How to Sort Your Laundry Properly

Sorting laundry before washing is one of the fundamentals of good fabric care. Skip it, and you risk colour runs, shrinkage, fabric damage, and suboptimal cleaning results. Take a few minutes to sort correctly, and everything comes out better. Here’s the definitive guide.

Sort by Colour First

The basic colour sorting system:

• Whites: White clothing, white linens, white underwear. These can be washed in hot water to maintain brightness. Never mix with colours — even a pale pink item can transfer colour to white fabrics.
• Lights: Pale-coloured items — light grey, cream, pastel pink or blue, light yellow. These can be washed together without risk of dark dye transfer. Warm or cold wash is appropriate.
• Darks: Dark grey, navy, black, deep green, burgundy, dark brown. Wash together in cold water to prevent fading. Dark fabrics are most prone to colour bleeding when new.
• Brights: Vivid reds, oranges, royal blues, and other bright colours should be separated from lights and washed together in cold water. New bright items should be washed separately for the first few washes until the excess dye has been washed out.

Sort by Fabric Type

After colour sorting, consider fabric type within each colour group:

• Delicates: Separate silk, lace, lingerie, and fine knitwear into a delicates load
• Heavyweights: Jeans, towels, heavy cotton — these can be washed together on a stronger cycle
• Synthetics/activewear: Polyester, nylon, and technical fabrics benefit from a separate gentle cycle

Sort by Soil Level

Very heavily soiled items — muddy sports clothes, greasy work uniforms — are better washed separately from lightly soiled everyday clothing. The heavily soiled load benefits from a more intensive cycle, and keeping it separate prevents any loosened soil from redepositing on your cleaner items.

New Items

Always wash new dark-coloured or brightly coloured items separately for the first one or two washes. New fabrics release excess dye during initial washes, and this can permanently stain other items in the same load.

Pre-Sorting for the Laundromat

Love Wash customers who pre-sort at home save significant time at the laundromat. Sorted loads in separate bags or baskets can go straight into machines on arrival — no time wasted sorting in front of machines that other customers might need. It’s the single biggest time-saver for efficient laundromat visits.