Sustainable Laundry Tips to Make Clothes Last Longer

Did you know that the manufacture, care, and disposal of clothing uses billions of tons of energy and billions of gallons of water every year? And, sadly, about three-fifths of all clothing ends up in a landfill within one year of being made. If you’re concerned about how to be more sustainable with your clothes but are not sure how to take care of your clothes and make them last longer, you’re not alone. Your choices in what clothes you buy, how you wash and dry them, and what products you use make a difference. We’ve put together 5 sustainable laundry tips in the below video to get you started, but read on for more ways to use OxiClean™ to take care of your clothes.

How to take Care of your Clothes

By saving the clothes you love you can wear them longer and waste less. Here are our top ways to take care of your clothes:

• Re-wear clothes before washing, especially if they are stain and odor-free, or have only been worn for a few hours. Inspect them visually for stains, and yes, it’s time for the sniff test.
• Fold or hang up clothes to re-wear rather than tossing on a chair or on the floor, where they can become wrinkled, soiled, or covered in pet hair if you have pets.
• Treat stains right away. The sooner you treat, the easier it is to separate a stain from the clothing fibers. Try OxiClean™ Max Force™ Spray to pre-treat a stain before washing.
• For tough stains, pre-soak before washing. Soaking your clothes in OxiClean™ Versatile Stain Remover can help brighten whites and colors and help your detergent work better.
• Read the labels on your clothing items and follow the directions. Too many clothes and linens get ruined by improper washing and drying, winding up in landfills. You can always wash an item in a cooler temperature than recommended, but never hotter. Choose a detergent that works well in all temperatures such as OxiClean™ Liquid Laundry Detergent, Fresh Scent, which is made with 100% renewable electricity.
• Always sort your clothes by color and type. If you’ve ever turned a white shirt pink, you know the importance of keeping colors and whites separate when washing. It’s better for your clothes to wash thick heavy items like towels together, and keep the lighter items like t-shirts, lingerie, and athletic wear in a separate load.
• Use mesh laundry bags for delicates. Mesh bags help keep straps from tangling and items with hooks such as bras from snagging other items.
• Close zippers before washing to prevent them from catching on other items.
• Turn clothes inside out before washing and drying to help keep the front side from fading and pilling during the cycles. If you air-dry inside, this helps prevent fading from the sun as well.
• Don’t overload your washer with too many items. Overloaded washers increase the friction between clothes, which can lead to more microfiber shedding and pilling.
• Air-dry vs. tumble dry. Gas or electric dryers use a lot of energy and can contribute to clothing shrinking or wearing out sooner. Just look at your lint trap to see visible evidence of clothing fibers breaking down. Consider laying items flat to keep them from getting out of shape when hang drying.

Using OxiClean™ to Help Take Care of your Clothes

OxiClean™ can help you extend the life of your clothes and washable household items by:

• Helping save heavily stained clothing or other items with powerful stain removers
• Helping prevent color-fading with anti-fade technology
• Helping eliminate tough and musty odors from clothing and towels to give them a new life
• Helping prevent pilling and keeping cottons smooth with anti-pilling technology
• Helping fight dinginess and yellowing of white clothing and bedding without chlorine bleach
• Allowing you to treat stains immediately and wash when you’re ready
• Working well in cold water, which saves energy and helps protect clothing fibers.