This guide takes you through 11 simple steps of washing your clothes properly when using a portable washing machine.
Before I joined college, my mother always did my laundry. As such, I never even knew how to sort clothes or choose the right detergent for laundry, let alone operate a portable washing machine or read laundry symbols.
You can’t imagine the pain I went through. I had to replace my clothes countless times after ruining them with too much heat, the wrong bleach, the wrong detergent, and so on.
And it was all for one simple mistake – I didn’t find someone to help me out and show me the ropes.
Well, it’s been 10 years now, and though I don’t hold a degree in laundry, I have learned a great deal. I have worked with numerous different fabrics, cleaners, bleaches, household cleaning solutions, and more.
In this post, I will show you the best method of doing laundry when using yourportable washing machine . You will learn how to sort laundry, read the symbols correctly, dose the detergent, and get the stains out efficiently and safely.
Let’s get started.
How to Do Laundry In 11 Simple Steps
Step 1: Learn the symbols
Though they might seem complex at first, laundry symbols are actually quite simple. Pictured above are examples of the common laundry symbols you should familiarize yourself with.
The reason why laundry symbols are important is that they guide you on the proper wash cycle to use, the heat setting to apply, and even how to dry and iron.
Some of the things the symbols will let you know include:
- What temperature of water to use – hot, warm or cold
- What type of bleach to use – chlorine, non-chlorine, or none at all
- Whether to tumble dry or dry flat
As the rules for laundry depend on the specific fabric you’re dealing with, it is important to check the fabric’s laundry symbols.
Go here for a complete guide on the range of laundry symbols available.
Step 2: Separate the clothes
For the best results, you will want to sort out the garments by color and fabric type.
Begin by sorting the colors.
How to sort laundry by color:
- Deep colors – these include red, brown, black, navy blue, and dark gray – put these in one pile.
- Lighter colors – these include light gray and white – put them in a separate pile.
- Note: you should put the heavily stained garments in a different pile and wash them separately.
How to sort by fabric type:
There are two types of fabrics to separate there – light ones and heavy ones. For example, in the pile containing dark colors, you should put shirts, blouses, and sheets in a different pile from towels and jeans.
That way, you will be preventing damage to the lighter fabric from the heavier ones, and you’ll also make it easy for the washer and dryer to do its work.
Pro tip – do not wash lint-attracting and lint-producing fabrics together.
Note – maybe you’re in college and you’re dealing with just a small load of clothes. In that case, you could wash different types of fabric together. But, ensure you set the machine to the lowest heat level allowed for the delicate fabrics in there. Again, be sure not to mix light and dark colors.
Step 3: Pretreat the fabric
Pretreating fabric is not always necessary. It is only required when the clothes are heavily stained. The idea is to loosen the stains and make them easier to remove during the laundry process.
There are a few ways in which you can go about pretreating clothes, but the two common ones are:
- Soaking the garment for a specific duration – often for 30 minutes
- Pouring liquid detergent on the stains and letting it sit for a certain duration – like 10 to 20 minutes
Here’s a short guide on treating various types of laundry stains:
- Coffee, berry, tea, and perspiration – pour liquid laundry detergent directly on the stains and let it sit for 5 minutes. After that, scrub the stains with a soft-bristle brush. Give it another 5 minutes then wash.
- Mud, diary, and blood – add an enzymatic laundry cleaner into a bucket of water. Soak the clothes in the solution for 30 minutes before laundering.
- Butter and oil/grease – rub some dish detergent onto the stains. Then, apply some white vinegar to the stains and give it 10 minutes to work. From there, wash the stains in a solution of baking soda and water. Wash.
That is just a small guide on some of the stains you may encounter. Here is a comprehensive guide on treating laundry stains.
Step 4: Pick the right detergent for your needs
This is the part I struggled with the most when I first got to college. There were all sorts of detergents – liquid, powdered, single dose, etc.
One thing to think about when choosing detergent is the sort of clothes you’re washing – are they heavily soiled? Are they greasy or oily? Those are some of the questions to ask.
Liquid detergents – these are most appropriate for pretreating oily/greasy stains. There are two main problems with these – they’re typically more expensive, and they’re harder to dose. You might find yourself overdosing, which will increase the laundry expenses and leave you dealing with residues.
Powdered detergents – many people like them because they’re cheaper. If you’re dealing with mud stains, you’ll find powdered detergents to be very effective. The issue with these is that they don’t dissolve very well, especially when using cold water. Consider adding a little hot water to help them dissolve.
Single-dose packs – one of the common college laundry problems is that you have to share a laundry room. It’s often inconvenient for college students especially when it comes to dosing detergents. One way to get around the issue of dosing is to use single-dose packs.
