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Laundry sorting guide: How to separate laundry
Sorting and separating your laundry can go a long way toward keeping your clothes bright, colorfast and looking like new. By separating laundry by color, fabric type, soil level and care-label compatibility, you can help protect your clothes from fading, color bleeding and fabric damage.
This guide offers a quick-reference sorting chart and a five-step process to help you separate clothes for washing and get the most out of every load. Sorting your clothes can help prolong their life, streamline your weekly laundry routine and introduce more sustainable habits to your family. Use this laundry sorting guide to learn how to separate your clothing for proper washing.
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Do you need to separate laundry?
Yes, you should absolutely separate your laundry. Separate your clothes by color, fabric type, soil level and care labels to help prevent your clothing from fading or absorbing colors from other items as well as prevent mishaps like tears in delicate fabrics.
Sorting clothes chart
| Load group | What to include | Don't include |
|---|---|---|
Whites | Plain white items with no patterns, prints or embroidery | Whites with prints or embroidery |
Lights | Whites with prints, pale yellows or other pale tones | Bright or saturated colors, darks, heavily soiled items |
Brights | Reds, oranges and greens of similar saturation | Whites, lighter brights, darker brights, new items that have not been washed before |
Darks | Blacks, navies, dark purples, dark browns and charcoals | Any item prone to color transfer |
Delicates | Silk, lace, lingerie, knitwear, embellished items and items; they can be washed in a mesh bag | Denim, towels and heavy fabrics because they may stress or snag delicate fabrics |
Heavy fabrics | Denim, towels, bedding and thick cotton | Delicates, lights, brights |
Athleticwear | High-performance and moisture-wicking garments of similar colors | All other fabric types, especially delicates |
Stained or heavily soiled | Pre-treated stained items of similar color and fabric type | All other items as soil and residue may transfer |
New clothing | New items separated by color group for the first few washes | Separate from all other garments until the dye has stabilized after some washes in the new clothing |
How to sort laundry: A step-by-step guide
Sorting laundry does not have to be complicated. The five steps below walk you through how to separate laundry by care label, color, fabric type, soil level and newness to help get your clothes properly cleaned.
Always follow the instructions that the label of your garments bring. Use this guide as a general reference.
Items needed for laundry sorting
Laundry baskets
Mesh laundry bags for delicates (optional)
Pre-treatment
Detergent and other laundry materials
Step 1: Check the label
To protect your clothing, read the label of your garments. Follow the fabric’s care instructions, and if laundering a blend of clothes, follow the care label with the most conservative instructions to avoid damaging the more delicate items in your load.
Step 2: Sort by color
Most people know that sorting laundry begins by separating white clothes from dark ones. However, you can go even further and organize clothes by shades. Kids ages four and up could help sort laundry by color, so it can be a great way to get the whole family involved on laundry day.
Start by putting together a pile of clothes:
Whites – no patterns or embroidery.
Lights – Whites with prints or embroidery, pale yellow shades and other similar pale tones.
Brights – Any bright colors like red, green, light blue, orange and bright yellow. You can use this guide for tips on how to wash your color clothing.
Darks – You may consider separating purples, blues and other dark colors from brown or black fabric. This may help keep brown or black dye from darkening other colors. Use this guide on how to keep your dark clothes from fading.
Step 3: Sort laundry by fabric type
In addition to sorting laundry based on color, you should also know how to separate laundry by fabric type. This may seem like an extra step, but it can go a long way toward keeping your clothes in good shape.
When clothes are washed, they make contact with each other continuously throughout the wash cycle. Heavier fabrics are more abrasive, which can cause too much wear and tear on delicate clothes and result in tearing or other damage.
Before tossing clothes into the washing machine, double-check labels – set aside any clothes that are hand wash or dry clean only.
From there, separate clothes into heavy duty fabrics (like denim), daily wear fabrics and delicates (like washing wool).
To further protect your clothes, remove all items from pockets, secure zippers and hooks, and turn knits or clothes with embellishments inside out.
You can also wash delicate items in a bag. Below are some examples of different fabric groups:
Sheets and bedding
Comforters should be washed in a high-capacity washer, separate from sheets. For your sheets and other bedding, reference the care label for specifics, but typically, you should use the warmest water setting based on the fabric the sheets are made of.
