As tempting as it may be to chuck a full load of items into the washing machine and not separate them, you could pay the price for this with ruined clothes, warns expert. That’s because damage and discoloration with a reduced effectiveness of the wash may be found with certain clothing items. Cleaning experts often stress the importance of sorting your clothes prior to the wash by fabric type, colour and even soil level as it helps prevent these issues while also ensuring your prized garments are cleaned properly and will maintain their quality for many washes to come.
One such expert from Which? shared this advice further and pinpointed the main cloth types that are so delicate and even damaging to other clothes, they shouldn’t even be put inside a washing machine. In a video shared on Instagram, the consumer champion platform warned of the five clothes you should never put in a washing machine further warning how they’re notorious at ruining certain clothes and other items if thrown in the wash.
In the social media clip, the expert named the items she strongly believes should come with a note of caution and must be cleaned differently beginning with suits and ties.
Surprisingly these items are a big washing machine no-no and found themselves on the blacklist due to the risk of damage.
When placing these items in your washing machine cycle, the water, heat and agitation is renowned for shrinking further causing disintegration of the interfacing and damaging the shape of its lining.
The expert further warned how this was “regardless of whether they’re cotton or polyester”.
The next item on the list for five clothes to never put in your washing machine are not clothes but rather any type of memory foam pillows which are a definite no-go for machine washing.
Machine washing causes a lot of agitation and heat during its cycle which will then damage its foam structure, resulting in pillows far from ideal due to the breakdown and loss of support.
You’ll also face a drying nightmare if washing memory foam pillows in your washing machine as the excessive water from the cycle can also make the pillow very difficult to dry thoroughly which could even lead to mold and mildew issues.
Next on the list went to any items with embellishments as this will more than likely destroy or damage these types of clothes particularly if the embellishments have been glued on and includes anything with “lace, glitter or sequins”.
Any type of clothes which are made from fur, leather, suede, velvet, or rayon were also big machine washing no-no’s with children’s items including any cuddly toys, or any Jellycats or Beanie Babies
The expert advised to instead hand wash these items and to “always check the label” first.
“If you’re unsure how to clean something, always check the label or consult a dry cleaner”, added the expert.
“If you have a suit you want to look after, the advice is to dry-clean as infrequently as you can so it keeps its shape for longer.”
The advice also concluded a warning about “pesky detergent” which is often “left lurking in your clothes following the rinse phase of the cycle”.
“On light items, you won’t be able to see this, but if you wear a lot of dark clothes, evidence of overdosing will be obvious, with either flecks of detergent powder or translucent smears of liquid detergent visible”.