To all students who are studying away from home, and living independently for the first time. We know the thought of cooking, and cleaning after yourself can be daunting enough, then there’s laundry you have to deal with too?! 

For most of you, you’ve probably never done laundry before, but that’s okay! Because your student accommodations’ laundry room should have instructions on how to use the washing machine and dryer. This however, will not be enough to guide you in your routine.

So, we’ve come up with the best, basic laundry survival guide for those of you who are trying to prove that you can be independent.

Student Laundry Survival Guide

•  Separate whites from colours: To clean clothes properly, you need to separate them by colour in terms of white clothes, dark clothes and/or colours. If you don’t, you risk the colour of your white clothes turning grey. The colours of the fabrics may ‘bleed’ and transfer onto other fabrics, that’s why its best to divide your clothes by colour and not throw in a mixture of clothes all at once.

 

• Check the label: The best way to know the right temperature or wash cycle to do laundry in is on the care label. So read it, and you should be well on your way to easy laundry. It will also tell you instructions about ironing and tumble drying, and other things you won’t need to worry about just yet.

 

• Use the right detergent and wash at the right temperature: Yes, there are so many detergents and washing options on a laundry machine, that’s why we already wrote guides on choosing the right laundry detergent and washing at the right temperature. In summary, your clothes can be washed at a low temperature, best with liquid and capsule detergents, but anything heavily stained/soiled will have to be cleaned thoroughly at a warm temperature, best with powder.

 

• Know the dryer: The dryer will not always be your friend, it will take some time to understand. Just know that not everything can go into the dryer, for some clothes may cause shrinkage (read the label). When using the dryer, don’t overload the machine so your clothes can dry properly.

 

• Don’t be lazy: I say this only because I’ve experienced someone not doing their laundry until they have no more clothes left to use, only leaving a MASSIVE pile of inconvenience to deal with. So do your laundry often so you have more time for your ‘studies’.

It’s okay if you need a little bit of help doing the laundry. There are professionals like Laundryheap who can collect your items at your accommodation, and will have them cleaned and delivered back to you within 24 hours. 

If you found this post useful, share it with your friends who may be struggling with laundry too.