Short answer: sort into five piles, fill the drum three quarters full, drop the pod into the empty drum before the clothes, wash cold on a normal cycle, and move the load to the dryer within the hour. Order of operations matters more than which detergent you buy. Get the sequence right and an ordinary wash outperforms an expensive one done badly.
The five-minute sort
Most people sort by colour alone. Colour is the third most important variable, behind fibre and soil level.
| Pile | What goes in | How to wash it |
|---|---|---|
| Whites and pale cotton | Shirts, t-shirts, socks, underwear | 40 °C, normal cycle, 1 pod |
| Colours and darks | Everyday cotton, denim, printed cotton | Cold, normal cycle, inside out |
| Delicates | Anything with two bars on the label, knitwear, silk, lingerie | Cold, delicate cycle, mesh bag, half drum |
| Towels and bedding | Towels, sheets, pillowcases | 40 °C, high spin, 2 pods, no softener |
| Heavily soiled | Gym kit, work clothes, mud | Cold, longer cycle, 2 pods, same day |
Five piles is the practical maximum for a household. If one pile never fills in a week, fold it into the nearest neighbour rather than running a half-empty machine.
Why fibre beats colour
Modern dyes are fixed. Outside the first two or three washes of something deep red or indigo, dye transfer is rare. What is not rare is a wool jumper destroyed by a 1,400 rpm spin, or a silk blouse creased permanently by a towel load.
So read the bars under the wash tub before you read the colour. No bar goes in a normal load, one bar in permanent press, two bars in a mesh bag on the delicate cycle. The whole symbol system takes two minutes to learn and is set out in laundry symbols explained; the fibre-by-fibre method is in how to wash wool, cashmere, silk and linen.
How full is full
Three quarters. Lay your hand flat on top of the dry load; it should slide in to the wrist without pressing. That gap is where the cleaning happens, because detergent needs water and movement to lift soil and carry it away.
An overloaded drum does four things at once: it redeposits the soil it just lifted, it leaves undissolved detergent marks, it rubs fibres together until they pill, and it comes out barely damp in the wrong places so the dryer has to run twice. A half-empty drum is only wasteful. A packed one is destructive.
Pod first, clothes second
- Drop the pod into the back of the empty drum.
- Add the clothes on top, loosely, to three quarters.
- Close the door and start. No dispenser drawer, no measuring.
One pod cleans a regular load. Use two for a full drum, bedding, heavy soiling, or any household on hard water, which is most of them. Water hardness changes the dose more than load size does, and the test takes a minute: see the hard water guide. Never cut a pod to split a dose; the film is designed to dissolve whole, and the full method is in how to use laundry pods.
Temperature, in one table
| Setting | Use it for | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Cold, 20 °C | Everything by default | Enzymes work cold, colours hold, fragrance lasts |
| Warm, 40 °C | Towels, bedding, whites that have dulled | Clears body oil without fading |
| Hot, 60 °C and above | Illness, nappies, stripping residue | Sanitises, but sets protein stains and shortens fabric life |
Cold is the default because heat is what costs you: colour, elastane, shape and scent all go first. The evidence for washing cold without losing cleaning power is in does cold water actually clean clothes.
The hour rule
A wet load left in the drum starts to smell within about an hour in a warm room. Bacteria do not need long, and once that sour note is in the fibre the only fix is a rewash. Set a timer if you need to. If you have already lost a load to it, the diagnosis is in why do my clothes still smell after washing.
Drying
- Low heat, always. High heat shrinks cotton, kills elastane and burns the top notes off a fragrance before you fold.
- Take it out slightly warm. Shake each piece, hang or fold immediately, and most creases fall out without an iron.
- Add a dryer sheet for softness, static control and a second layer of fragrance.
- Air-dry this list: wool, cashmere, silk, viscose, anything with elastane you care about, bras, and swimwear.
- Never dry a stain. Heat sets whatever the wash left behind. Check, then dry.
How often to wash what
| Item | Wash after |
|---|---|
| Underwear, socks, gym kit | Every wear, same day for gym kit |
| T-shirts and anything next to skin | Every wear |
| Shirts and blouses | 1 to 2 wears |
| Bras | 2 to 3 wears |
| Jeans and trousers | 4 to 10 wears |
| Jumpers and knitwear | 3 to 5 wears, air in between |
| Pyjamas | 3 to 4 wears |
| Towels | 3 to 4 uses |
| Sheets | Weekly, fortnightly at the outside |
| Coats and outerwear | Once or twice a season |
The five mistakes that cost clothes their life
- Overloading. The single most common cause of grey whites, pilling and detergent marks.
- Washing hot by habit. Nothing in an ordinary week needs 60 °C.
- Fabric softener on towels and activewear. It coats the fibre, kills absorbency and seals odour in.
- The quick cycle on a full drum. Twenty minutes is not enough time for a cold wash to work.
- Drying before checking. One pass through a hot dryer makes a surviving stain permanent.
A weekly rhythm
| Household | Loads per week | Suggested rhythm |
|---|---|---|
| One person | 2 to 3 | One colours, one whites or towels, bedding fortnightly |
| Couple | 3 to 5 | Two colours, one whites, one bedding, one towels |
| Family of four | 7 to 10 | One load most days, bedding on a fixed day |
Fixing laundry to a day or two, rather than doing it whenever the basket overflows, is what keeps loads the right size. And once a month, run the machine empty and hot: the drum is the one part of this system that cleans nothing if nobody cleans it, as covered in how to clean a washing machine.
Frequently asked questions
How do you do laundry step by step?
Sort into whites, colours, delicates, towels and bedding, and heavily soiled. Put a pod in the empty drum, add clothes to three quarters full, wash cold on a normal cycle, move the load to the dryer within an hour, dry on low and fold while slightly warm.
How should you sort laundry?
By fibre first, soil level second and colour third. Read the bars under the wash tub on the label: no bar is a normal load, one bar is permanent press, two bars go in a mesh bag on delicate. Agitation ruins more garments each year than dye transfer does.
How full should a washing machine be?
Three quarters. Your flat hand should slide into the dry load up to the wrist without pressing. Overloading redeposits soil, leaves detergent marks and causes pilling; underloading just wastes water.
Do you put detergent in before or after the clothes?
Before. A pod goes into the back of the empty drum so it meets water immediately, then clothes go on top. Putting it in the dispenser drawer or on top of a packed load is the main reason pods fail to dissolve.
What temperature should I wash clothes at?
Cold, around 20 degrees Celsius, for almost everything, provided the detergent contains enzymes. Use 40 degrees for towels, bedding and dulled whites, and reserve 60 degrees or more for sanitising after illness or stripping residue.
How often should you wash clothes?
Every wear for underwear, socks, gym kit and anything next to skin. One to two wears for shirts, two to three for bras, four to ten for jeans, three to five for knitwear with airing in between, three to four uses for towels and weekly for sheets.
Can you wash towels with clothes?
You can, but you should not. Towels need a hotter wash, a higher spin and a longer dry than most clothing, they shed lint onto everything else, and their weight batters lighter garments in the drum.
