Sort your clothes carefully

Before putting your clothes into the washing machine, you should sort them carefully. Mistakes can affect the washing result and at worst cause lasting damage.

The care symbol on the label attached to your clothes tells you how to treat your textiles correctly

In addition to that you should consider the colour and degree of dirtying of your clothes when sorting them.

• White laundry should only be washed together with very bright colours.
• Dark colours can be washed together.
• New textiles can lose colour and should therefore be washed separately.
• Very dirty pieces of clothes should also be washed separately.
  

Loading the washing machine correctly

The drum should always be sufficiently loaded to save energy and costs. For a boil wash or coloureds programme this means that you should be able to put your hand into the drum and turn it around without pushing the clothes load down.

How to load the drum also depends on the kind of textiles and the washing programme:

• Boil wash and coloureds, normal washing programme: the drum should be completely filled.
• Synthetic fibres and easy-care textiles: the drum should be half-full.
• Delicate fabrics, wool and silk: the drum should be filled up to a quarter.
  

Cleaning shoes in the washing machine

Leather shoes or shoes consisting partly of leather should not be washed at all. If you want to clean your cloth shoes in the washing machine remember:

• The maximum temperature is 30°C. No spin cycle. Higher temperatures might cause adhesives to dissolve.
• Put the shoes into a bag or a pillow case before washing them.
• To get rid of the smell in sports shoes leave them to soak in a bucket of water (you can also add some vinegar) before washing them. 

Tip: Sports shops sell special detergents for sports shoes.

Delicate fabrics

To protect delicate fabrics you can put the pieces of clothing into a pillow case before washing them.
Fine textiles should be washed inside out to avoid damage.
Choose a detergent especially intended for the nature of your garment and the washing programme recommended by the manufacturer and indicated by the care symbol written on the care label attached to your clothes.

Ironing

• The care symbol written on the care label tells you the temperature at which your garment should be ironed.
• Cotton and linen can be ironed at high temperatures. Synthetic fibres and silk must be ironed at low temperatures.
• Silk should not be sprinkled with water because this will cause water stains.
• Use distilled water for your steam iron to avoid furring.
• Garments with imprints and monograms should be ironed inside out.
• Very delicate fabrics should be ironed between two damp towels.
• Garments with shoulder pads should be ironed inside out. The pads are made from heat-sensitive foam and must therefore not come in contact with the hot iron.
• Blouses, trousers, shirts and dresses should be hung up immediately after ironing to avoid creasing.