Towels
Like with other sorting, it’s best to wash white or light towels separately from brighter colored ones to prevent any color transfer or fading. Generally, towels should be washed with hot water, and avoid fabric softener.
Coming soon from Whirlpool brand
The first washer with a Removable Delicates Basket
Whirlpool brand's Removable Delicates Basket keeps delicates safe—with gentle agitation and slower spin forces—while regular, everyday loads wash around it. Available soon on select models.
Delicates
Thin fabrics like silk should be washed based on the care tag as they may need to be hand washed or dry cleaned. If you will be using the washing machine, avoid mixing fabrics like cashmere with lace, or knitwear with poly, as they could lose their shape. Protect delicates like undergarments or stuffed animals by placing them in mesh bags before washing.
Dark jeans
Lightly soiled jeans are best washed on their own and inside out with a Delicate or Gentle cycle, and it’s best to use cold water to help avoid any shrinkage. Should you need to wash with other items, keep it to similarly colored clothing and avoid delicates.
Dark athleticwear
Since athleticwear and other high-performance garments can be prone to odor-causing bacteria, separating this type of garment from your laundry load can be a good idea. Dark athleticwear in particular benefits from being washed separately since dark dyes can transfer onto lighter fabrics and washing them with other items can accelerate color fading over time.
When it is time to wash, turn items inside out to expose the areas that accumulate the most sweat and bacteria. Use cold water and mild detergent, and consider avoiding fabric softener. This coats synthetic fibers and can trap odors over time. A Gentle or Delicate cycle is generally recommended for synthetic fabrics like spandex, polyester and nylon to help protect the integrity of the fabric. If odors persist, try pre-soaking in a mixture of cold water and baking soda before washing.
Step 4: Separate stained and heavily soiled laundry
Look over your clothes and check for stains, dirt or heavy soiling. Set aside these items and pre-treat the stains based on fabric type and type of stain.
Separate by color and fabric, then wash these clothes on a longer cycle using a water temperature and cycle appropriate to the fabric type and type of stain. (For example, don’t put a delicate cotton top through a hot, heavy duty cycle.)
Doing this helps prevent dirt or stain particles from settling onto other clothing. After the wash cycle is complete, remove your clothes and check to see if the stain is gone.
If not, repeat the process or air dry the item until you’re able to wash it again. Don’t place an item in the dryer until the stain is gone, as that can set the stain.
Whirlpool brand offers washers with their own pre-treat station, so you can soak, scrub and wash all in one spot with a built-in faucet and pretreat brush for quick, easy access to tools that help you get it all done at once.
Step 5: Separate new clothes and brightly colored laundry
If you have new clothes, wash them on their own for the first few cycles. New clothes tend to bleed dye more readily, and you don’t want that new blouse to ruin all your other ones! Make sure to separate new items by color, fabric type and other factors discussed above. Also be sure to separate any unique items, like cheesecloth, before washing to help avoid shrinkage.
Laundry sorting guide
Laundry sorting FAQs
Sorting laundry can raise a lot of questions, especially when it comes to multicolored items, care labels and newer detergent options. Here are answers to some of the most common questions about how to separate clothes for washing.
While it is not always necessary, separating clothes in the dryer can help protect delicate fabrics from heat damage and prevent lint transfer between items. Check care labels and separate delicates from heavier fabrics like towels and denim for optimal results.
Multicolored clothes are generally best grouped with items of similar saturation and tone. Wash bright multicolored items with other brights. Wash pastel multicolored items with other lights. Keep both bright and pastel multicolored items away from whites and very dark items.
Check the care label first, otherwise, wash in cold water to help prevent any dye from bleeding onto other garments in the load.
When washing a mixed load, always follow the care label with the most conservative instructions. For example, if one item calls for cold water and a Delicate cycle and another can handle warm water and a normal cycle, use cold water and the Delicate cycle for the whole load to help protect the most fragile item.
Modern detergents have improved significantly, but they cannot fully replace the need to separate laundry. Color-safe detergents can help reduce bleeding and fading, but separating whites from darks and delicates from heavy fabrics is still a good idea to help protect your clothes.
Compare laundry detergents and learn whether HE, or high-efficiency, detergent is right for your washer.
Whatever your family’s laundry needs, Whirlpool brand offers a full range of washing machines and dryers designed to help make laundry day a little easier.
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