Note, however, that single-dose packs are the most expensive detergent choice. If your load is large or very dirty, you might need several packs, which adds to the expense.
Also: Know how much detergent to use
Another challenging step for beginners is dosing.
Realize that the correct amount of detergent will depend on the size and dirt level of your load. Other factors to take into consideration are – the type of detergent you’re using and the hardness of the water.
Luckily, many detergent packages have an instructions section that gives recommendations on dosing.
For liquids detergents, use caps to dose, and for powders, use scoops. That way, you’ll avoid wastage as well as the residue that comes with overdosing.
Step 5: Double-check everything
Before loading the washer, you want to do one final check to ensure there are no mistakes.
Check if the clothes have stains that need pre-treatment. You could quickly do a spot treatment for such stains. That means spraying some laundry detergent, enzymatic cleaner, vinegar, or any other appropriate cleaning solution and scrubbing gently with a brush.
Apart from that, you might want to confirm that there are no items/objects in the pockets of the garments you’re washing – things like tissue paper, money, jewelry, and more.
You should also ensure all the zippers are closed to prevent them from scratching the fabric.
Step 6: Know how to load your portable washing machine properly
Mastering how to load your washer helps you save not only time but also energy. Look at the machine’s washer drum and observe the size of your load. Some washers even come with recommendations of the weight of load you can put in the drum – like 5 pounds, 12 pounds, and so on – it is called the washing capacity.
When you put your clothes in the drum, enough space should be left for the clothes to twirl around. Note that overloading might cause the machine to jam, which slows you down and presents the risk of damage to the machine.
One trick to know whether you have overloaded the washer is to place your hand between the drum’s wall and the clothes. If it doesn’t fit, then you have overloaded the drum.
Step 7: Load the machine
Load the washer by putting the clothes in the drum one at a time. Use the hand technique I told you about earlier to ensure there is no overloading. You got to give the laundry adequate space to move and spin.
When loading, be sure to turn knitted and textured fabrics inside out. This will prevent scratching together and the notorious “washed out” appearance.
The wash cycle refers to the rate/speed of agitation. The higher the speed, the more the cleaning power.
The following table should guide you.
| Cycle name | Speed and purpose | Appropriate fabric |
| Regular/normal | Uses a moderate speed in the agitation to remove dirt and stains. This is the commonly used cycle as it is appropriate for moderately dirty clothes. | Ideal for normal clothes including shirts, socks, towels, inner wear, and whites. |
| Heavy | Uses the highest speeds in the agitation. It’s ideal for heavily stained garments and heavy clothes such as jeans. It’s recommended you wash only the colorfast items in this cycle as it accelerates the fading process. | Best for heavy towels, blankets, duvets, carpets, coats, etc. |
| Delicate/light | Uses the lowest speeds to clean clothes. Ideal for baby wear and fragile clothes. Also good for fabrics that are not colorfast. | Ideal for baby clothes, expensive garments, light shirts, sheets, etc. Jeans should be washed in the delicate cycle to prevent shrinking and fading. |
Step 8: Select the temperature and wash cycle
Before you select the cycle or the temperature, you ought to have a look at the label of the clothes. What temperature is appropriate?
For starters, the dirtier the clothes, the higher the temperature needed. Even then, the temperature you choose should be within the confines of the range specified for the fabric.
The table below gives recommendations for the temperature to set.
| Temperature setting | Purpose | Appropriate fabric |
| Hot | Ideal for removing the toughest stains. It ensures garments receive a deep clean. |
Best for the dirtiest clothes, baby clothes (partly for the disinfecting benefit), socks, whites, and cotton materials.
|
| Warm | Great when you want preserve colors and avoid the risk of shrinking. Doesn’t offer as much cleaning power as the hot setting. | Ideal for towels, synthetics, and most of the everyday fabrics like pants and shirts. |
| Cold | Best for saving power. It’s also the most gentle on clothes, so it’s ideal for delicate fabrics. |
Great for fabrics that are not colorfast, dark and bright colors, fabrics that risk shrinking, and lightly soiled garments.
|
Once you have set everything, you can go ahead and press “Start” or the appropriate key on your washer to get the laundry process rolling.
Step 9: Remove the clothes
Once the wash cycle, you may or may not hear an alarm, depending on the machine you’re using. I recommend removing the wet clothes from the wash drum immediately. Why? That will ease the wrinkles and prevent the growth of mildew and the smell that comes with it.
Now, it is time to dry the clothes. There are two choices – you can hang the clothes on the clothes lines to air dry, or you can put them in the dryer first if you need to speed up the process.
Hanging laundry to dry saves power, so you might find it more convenient if you’re on a budget.
