college is the most significant chapter of a student’s life. Finally, you got to be more independent from your parents so hanging out with friends late at night is not a problem. It is quite a freedom, right?
But before you get all excited, please realize that college is much more complicated than you assume. You think you’re ready to face college until you experience its downsides, especially being alone in the dorm.
One downside of being in a dorm is your laundry. It is a big college life adjustment because most incoming colleges like you often rely on their parents or nannies to do their laundry. It is still acceptable that you don’t have the technical know-how to hand wash your laundry, but what makes it worse is when you can’t even operate your washing machine properly and don’t know regular laundry rates. But you will never be in trouble because, in this article, we will tell you how to cheat your way in laundry during college.
Why Do College Students Need to have a Laundry Cheat Sheet?
Laundry is an intricate task, especially for modern college students, where life before college (outside academics) is like a cakewalk. What seems like an easy laundry task for adults may be a very tricky one because there are so many options and the cycles are not repetitive. A laundry cheat sheet like this article will eradicate all laundry confusion and guide them to the proper step.
Make Sure to Overpack
This might be an unorthodox tip, but trust me, it is helpful when you are in a dorm or school residence. During your college days, there will always be a time that you won’t be able to do your laundry due to reason. Such as being drunk more often, financial issues, being too busy whether in studies or extracurricular activities, or you just simply forgot it. So having extra clothes saves you from the trouble of running out of clothes to wear.
Hand Wash Your Clothes Everyday
This tip is only applicable if you have the technical know-how of proper laundry hand washing and lots of extra time. In that way, your laundry time will be divided, and you will save plenty of money.
Well, if you want to learn how to hand wash your garments, the step-by-step process below.
- Choose an effective detergent. Common pointers in choosing detergents are:
- Choose a non-chemical or mild detergent.
- Choose a detergent with multiple surfactants.
- Always choose a color-safe laundry detergent.
- Segregate white clothes from colored clothes. Colored clothes can stain your white clothes during laundry. It is highly recommended to wash your light-colored garments first.
- Fill your tub with water. The ideal water temperature for laundry is 32 degrees celsius.
- Pre-wash your clothes, whether colored or white clothes. This step is a stain treatment before the actual laundry. You can submerge your garments and soak them in water for 30-40 minutes.
- Actual hand washing. Use both your hands to create friction between the different parts of your garment. The friction I mentioned earlier will clean the stains in your clothes. Your dominant hand is in motion, while your off-hand will act as a base. To create friction, just flick your clothes while in contact with your static off-hand. Repeat the process until there is no visible stain on your clothes.
- Always double rinse. When you rinse, always put your clothes up and down to wash away all the detergent remaining. Sniff your clothes, and if you still can smell detergent, then change the water and rinse again. This is also the step where you can apply fabric softener.
Be Knowledgeable about the Washing Machine
You might just dump your garments directly in the washing machine, and that’s it. Nope! Do not do that. A washing machine is easy to use, and here are a few pointers:
- Know the washing machine type.
- Never wash your clothes too short or too long.
- Pre-wash your clothes.
- Choose mild detergent
- Dose correctly. Too much or too little detergent might damage your clothes permanently.
- Select the optimal spin cycle.
- Segregate your clothes.
Learn DIY Stain Removal
Stains can be stubborn. Your detergent cannot remove some stains, so here’s a DIY stain removal method:
- Beverages. Soak it in vinegar, then rinse with cold water
- Mud and dry soil. Soak in warm water and detergent solution.
- Ink. Rub in dishwashing soap.
- Blood. Soak and rinse with cold water
Always Follow Garment Labels
This is the most essential tip but the most bypassed one. When the tag of your garments say “Do not iron.”, “Hand wash only.”, “Dry clean only.”, et cetera you must always follow that. Garment labels are absolute, and they can damage your clothes permanently if not followed. Also, it is highly advisable to know the basic laundry garment label symbols. It can also be found on the tag of your clothes. One crucial piece of information that garment symbols indicate is the optimal laundry water temperature.
Avail Laundry Service
If your schedule is hectic and you don’t know how to hand wash, and if you have extra bucks, contact the nearest commercial laundry shop and avail laundry pickup and delivery services for convenience.
Laundry services are known to bring satisfaction with their services. If you are satisfied with their output, then stick to that laundry shop, and this process will be routine, and it will never feel like a chore. It is so convenient; imagine the time and effort that you will save. Your laundry will be picked up and delivered right to your doorstep.
College is expensive but is also a training ground for adulthood. That’s why your parents will always support you in your college in every aspect. Consequently, it is your responsibility to help them in the simplest way possible. Handling your laundry is one of the many ways you can help your parents because laundry is analogous to being independent. Now that you learned a lot of college laundry, you are now ready to face college with a straight face.
Read More: 5 features your washing machine should have in 2020
