Don't throw your pizza-stained jeans in the hamper for 10 days and expect them to wash clean in the load of laundry. Gently blot the stain with cool water to remove any excess stain-causing material before saturating the affected area with pre-laundry stain treatment. Treating the stain immediately will buy you a few days in the hamper without permanent damage. For maximum stain removal, wash the item as soon as possible after treating the fabric.
Resist the urge to save $1.75 by washing your dark and light colored clothing together. Washing your whites with colors will quickly turn your crisp, white shirt into a dingy gray or yellow, even if you use cold water. Keep all your colors bright by washing whites in hot water, light colors in warm water and dark colors in cool water.
Familiarize yourself with the garment care labels inside your clothing; they exist for a reason. Avoid doing 18 different loads of laundry by separating each type of clothing into a brightly colored bag. Store delicate items, for example, in a blue bag and when you have a full bag, wash the entire load using the gentle cycle and cool water. Dry clean items with embellishments like sequins, feathers or beads.
Remove delicate items and sweaters after 10 minutes of drying on the delicate setting. Lay them flat over a drying rack in your room to prevent pilling, shrinking and stretching. Hanging sweaters and knits by the hanger can stretch the clothing shape. Dry towels, workout clothing and pajamas on permanent press. Prevent static cling by adding one or two sheets of fabric softener on top of the clothing before staring the drying cycle.