Step 10: Drying laundry with the dryer
I don’t know if you’re going to use the same machine or a separate one to dry your clothes. I find it more convenient for college students to use a portable washing machine with a washer and dryer unit because that saves money.
Well, the process is largely the same no matter what dryer you use.
When putting the laundry in the dryer, you want to first sort it out into two groups – the heavy fabrics and the light ones. That way, you will reduce the rate of shrinking and protect your clothes better.
Step 11: Store the clothes
Once the clothes are dry, it is now time to store them. Proper storage is crucial if you want to keep your clothes safe from dirt and mildew.
You can hang or fold them – whatever works for you. You might also prefer ironing them first.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Washing Clothes (Tips and Tricks)
How do I keep my whites whitest?
Maybe your white clothes are starting to go grey. No matter how many times you’ve washed them, items like white socks and t-shirts are looking dirty. Here are a few ways in which you can make the whites remain white:
- Add 6 ounces of baking soda to a gallon of water in a bucket and soak the clothes in the solution for 5 hours.
- Prepare some hot water and dissolve 4 aspirin tablets in there. Soak the clothes in the water for 3 hours.
- Rinse the clothes as usual but add 8 ounces of vinegar in the water beforehand.
That should restore the white.
How do I make my black clothes blacker?
Faded blacks can make your clothes seem like they were bought in the 1970s. Use these tips to make your black clothes blacker and your darks darker:
Making blacks blacker – add 3 cups of brewed tea or coffee to the water in the rinse cycle.
Making darks like plum and navy blue darker – add a cup of ordinary salt to the water in the rinse cycle.
Making denim/jeans darker – soak them in water containing a cup or two of salt. Alternatively, soak in a solution of equal parts of white vinegar and water. Then, turn the clothes inside-out and launder in the cold setting.
What can I do to get rid of odors in clothes?
Smells on clothes come in a variety. Maybe you just bought the clothes and they have that annoying “new” odor. Or, you’re a gym person and your outfits are packed with sweat odor. This fix should work:
- Add a cup of baking soda to 2 gallons of water and soak the affected clothes in the solution for 2 to 3 hours.
- Then, wash and rinse the clothes as usual in your portable washing machine, adding half a cup of white vinegar in the rinse cycle.
How do I remove yellow stains from clothes?
Yellow stains tend to affect most white clothes with time. The secret to removing these stains lies in baking soda and salt. Just add half a cup of baking soda and half a cup of salt to a gallon of water in a cooking pot and soak the clothes in it. Then, boil the items for an hour.
How to I make my shirt collars stiff and restore body to wrinkled clothes?
The usual way is to purchase starch from the store and spray it on the clothes while ironing. But you don’t have to purchase starch. You can make your own at home:
Add 3 tablespoons of cornstarch into a sealable container and pout 2 cups of water in there. Seal the container and shake the mix thoroughly.
Transfer the solution to a spray can and use it when ironing the clothes.
Another alternative is milk. Simply make a solution of powered milk (using water) and add that to the rinse cycle. That will restore shape.
Is there a quick way of cleaning a Portable washing machine?
Looking to clean and disinfect your portable washing machine? You don’t need to buy any products. Listerine can do the trick. Just grab some of the listerine (mouth wash) from your bathroom and add a cup of it (or half a cup) to your washing machine. Then, put a small towel in there and run a wash cycle.
My cotton curtains are faded. Is there a way I can brighten them?
Over time, your cotton curtains and rugs may fade. But you can reverse the situation with salt. Just add half a cup of salt to the water containing detergent before laundering by hand or using your portable washing machine.
The dryer is bumping up my electricity bill. Is there another way of drying my clothes?
Yes, of course. You can simply air-dry your clothes. Look for a nice open space outdoors. Tie a cord (anything tough and clean) so that it runs from one end to the other end. You can use poles or anything else that elevates the cord. Hang the clothes on the line, using pegs to secure them.
Be sure to turn the clothes inside out to prevent them from fading.
Are Stuffed-up dryer vents dangerous?
Yes. If left unattended, they can cause a fire. That is why it is essential to examine the vents regularly. This is done from the outside as that’s where the vents open.
Just lift up the flaps and pull out the dirt using a firm stick. In the event that there’s wildlife inhabiting the space, consider calling the local animal control.
Final Word
As we come to the end, I have just one more piece of advice – don’t let laundry accumulate until there’s a mountain of clothes to deal with. Laundry will be a lot less daunting if you do it often, so that you have just a few garments to deal with each time.
Going to the laundry room or laundromat or taking your clothes to the dry cleaners can be inconvenient and expensive. If you think washing your own clothes from the comfort of your home would be much better, but can’t find the right portable washing machine, go through my list of the best compact washers and dryers here…