Doing your laundry is probably one of the most procrastinated chore in day to day life.
You may be tempted to throw all that dirty laundry together at once, but doing so will almost always have undesirable consequences, especially if you have pristine white clothes mixed in with colored ones.
White clothes should never be mixed with colored ones, let alone black clothes. Even so, your unsuspecting lightly colored clothes can also leak colors and stain your whites, or giving them a lifeless, gray appearance.
So while you may be tempted to mix in your blacks with your whites, it is not at all a great idea as you might end up having a lot of mess and work to do in keeping your whites pristine.
So without further ado, let us look in detail why blacks and whites are never ever meant to be together.
What Else Should Be Kept In Mind When Washing Clothes?
Apart from knowing the general rule of not mixing your whites with blacks, there are also a few other points that you need to keep in mind.
So while color is important, clothing should be cleaned in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations and the fabric type, thickness, delicateness, and most significantly, kind.
However, certain manufacturers do claim that their whites can be washed with black.
Black clothes do tend to bleed especially when they are new. Plus, manufacturers would never claim responsibility if disaster strikes you anyways!
Furthermore, denser textiles should only be coupled with other denser fabrics of the same hue or those with non-bleeding colors while washing garments.
When light and dense fabrics are combined, the lighter materials will deteriorate more quickly.
Similarly, clothes with delicate items such as buttons, flowers, or other patterns should also be washed separately.
And as far as jeans are concerned, the same no white and black rule applies, as dark or black jeans do tend to bleed and hence should be washed separately.
When Can They Be Washed Together?
Now you may be wondering what are the possible scenarios in which this rule can be broken.
Well simply put, this rule shouldn’t be broken particularly if the black fabric is really new and likely to bleed.
But once they have been washed a couple of times, you may mix it with whites.
However, even in this scenario we advise to first try washing with a white handkerchief and then move one with a white cloth.
Also keep in mind to use cold water for the washing, as hot water fails miserably to stop color bleeding.
Sometimes, in very rare cases, certain white clothes do not get stained when accidentally washed with black clothes.
If you have found your whites to do so, you may as well wash them together and save water while you are at it.
Is It Safe To Dry Black And White Clothes In The Dryer Together?
Black and white clothing should not be dried in the same dryer either. Since the clothing is still wet, bleeding may still happen.
This requires tumbling, which will cause the two articles of clothing, fabrics, or whatever they are to come into touch. The best course of action would be to wash, spin, or dry them individually after each other.
What Color Can I Wash With White?
As mentioned above, whites are supposed to be washed with whites only.
But if you cannot do so due to any reason, you can wash them with pastel colored clothes that you are certain won’t bleed.
Also do not forget to wash using cold water to minimize bleeding as much as possible.
But always stay away from dark colors and especially jeans even if they are way too old as they always tend to bleed a little.
How To Properly Wash White Clothes With A Little Color?
Treating whites clothes with a hint of color is simple: treat them like whites.
This implies that since they are unlikely to bleed, you should wash them all at once with your other whites.
The reason for this is that it is highly unlikely manufacturers would add in portions of colors that would bleed.
Moreover, wash them separately from darker, especially black coloured clothes, and other garments that tend to bleed.
You can wash them with pastel or lighter coloured clothes provided that the water is cold and you are sure they wont bleed.
Final Word on Washing White and Black Clothes Together
While you may feel like separating whites from blacks and other colors is a tedious job, trust us when we say cleaning stains off a white cloth is a thousand times more.
So when the next laundry day arrives, make sure to separate your whites from blacks as it is all worth the extra effort and time!
