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Rubbish Removal Tips: How To Make Your Clothes Last Longer

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According to a July 11, 2017 report put out by The Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), UK citizens binned 300,000 tonnes of clothing! Why do so people throw so many of their clothes in their rubbish removal bins? One of the main reasons is their clothes simply wear out and they don’t know how to mend them. In light of this, we present several rubbish removal tips on how to make your clothes last longer.

Don’t Dry Your Clothes In a Tumble Dryer

Due to friction and high heat, drying in a tumble dryer can wear your clothes out faster than almost anything else. If you have a garden, put out a line for line drying. In addition to keeping your clothes out of the rubbish removal, you’ll have the added bonus of your clothes smelling like the great outdoors. If you don’t have the garden space for a clothes line, you can invest in a sturdy drying rack. More than almost any other change you can make, this will increase the lifespan of all your clothes by a lot and keep them out of your rubbish removal bin!

Wash On Cold

Hot water damages clothing fibers with every wash. Further, it’s a common misconception that clothes don’t get as clean when you wash them in cold water. In fact, laundry detergents today are designed to function at peak performance at low temperatures. You’ll also lower you ecological footprint of doing laundry by a whopping seventy-five percent if you switch from warm water to cold water, and even more if you’ve been using hot water. The only time you need to wash in warm or hot water is when you or a family member has been sick and you need to make sure you have killed the germs, mostly on undergarments, bedding, and towels.

Use a Gentler Cycle

People are often tempted to use a longer and heavier cycle (with more agitation) than necessary because they want to get their clothes fully clean. The truth is you seldom need the heavy cycle unless you’re dealing with heavily soiled clothing.

Close Your Zippers

If you don’t close your zippers before you wash your clothes, the teeth of the zippers can get caught on your other clothes and cause tiny holes and rips.

Snap Your Bras

Bra hooks are notorious for snagging onto other clothes and can causing rips and tears. They can also catch the sides of the washer or dryer and this can ruin your bras.

Turn Your Clothes Inside Out

Turning your clothes inside out will prevent buttons from getting caught on other clothes and causing rips. It will also prevent buttons from getting caught on the sides of the washer or dryer and ruining the garment. Reversing your clothes protects the outer part of your clothing featuring your fashionable prints. Further, if pilling occurs (tiny knots), it will occur on the inside of your clothes, not on the outside where it shows.

Separate Your Delicate Clothes From Heavier Fabrics

When delicate clothes are washed in with heavier clothes, the heavier fabric can work like sand paper on the delicate fabric. For example, this is why it’s not a good idea to wash heavy jeans with a sheer delicate blouse.

Don’t Think You Have To Wash After Every Wear

For some clothes, like jeans or sweaters, you don’t really need to wash them every time you wear them if they are not soiled. The lifespan of these garments can be greatly expanded by not over washing.

Use Ecofriendly Detergents

Look for “Free and Clear” laundry detergents that don’t contain any artificial dyes, fragrances, or fabric softeners that can break down your clothing’s fibers. Eco detergents don’t have harsh chemicals like bleach or petroleum distillates that will fray clothing quite quickly. Eco detergents don’t have enzymes that break down clothing fibers either.

Don’t Use Too Much Detergent

Many people think if they add extra detergent to their wash cycle, their clothes will get cleaner. Actually, they won’t and the extra detergent will leave a residue on your clothes that will break down the fibers so your clothes don’t last as long.

Try Not To Use an Iron

The very high heat of an iron is hard on clothes. Instead of ironing out your wrinkles, try hanging your clothes as soon as you wash them to let the wrinkles fall out naturally. If you still have too many wrinkles once your clothes are dry, you can try putting them in the bathroom when you take a shower and let the steam knock the wrinkles out. That way, you won’t waste your shower steam!

Hand Wash Any Clothing With Spandex, Lycra or Elastane

These are materials that are very sensitive to heat and friction. Therefore, it’s best to hand wash them and then let them dry naturally.

Clearabee Supports Your Efforts

Clearabee, a highly principled rubbish removal company, is 100% dedicated to diverting as much as material as possible from our landfills. To this end, they applaud all personal and group efforts, such as extending the life of clothing, to do so. If you do have clothing to get rid up, call Clearabee and let them haul these materials to a facility that will either recycle them into fibers and then remake new clothing or resale the clothing if it has additional life. Clothing picked up by Clearabee is far more likely to get recycled than clothing picked up by your local government.