I was doing my laundry yesterday and was turning my clothes inside out before I put them into the washing machine, as I do, when this thought struck me. Do you do the same thing? Turn your clothes inside out when doing laundry?
I’d always helped my late grandma and my Mom with the laundry (it was one of my chores) and it had been drummed into me that I had to always turn my clothes inside out before putting them in the wash, and when hanging them out to air dry. The reason I was given, when my 8 year old inquisitive self asked, was so that your clothes stay looking new and better for longer.
It sort of makes sense.
When you turn your laundry inside out, when the clothes rub against each other, it is the inside that will come in contact so whatever prints, ribbons, buttons etc on the front will not snag nor come loose, thus preserving the life of your clothes.
For denim and dark coloured clothes in particular, it will fade less especially if you dry it in the sun. But then I was also taught to not dry my clothes directly under the sun so they do not fade so quickly 🙂
I have seen evidence of how well my Mom’s clothes remain despite the many launderings. She does tend to go for quality so perhaps that plays a part too but she also takes care of how she does her laundry (handwash means handwash not put in the machine on delicate cycle, as I do 😛 ) and her clothes go a very long way. I’d like mine to be that way too 🙂
So, do you find yourself doing the same thing? Do you turn your clothes inside out when doing the laundry? 🙂
Paris B
Yep, I do this to for the same reasons you did. The clothes also feels cleaner that way since I feel that the dirt/grime on the inside will be washed off better that way.
Ah I never thought of it that way! But it does make sense too since that’s the part that’s in contact with our skin and all the associated sweat and grime 😉
Yes, I do, and we’ve got same reasoning too! 😀
Yay! Longer lasting clothes FTW! 😀
No I don’t do it your way because I’m very clumsy and always have spills or mess ups on the outside of my clothes. However, I might just have to give your way a try! Just don’t think I could do my socks your way because my socks are always dirty on the outside from playing sports.
That’s an interesting though – do you think it makes a difference which way up your clothes are when it comes to washing off grime? I toss all my clothes into my washing machine and they seem to come out clean whichever way up I put them in. The real reason I turn my clothes inside out is only so they’d look new longer 😉 Interesting thought though 🙂
yeah,same!!
hurrah!
I’d do that too because of the way I take out my clothes. Haha. I remove my clothes n it’ll automatically be turned inside out, if u know wat I mean 🙂 I always make sure that my pants were turned inside out. Nvr had a particular reason. Now that u mentioned it, it made sense. Hahaha.
Haha yes I get what you mean exactly. I think most of us will end up with clothes inside out anyway when we remove them right? Sometimes if its a delicate piece of clothing I do take extra care to lift it off, but otherwise, its all already inside out 😀
Yes I do turn my clothes inside out when washing and drying. Another tip is to fold down the collar of polo t shirts to prevent the colar from fading especially when drying in the sun. There is nothing uglier than a nice black polo t and a faded almost brown collar.
That’s a good point too. It only works to turn the collar down if your T-shirt is inside out. If T-shirts are hung right way out (as some people do) then the collar should be turned up 😉 But its also best not to dry them in direct sunlight. Clothes fade so much faster!
So is it better to tumble dry my clothes inside out, as well or is there no difference or benefits to the clothes, when tumble drying?
I do the same thing…For certain clothings. Clothes that I wore at home I don’t even bother to turn them. Haha XD
Oh ya me too 😛 The older they are the less bothered I am with them 😛
I have them upside down too. But like Mintymoo, if I have a stain on certain pieces, then I’d leave those right side up. I guess I feel like it would get the stain off better after I’ve applied one of those Kiwi Spray and Wash thingies. 🙂
Upside down? Is there a difference? Now I’m curious! 😀
I do the same too so that my jeans look and last better but get reprimanded by my sister and mum for doing so. They claim it’s unhygenie coz’ when leaving out to dry, germs and dirt from passing by birds etc will be stuck to the inside of the clothes which are turned out.
Hmm… that’s a thought indeed. Won’t stop me though since I don’t have a bird problem 😉
I also asked the same question as a child and too got the same answer! 🙂
Teehee… inquisitive kids we were! 😉
I don’t turn all my clothes inside out, such as socks, underwear and tops with no prints. I tend to handwash a lot of fragile items, and with the machine, I usually set it at the delicate/handwash cycle 🙂
I’m so lazy, I just toss things into a net bag and into the washing machine on delicate cycle. I know I should hand wash some items but it just never happens 🙁
yes I do that, also was taught that wisdom by my mum, and on some clothes in the instruction of how to wash them you are told to turn them inside out, especially jeans. just makes sense to me. but i know a lot of people don’t even know they need to zip all the zippers up when doing the wash and then complain their zipper got ruined.
Yeah most instructions on jeans tell you to turn them inside out so they don’t fade. Thanks for the tip about the zipper. I am guilty of that too when I don’t remember but its good to zip up everything so nothing goes out of shape or get spoilt.
I’m usually too lazy too, and unfortunately a few of my shirts took the toll (faded collars, etc). When my mother in law was staying with us, she was horrified to find that I did not turn the clothes inside out. Man did I hear an earful then 😛
I find if I don’t hang clothes in direct sun, they don’t fade as quickly but in many cases, the collar is always the first to go. I never quite understood why.
i turn my clothes inside out, reason being the inside is more dirty than the outside, since we sweat and what not
i dry them inside out, ’cause mom said the color won’t fade as fast. i guess mom’s are all the same 😛
Funny. I never thought about the inside being dirtier than the outside thing that a few of you have raised. Definitely food for thought! 😀 And yes, Moms are all about extending life of clothes… so they don’t have to keep buying for naughty kids who wear them out quickly hehe
i think there’s no one-for-all solution, some need a inside-out, while some can’t!
oh dear! tumble drying is bad too? didn’t quite know about that. i only know that washing machine, regardless you turn them inside out or not, they always make the clothes spoil faster than normal, since it tugs and pull. then i better start handwashing all my clothes. >_<
Don’t ever wish to handwash your clothes. I had to before and the minute I had the money I ran out and bought a washing machine! Try handwashing jeans and bedsheets. Urgh! That said, I specifically bought a front loading machine because it does not pull clothes as much as top loading machines do. The clothes in a front loading machine are “tumbled” while in a top loading they are spun side to side. That said, new top loading machines now fare better. You can still use a machine – just put all your clothes into net bags so they don’t get stretched 😀 I dislike tumble dryers with a vengence.
i used to handwash my jeans, because hostel got no washing machine 🙁 and i am too kiam siap to send to the laundry.
you reckon the daiso laundry bags are okay? i usually don’t use them, since fragile items i handwash. hehe. but i might wanna take pre-caution, clothes these days… almost everything is labeled “to be handwashed”!
yes, sometimes, I do terbalk my baju and do not put under the sun for long. Under strong sun, the color may fade and looks old. But sometimes, when I am lazy, I will not bother….;-)
And I do not tumble dry my baju as the baju will be out of shape from excessive pulling in the machine. No doubt it dries much faster.
Oh I don’t believe in tumble drying because it spoils the fabric too. Also I had a bad experience once. Tumble dried a T shirt and when it came out of the dryer it looked like it was for a 4 year old child -_-
One word: Yes.
Yup, I do! hehe…for all the same reasons! 🙂
my husband does the laundry and he doesnt turn the clothes inside out. I would only if I dry them outside (under the sun or porch).