Why You Should Hang Dirty Laundry Before Washing It

Laundry is a continuous task that's never really finished, so soiled clothes are almost always present in your bedroom or laundry room. As your dirty clothes pile up — either in the hamper or in a pile on the floor — they accumulate wrinkles. Few people care about wrinkles in their hoodies or jeans, and obviously wrinkles are irrelevant in undergarments, but why add difficult-to-remove creases to your work attire or dress clothes if you don't have to? Instead of crumpling those nicer items into a ball before washing, simply hang them up instead.

The same way that overstuffing your closets and drawers can crease your good shirts, tossing them into a pile with the rest of your dirty garments will let wrinkles set in as well. And washing clothes that have been laying in a heap for days will only allow those creases to set in further. When doing laundry, it's always important to use wrinkle-prevention methods, such as shaking out your items between the washer and the dryer and hanging or folding them immediately after the dryer. Hanging them up before you take them to the wash is another great habit to start. 

If you have room in your closet or your laundry room, designate a space for to-be-washed items. Then, when your garments are dirty but you're not ready to wash them yet, hang them in the pre-wash area. This will keep them in good shape until you're ready to launder them. You can simply hang your garments on clothes hangers, just like you would do with clean clothes. Then, you'll hopefully have wrinkle-free clothes without having to use an iron after the dryer. 

The more wrinkles in your clothes (and the longer they stay wrinkled), the harder it is to get the creases out. Think of your fabrics like a dollar bill that's been folded in your wallet for weeks. No matter how hard you try, it's almost impossible to get it flat enough for the vending machine. The same goes for clothes. While hanging your items pre-wash won't eliminate wrinkles entirely, it'll go the extra mile to make sure the wrinkles you do have to contend with aren't insurmountable.