Teach your teenager to do the laundry in 7 simple steps

Aug 18, 2020. Anyone raising teenagers knows that teaching them to do house chores regularly needs a little bit of patience. And it’s worth the effort. Don’t worry about the rolling eyes, the pout or the excuses. Just share this article with your teenage son or daughter. It’s another basic life skill they will absolutely need and appreciate, when they move out on their own.

Here’s how to do the laundry in 7 simple steps:

Step 1: Check the care label

You only have to do this once for each item of clothes and then you’ll know for next time. Check to see what is OK for a washing machine, the dryer, what needs to be handwashed or only dry-cleaned.

Step 2: Sort the clothes

Think about a favourite T-shirt – do you want the red love heart on your white T-shirt colouring the rest of the T-shirt so that it becomes a lovely but unwanted hue of pink? No? Then sorting is an essential step.

If you put dark colours with whites, your whites will start to look a little grey and your lighter coloured clothes will begin to look dull. Whites go with whites, darks with darks. What about in-between? Ideally light coloured clothes should be washed separately the first time. Then they can be washed with the whites.

Also sort clothes into delicates, jeans, bedding, cottons and synthetics. Read the label and work out what can be put together. At a Star Laundromat, you can have two washing machines going at the same time for two separate loads.

Step 3: Check the pockets

Really important! Tissues can disintegrate and mess up the whole load of washing and then you’ll be wearing speckled black tees for weeks!

Step 4: Load the washing machine

Load the sorted clothes into the washing machine. Set the right temperature after you’ve checked the label – cold, warm or hot. The detergent will automatically be added depending on the load so no need to worry about that.

Step 5: Load the dryer

Check the label to make sure the fabric can handle a dryer. Some clothing items need to be hung to air dry, or dried flat (such as knits). Bedding, towels, shirts, jeans and other cottons can normally be placed in a dryer.

Step 6: Fold immediately afterwards

This step will save you lots of time. If you leave your laundry crumpled in the basket, you’ll be running around later trying to find the iron to make it look wearable. But if you fold immediately, you’ll be able to wear it as is without an iron.  

What to do about stains?

The two golden rules about removing stains are:

1. Act immediately – treat with stain remover or soak with detergent and water and gently rub the stain to dislodge before putting it in the washing machine.
2. Don’t put in the dryer – if the stain hasn’t lifted off the clothing after you’ve washed it, putting it in the dryer will set the stain.

Read more about how to remove the 7 most common stains to save your clothes from being thrown into the discard pile!

How often should you do the laundry?

Our clothes and bedding are a haven for dust mites and bug debris. Did you know there are 16 species of fungi that live in our pillows and your doona contains on average 20,000 dust mites? Learn how often to wash your clothes to keep them clean and looking good for the long term.

And, don’t make these common laundry mistakes. Learning some laundry basics will save you time, money and frustration. These simple tips will keep you looking good in your tees and jeans whenever you head out.

Visit a Star Laundromat near you and get the washing done in a jiffy. Cashless and free WiFi.

Our laundromats have state of the art machines, are efficient and gentle on your clothes and bedding. Download the Eziwash App and you won’t even need loose change. The App manages the entire washing and payment process.

Find a Star Laundromat near you. Free WiFi, open 24x7 and plenty of parking.

Northern suburbs? Athol Park, Blair Athol, Dernancourt, Elizabeth Downs, Hampstead Gardens, Kilkenny, Munno Para, Para Vista, Ridgehaven, Salisbury North.

Southern suburbs? Aberfoyle Park, Brighton, Blackwood, Hawthorn, Morphett Vale, Plympton Park.

Eastern suburbs? Magill, Tusmore.

Check out our blog for more or our lifestyle tips and laundry tips – we update this page regularly.

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Photo by Wander Fleur on Unsplash

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