Handling our laundry as fast as possible and saving time is one thing we would all love to do during laundry. Because of that, we create wonderful shortcuts and laundry hacks to save time. Some shortcuts work perfectly, while some might end disastrously. Costing more to fix than it was to save.
Separating dark and light-colored clothes from white clothes during laundry, as we all know, is recommended, but what happens when it is time to dry them? Can you dry colored clothes together with white clothes? Would that save time or cause more than it is meant to save?
Can You Dry Whites And Colors Together?
It shouldn’t hurt to dry white clothes and colored ones together since there’s no water involved, and bleeding and dye transfers aren’t expected to occur. However, that isn’t the case, as bleeding and dry transfer can still happen even in a dryer without water, leaving your white clothes in danger of being stained.
White clothes and colored ones are to be dried separately just as they are to be washed separately. This means that the same way you sort clothes before washing, they should also be sorted when they are to be placed in a dryer.
Why Do Colored Clothes Bleed In And Dryer?
Many new-colored clothes are prone to bleeding at their very first wash. Some continue to even bleed after several piles of washing. Placing these colored clothes with your whites in a dryer will inevitably stain the whites. It is recommended to wash and dry new colored clothes that bleed separately from other laundry loads, especially white clothes. Here are some more reasons clothes bleed:
Dampness
Some fabrics need a little dampness to transfer their dye to another fabric in a dryer. Bright colors like reds and oranges are notorious for bleeding and staining everything in the wash. Dark colors like black-colored clothes fall into this classification of bleeding-ready clothes. These colors are more prone to bleeding than others as they aren’t mostly colorfast; therefore, putting other clothes they come in contact with in the danger of getting stained with their dye. When exposed to white clothes, these dyes easily transfer themselves, staining your favorite white cloth.
Laundry Detergent And Soap
The laundry detergent and soaps we use in laundry are one of the reasons our colored clothes bleed in the laundry because some of them are so harsh that they could cause extra bleeding in some clothes.
The bleeding effects these detergents have on these clothes don’t just disappear with the rinsing cycle; they are carried on to the drying cycle. When you dry your white clothes together with colored clothes under this effect, there is an 80% chance that you might not find your clothes as bright whites when you open the dryer.
Whites are best washed with whites-only detergent. In most cases, detergents that are specifically meant for whites contain bleach. Therefore, they cannot be used with colored clothes. Washing whites with regular detergents makes them lose their sparkle over time.
Dryer Drums
The dryer drum works exactly like a washer drum where the clothes go for an amazing spin, rubbing each other as they try to get washed or dried. There is constant contact and friction between these clothes.
When white clothes and colored clothes are placed together in any of these drums, the chances of dye transfer are pretty high
Type Of Fabric
Most fabrics bleed more than others during laundry, especially denim. Mostly, its blue color bleeds constantly in every wash until it is completely faded, while some clothes made with cotton bleed in every wash, but you might not notice until they begin to fade.
Fabrics that bleed constantly will stain your white the moment you put them together in a dryer. Others, like the cotton-based clothes that bleed unnoticeably during laundry, might not stain your whites instantly as the denim does. But putting your whites together with them in a dryer or even a washer will gradually begin to dull your whites as they begin to contact the colored cloth’s dye. After a while, your whites completely lose their brightness.
Dryer Heat
The heat produced in a dryer is another reason colored clothes bleed in a dryer and why they shouldn’t be placed with whites in the same dryer. When damp clothes come in contact with heat, the heat breaks down the dyes and opens up the fabric’s fibers, releasing the dye.
This continues until the heat completely dries the fabric, locking the dyes back in. Any white fabric that comes in contact with this colored cloth during its damp period might get stained, and when the drying cycle ends, the transferred dye locks in on the whites, and only the intervention of bleaching agents might remove those stains.
How To Dry Colored And White Clothes
Clothes should be sorted before placing them in a dryer, just as you do before washing them. Clothes should be separated into four different loads; white clothes, black clothes, light colors, and dark colors.
Light color includes light blue, light green, yellow, cream, pink, e.t.c. To dry this color of clothes, set your dryer to the regular setting. You might need to check the labels for special drying instructions.
Dark-colored clothes include all the shades of grey, dark browns, olive, purple, indigo, navy blue, and dark green. You can also dry black clothing alongside your dark colors if need be. Just make sure it doesn’t bleed noticeably. To dry this color of clothes, set your dryer to the regular setting or medium heat.
White clothes can be air dried for a brightening effect. When using a dryer, set the machine at medium heat. Don’t let the cloth over-dry in the dryer.
The black clothes drying setting should be set at low. Direct sunlight can fade black and dark-colored clothes.