You Don’t Have to Separate Laundry (With One General Exception)
Separating white from color was once a necessity. We’ve separated the whites so they can be bleached and washed the colors in cold water to keep them from bleeding and fading. Clothes were expensive, as were washing machines and dryers, both of which were treated with care. Since laundry habits are usually passed down through family rather than school, if your grandparents shared laundry, chances are your parents did the same. But do you need to ? As it turns out, no, you don’t.
Why do people stop sorting laundry?
To be clear, according to most laundry experts, there is some benefit in the long run from continuing to pre-sort and wash separately. But we have to quantify how much benefit. There is no real threat to your clothes or cars if you wash everything together – the life of your clothes may be slightly reduced, but no more. Because most of the clothing we wear is now a by-product of fast fashion, there is less investment in each piece, and it’s not really meant to last as it once was anyway.
In addition, the natural fibers and dyes that used to be popular have long since been replaced by synthetic fibers and improved dyeing processes, resulting in clothing that is much more durable. These garments also generally hold up better in laundering processes. Advances in detergents have also focused on using less detergent, preventing colors from fading, keeping whites bright, and washing everything in cold water to save energy. As a result, washing is generally much more gentle on clothes.
Millennials seem to have figured it out, like this viral Twitter thread that resulted in many saying they stopped sharing underwear too. But there is one surprising exception to the “just put it all together” approach.
Why You Should Still Wash Your Sportswear Separately
Sportswear is probably treated with water repellents and often needs a special detergent , which I bet you don’t use because that was new to me. But it makes sense when you think about it: our sportswear is probably the toughest clothes we throw in the wash, and it’s also probably one of the most expensive items we own. Look for items with a label that says “wicking,” “breathable,” or “high-strength,” and be sure to separate these items from the rest of your laundry. And if you can, spring for a sports wash.
Some popular laundry detergents designed for active wear: