Billions of people all over the world wake up in the morning and get dressed. Wearing clothes is not a strange concept; in fact it is an activity that nearly every individual from any part of the world takes place in daily. At the end of the day when people take off their clothing they find it is necessary to wash the clothes in order to remove any dirt or body oils that have made their way into the clothing.
Repeatedly washing the clothing in a washing machine has a drastic effect on the life line of the fabrics. Washing the clothes by hand is an easy alternative that can be practiced that will not only clean the fabrics just as good, but also have a less drastic impact on the clothing’s strength. Some individuals may have never considered washing their clothing by hand because they have a washing machine. In case of emergency, if the machine ever breaks down, it is a smart idea to know just how to wash the clothing by hand.
Washing your clothes is a relatively easy task that can be performed in your homes bathtub, sink, or even a large bucket. After filling the designated wash spot with water, add around one quarter cup of detergent to the water. If the detergent is a liquid detergent, simply pour it into the water. The movement of the fabrics will serve the purpose of mixing the detergent enough so it will not remain in one spot. If the detergent is a powder, it is recommended to dilute the detergent in the wash tub before adding the clothing. To dilute the detergent, simply pour it in and use your hand or a mixing stick to stir up the water until no detergent particles are visible. The temperature of the water depends on the recommendations of the detergent or the fabrics.
Some clothing requires cold water to clean, while some simply does not specify. If you prefer to use a warmer temperature, feel free to do so as long as there is no rule restricting warm water use. Some individuals find warm water more useful for cleaning their clothing, but extremely hot temperatures may cause minor scalding on your hands.
If you are using bleach to clean your whites, add about one quarter cup of bleach to the water and use gloves to protect your hands from the chemicals. It is very important to pre-treat heavy stains with laundry detergent or a stain removing product. When you wash the clothing, separate all of the white clothes, dark colored clothes, and light colored clothes each into their own groups. This is to ensure that no article of clothing is stained by another article of a different color.
The next step in washing your clothes is to add each garment one by one. Gently knead the clothing by hand in the water for a minute or two. Kneading of clothing is similar to the process of kneading bread. Repeat this step for each garment that needs washed. After all the clothing has been kneaded thoroughly, drain the water from the sink, bathtub, or bucket. Using a running faucet, gently place the clothing under the water and run your hands around the fabric in order to remove soap that remains.
After all of the soap has been washed out of the fabrics, gently squeeze each garment before hanging it to dry. The dry time of the clothes depends primarily on the thickness of the fabric and the temperature of the area it is drying. If you prefer to hang the clothing outside on a clothes line, this will generally be the quickest time, assuming it is a sunny day. If you decide to hang the clothing to dry inside, make sure the items are hanging over a bathtub or a bucket, as water will continue to drip out of the fabrics until they are fully dry.
Washing the clothing by hand is just as good of a cleaning process as using a machine. The process of washing the fabrics also takes less time, although the drying process can be longer. If you do not want to hang dry the clothing, feel free to place the clothing in a drying machine.
