The way you clean and care for your clothes is very important, as clothes often suffer the most abuse when they're being laundered. Not drying or storing them properly can also mean early wear or stretching fabrics out of shape, so that pieces then get ruined. Note a few simple but very important tips on how to properly clean and also care for your clothes, so they always look their best and last as long as possible.

Soak stains

Once many stains dry, they become permanent, as some stains might actually recolor the fabric threads or fibres of clothes. Once this happens, those fibres can't be returned to their original colour just by cleaning. If you can't launder or spot clean a stained garment right away, soak it in a bucket of water with a small bit of detergent to keep the stain from setting in until you can wash it properly.

Know your detergents

Many people are concerned with the water temperature when washing clothes, but give little thought to their detergents and how much to use. Note that a detergent with bleach is not good for coloured clothes, and powdered detergents often leave residue on dark clothes. It's also good to use the recommended amount of detergent, as too much detergent can mean streaks or a sticky feeling on clothes when they come out of the machine, and too little detergent can mean clothes still look and even smell dirty after washing.

Cold water

Many of today's detergents work so well to get clothes clean that you don't need to wash those pieces in hot water. As hot water weakens fibres and strips clothes of their colour, you can avoid that damage, and save on your utility bills, if you stick to cold water for all but your dirtiest of white clothes and linens.

Dry clean only

When the label on an article of clothing says to hand wash it, to lay it flat to dry, or to have it dry cleaned only, it's best to follow these instructions. Some delicate items might come apart in a washing machine or dryer, and hanging up certain items to dry them can also mean tugging at the fabric, stretching them. It's also good to fold these clothes and store them in a drawer rather than hang them up after their dry cleaning for even more protection against stretching. Water and detergent can also damage some fabrics, so always have your articles dry cleaned when so instructed on the tag.