Everyone wants to ensure better care for his wardrobe. Therefore, you may wash fabrics by handwashing or using washer. But, which method is perfect for clothes? Of course, washing machine is an expensive appliance. So, should you depend on it? Or, just keep faith in regular hand wash.
Does handwashing make clothes last longer? Hand washing can improve lifespan of clothes in numerous ways. Take a look-
- It is gentle on fabrics, especially delicate items like wool, silk, cashmere, and cotton.
- Protects garments from rough agitation and movement.
- More efficient than washer in removing stains.
How hand washing improves lifespan of garments
Protects clothes from rough agitations
When you put clothes in washer, it cleans garments by agitating them in warm or cold soapy water. The higher the agitation, the stronger the cleaning. However, this agitation can be pretty rough on items.
Apart from that, your washer may have drying phase at the end of many cycles. This phase can be detrimental to items if you keep them longer in washer.
Therefore, using washer can be harmful to dresses if you aren’t careful. In contrast, handwashing method never puts rough agitations on clothes. So, when you hand wash garments, they are totally safe.
Gentle on garments
Using a washer can be beneficial for you in many ways. Let’s have a look-
- It can save a lot of time.
- Washer can process a pile of clothes at the same time.
- It has suitable cycles for all garments. Just choose one and wash them.
- Using a washer can save you from physical works.
- It uses less amount of water. So, it is kind of environment friendly.
Still, your washing machine can be little harmful to delicate items. Most delicates will last longer if you hand wash them.
If you check garment care label of your wool sweater, it may suggest handwashing. In addition, your undergarments, swimsuits, and bras should be hand washed too.
By the way, how to hand wash delicates? Washing such soft items can be a little bit tricky. You must know the tricks.
- First of all, you should use either cold or warm water. Stay away from hot water as it may shrink items.
- Now, add strong detergent to water. You can easily find liquid detergent in the market at affordable prices. However, never use cheap detergent.
- For better cleaning, add some baking soda to it. Never add too much as it may leave white residue on items.
Better stain removal method
If you treat stains by using washer, it would be nothing but a wastage of time and energy. You have to toss your dress in washer and wait for the whole cycle to end.
However, it’s easy to treat stains by applying vinegar, liquid detergent, or soap. For example, you should soak clothes in vinegar and water solution to remove coffee stains.
As a result, hand washing is the most viable option for treating stains. As it removes stains without hurting items, they’ll be durable and serve you overages.
Disadvantages of washing clothes by hand
Every method has its own limitations. Hand washing items can be better for delicates and ensure an extended lifespan for garments. However, it has some cons too.
Time-consuming process
During handwashing, you have to prepare warm or hot water first. Then, you have to soak clothes in it and wait for around an hour to let detergent or baking soda work. After that, here comes the drying phase.
That’s a whole lot of work. Who prefers so many hassles in life?
Physically exhausting process
Hand washing requires a lot of physical activity. If you do a regular job, doing such physically exhausting job can be challenging during busy weeks.
Removing tough stains and spots from clothes can be tricky. Your washer can do it by running clothes in rough movements. It has separate dispensers for detergent and fabric softeners too. Use them to bring softness on clothes.
That’s why handwashing clothes seems meaningless to me. By the way, I’m a big fan of synthetic fabrics.
Not suitable for larger families
A moderate-sized washer can take care of a lot of clothes at once. Just sort them properly. According to tide.com, you should sort clothes by-
- Fabric type.
- Garment color
- Dirt levels on dress
Whereas taking care of so many clothes by handwashing is impossible. In such situations, you may have to seek professional cleaning services. Some companies offer better services, while others might ruin items applying harmful starch.
Uses more water
Efficient washing machine uses 18-25 gallons of water for a regular load. In contrast, one hand washing cycle requires only 5 to 6 gallons of water. However, this information is true when you wash only a few items.
Therefore, when you hand wash too many items, it may use more water than washer.
Hand washing vs. machine washing
Hand washing and washer both have their perks and drawbacks. If you want your clothes to last longer, you should stick with hand washing. It may keep you fit and save you from sickness.
Moreover, this method is not expensive at all. Just buy container, detergent, vinegar, and baking soda and start washing your delicates and synthetics.
