The best Laundry

What the buying guides say

Good laundry comes down to sorting carefully, reading the care label, and treating stains before they set. Get those three habits right and most clothes last a long time.

• Sort by color first — darks, lights, and whites in separate loads — then sort again by fabric weight, because heavy items like towels take far longer to dry than thin synthetics and will over-dry the lighter pieces if mixed together.
• Pre-treat stains the moment you take the garment off. Match the treatment to the stain type: dish soap or detergent for grease, an enzyme spray for food, oxygen bleach for wine and coffee, and a builder like washing soda or borax for dirt.
• Use cold water for most loads. It is gentler on fibers, less likely to shrink or fade clothes, and still cleans adequately when clothes are not heavily soiled. Raise the temperature only for genuinely dirty items.
• Check the care label before every unfamiliar garment goes in the machine. A crossed-out water bucket means dry-clean only — ignore that and the garment is likely ruined.
• After a cycle finishes, check any stained area before it goes in the dryer. Heat sets a stain and makes it far harder to remove. Air-dry the piece if the stain is still there.

Synthesised from: Sidney Explains · Tim Dessaint · Jeeves NY