Washing Delicates Separately, Is it Necessary?

When it comes to doing laundry, the goal is to work efficiently while also getting your clothes properly clean. Nonetheless, it can be too easy for busy parents to cut corners on specific essential steps with laundry. There has been some discussion if you need to be washing delicates separately from other clothes. 

While it’s understandable that busy moms don’t read every care label with every wash load, they still need to pay attention to delicate fabrics. Especially when it comes to expensive fabrics like fine knits and silks, failing to follow care label instructions could ruin your favorite pieces of clothing. 

All things considered, taking a bit of extra time to protect valuable delicates can you save you big in the future. 

What are Delicate Fabrics? 

The term “delicates” is used to describe various fabrics that require special care when being cleaned. Because there are so many different delicate fabrics, there is no universal rule for cleaning them all. However, you still need to pay more attention to delicates than everyday materials like cotton. 

Common types of delicate fabrics include:

• Chiffon
• Silk
• Polyester synthetics
• Fine knits
• Lace
• Velvet
• Cashmere

As can be seen, delicates come in a variety of different fabrics. Even more, there is a near-endless list of clothing made from these materials. Popular types of clothing made from delicate fabrics include: 

• Lingerie 
• Dresses
• Pajamas 
• Sweaters 
• Dress shirts 
• Blazers 

While the above list of delicate clothing is by no means exhaustive, it gives you a good idea of things to look out for when doing laundry. Once you are more aware of your delicates, you can do a better job of setting them aside for special cleaning. 

Why You Should Wash Your Delicate Fabrics Separately  

At Charlie’s Soap, we understand the challenges of doing laundry for the whole family while doing additional loads for delicates. Nonetheless, we encourage our customers to wash their delicates separately from standard laundry. 

If you decide to cut corners and wash delicates on the wrong cycle, it can do permanent damage. For example, cashmere sweaters are notorious for shrinking in warm and hot water. In like fashion, putting lace pajamas in the washing machine will likely tear them apart. In even the mildest cases, delicates fade when washed on the wrong cycle. 

It’s important to remember delicate fabrics are often expensive. Whether it be a velvet blazer or silk dress, such items can cost hundreds of dollars. That being said, it doesn’t make financial sense to ruin these pieces of clothing to save a few minutes when doing the wash. 

Study the Care Label 

The best place to learn the parameters for washing delicates is by reading care labels. Once you have learned the appropriate cleaning methods for your delicates, you can get a system down where you wash similar articles of clothing together. 

Importantly, certain types of delicates such as silk should only be hand-washed. While it might be tempting to wash such fabrics in the washing machine, the best route for protecting the fabrics is to follow care label instructions. 

At Charlie’s Soap, we have also found that machine-washing certain delicates inside-out helps with longevity. By turning the most valuable part of a garment towards the inside, you protect it from the washing machine’s agitation. 

Use a Quality Laundry Detergent  

Whether you hand-wash or machine-wash your delicates, a quality laundry detergent will go a long way in getting your clothes clean. Charlie’s Soap’s Natural Liquid Laundry Detergent is a great option for washing delicate materials in cold water. 

You can use our liquid detergent for soaking tough stains on delicate materials or in conjunction with the manufacturer’s instructions on care labels. Because Charlie’s Soap doesn’t use any harsh chemicals in our Natural Laundry Detergent, it is the perfect product for cleaning sensitive fabrics. 

Contact Charlie’s Soap 

At Charlie’s Soap, we want to see our customers take good care of their expensive delicates, so they last. Feel free to Contact Us with questions.