Practicing proper laundry techniques not only provide the best results, but it helps with your appliances!
- Wash your clothes in cold water using cold-water detergents whenever possible.
- Wash and dry full loads. If you are washing a small load, use the appropriate water-level setting.
- Dry towels and heavier cottons in a separate load from lighter-weight clothes.
- Don’t over-dry your clothes.
- Clean the lint screen in the dryer before and after every load to improve air circulation and prevent fire hazards.
- Periodically, use the long nozzle tip on your vacuum cleaner to remove the lint that collects below the lint screen in the lint screen slot of your clothes dryer.
- Use the cool-down cycle to allow the clothes to finish drying with the heat remaining in the dryer.
- Periodically inspect your dryer vent to ensure it is not blocked. This will save energy and may prevent a fire.
The lint screen does not always capture all of the lint produced by a load of laundry. Fine particles can sometimes pass through the screen and build up in the duct system that leads outside.
If you live in an apartment and cannot access the duct system on your own, you may have to call your landlord or maintenance contact for help. However, if you live in a house or can otherwise easily access your dryer’s air ducts, cleaning out any lint that may have accumulated there may help improve your dryer’s efficiency (and save you money). This maintenance is also important for safety: failure to clean vents and filters is the leading cause of clothes dryer fires.
Store Laundry Products Safely
- Keep laundry products out of the reach of children and pets.
- Remember to keep products in their original container with the original label intact and immediately put them away in a secure location after use.
- Children are curious and explore everything they find around a household. Take care to keep laundry products out of the reach of young children.
Pay Attention During Use for Proper Safety
- Read and follow all recommended instructions on the laundry product label prior to use. Be sure to pay particularly close attention to all ‘Caution,’ ‘Danger’ or similar statements.
- Never combine laundry detergents with ammonia or other household cleaning agents because some chemical mixtures may release irritating gases.
- Remember to clean up any spills and immediately wash your hands and any items used to dispense or measure products.
- Choose to do laundry in the absence of young children so that you can give it your full attention without distractions.
- Always close the laundry detergent container, box, bottle or pouch immediately after each use. Make it a habit to put laundry products away when you have finished using them.