes are definitely no exception. Clothes are to be maintained with care. A lot goes in the selection of the clothes we wear and invest our money in. We take a lot of care while wearing and washing our outfit and forget that proper care should be taken pre and post laundry. Now let’s go deep into the care that we should give them.

What happens if you do not take care of clothes?

1. The excess or leftover detergent on your outfit can cause breakouts or acne on your skin.
2. If not dried in the sun, the bacteria left on the clothes may cause serious problems.
3. If not packed properly, the fabrics can get damaged.

Check out how you can take care of you outfit.

Step 1: Sort your laundry!

This seems intuitive, but it’s more difficult than most people think. Sort laundry based on cleaning instructions, type of laundry, and color. Make sure that you are only washing dirty clothes, as unnecessary washing of clean clothes can shorter their life. 

• Set aside any dry-clean only articles of clothing.
• Group together any delicates or cold-wash only clothing.
• Group towels and heavy linens.
• Separate the rest of your clothes into whites and dark or colored groups.
• Turn T-shirts inside out to prevent the outside from wearing out and fading.

Step 2: Get ready to wash. 

• Now that your clothes are sorted you are almost ready to start washing.
• Review cleaning instructions for whichever group of laundry you want to begin with. Pre-treat any stained items with a stain removing spray or pen.
• Add detergent and fabric softener (if desired) to the washing machine.

Step 3: Choose your wash cycle. 

Some washing machines have various preset cycles. If yours does, select the cycle that applies to your group of clothes. If yours does not, follow cleaning instructions on the tags of your clothes and follow a few guidelines.

• Delicates and cold-wash only clothing need cold water and a gentle spin cycle.
• Towels and linens can generally tolerate a warmer temperature and heavy spin cycle.
• Whites will get cleanest using hot water, making it ideal unless any whites are not pre-shrunk.
• Hot water can cause some color bleeding for dark or bright colors, so use warm or cold water.

Step 4: Know what to do for clothes that cannot be washed at home.

• Never wash the clothes marked as ‘Dry Clean Only’ at home, as these delicate outfit/ fabrics may lose their color, shine, texture or embellishments on washing.
• Ones marked ‘Dry Clean First Wash’ should be given to professional cleaners the first time. Subsequently, you can wash them, using detergents meant for delicate clothes and tepid/ cold water.
• Give them to professional and trusted dry cleaners for ‘petrol wash’.
• Ethnic clothes like heavily embroidered Lehengas, delicate sarees, and silk kimonos must not be washed/ dry cleaned frequently.

Step 5: Wash your clothes. 

• This step is simple.
• Close the lid or door and press start! Be sure to observe the wash time – you’ll want to dry your laundry quickly after washing it, lest it start to become stale.

Few tips in the Drying Process!

• Sunlight is a natural disinfectant, and drying outdoors is both eco-friendly and will save you money
• Hanging items to dry prevents them from shrinking. 
• If you are using an automatic dryer you will need to clean the lint filter, add a dryer sheet or two and select your drying cycle.  Select a dry cycle that is appropriate for your clothes.

Few tips in how to store your clothes!

• If you spot creases in your garments, try smoothing them out by hand. The clothes are still warm this will often be successful.
• If smoothing out by hand does not work, consider using a clothes iron.
• Neatly fold and store your clothes. When possible, try to fold along the seams of the garment.
• It is necessary to fold pants by lining up their seams and creases.�
• If a garment is not amenable to folding, consider gently rolling the garment and storing it to ensure that it does not wrinkle.
• Don’t pack stored clothes too tightly.

Care for your stored clothes!

• If you have clothes that you do not use often – particularly if they are in a closet – consider using pest deterrents like mothballs and dryer sheets to dispel moths.
• If clothes have been sitting unused for some time air them out rather than washing them again.

Now you have the guide. Get set go and make your clothes last for a long time with a bright shine!

With that being said, Dhobi G is a go-to help for anything related to laundry. You may browse many more similar tips at https://blog.dhobig.com/. Visit Dhobi G at www.dhobig.com. Make sure to check them out on Facebook as well at https://www.facebook.com/DhobiGOnline/.