Does It Matter if You Mix Fabrics in the Washing Machine?

Collect all laundry items that need to be washed and place them into baskets. Sort the laundry ahead of time, determining what items are colorfast, non-colorfast, light, dark, delicate and heavy. Separate these into various piles in the baskets so that you have a complete idea of what you are going to wash. Read the labels on the clothes, because those will have washing instructions.

Read the instructions on the machine. Some laundry centers will have full instructions about using the facilities. Most washing machines are traditional top-loading agitator washers, so all your laundry is submerged under water. The newer high-efficiency machines operate on a tumbler system that uses very little water. These machines don’t have a central agitator as do older machines, so heavy items won’t get wrapped around them. This makes them quite safe for even the heaviest fabrics.

Divide the color-sorted clothes into sizes and weights -- sheets, towels and heavier items in one pile, and cotton, silks or soft materials in another. You don't have to wash them separately. Loading a few smaller, heavier items to a group of light shirts or socks will balance the load, resulting in better water agitating or tumbling tubs.

Fill the washer basin loosely so that it allows the clothes to move freely and enables the dirt to slough off into the water. Arrange heavier items around the agitator, and not clumped together, which can result in an imbalanced load.

Read the instructions on your box or bottle of laundry detergent to decide how to manage colors and whites. Mixing colors and whites together is more troublesome than mixing different weights of fabric. A dark pair of heavy jeans mixed with some white cotton blouses may bleed over the cotton and discolor the fabric.

Add a "color catcher" additive to absorb any color bleeding in case you have to mix things like dark pants with light shirts. Set the washer for cold-water washes so that the colors won’t run. Use detergent and fabric softener specially formulated to work in cold water for the best effect.