Laundry Glossary
Abrasives Anything that can damage your fabrics by scratching or wearing away at the fibers.
Agitator The device in the center of most washing machines that spins, oscillates and rotates to move the clothes and water during washing.
Agitation Cycle The cycle during a wash when the clothes are moved back and forth in detergent filled water to remove soils.
Ammonia A colorless liquid household cleaner often used to help clean, bleach, and deodorize laundry.
Bleach A liquid that helps remove dirt and stains, and has a whitening and brightening effect on clothing.
Bleach Alternative A bleach that is safe for use on most fabrics and is sometimes known as "color safe bleach" or "oxygen bleach".
Bleeding When fabric dyes leech some of their color onto other garments in the wash load.
Brightener A chlorine bleach alternative containing natural, organic enzymes and active oxygen bleach, designed to whiten all washable fabrics.
BuilderIngredient in a detergent that enhances or 'builds' the cleaning efficiency of the surfactant by counteracting hard water minerals.
Calcium Chloride Crystallized chemical compound used to absorb excess air moisture when storing clothes
Chlorine Bleach A very powerful bleach containing sodium hypochloride diluted with water that can help disinfect laundry, but isn't safe for some fabric types.
Color Safe Bleach A bleach that is safe for use on most fabrics and is sometimes known as "oxygen bleach" or "bleach alternative".
Delicates Fabrics such as silks and lace that need more gentle care.
Detergent Liquid or powder cleaner that helps break up and remove dirt and stains in the laundry.
Desiccant Any substance that creates or sustains a state of dryness, such as Calcium Chloride or Silica Gel.
Downy Ball A circular, plastic dispenser that gets tossed into the washer and releases fabric softener automatically during the rinse cycle.
Dry Clean Cleaning process for fabrics using a chemical solvent rather than water.
Dryer Sheets Fabric softener sheets that go into the dryer with your wet clothes to help soften fabrics and avoid static and wrinkles.
Drying Cycle Also known as the "Spin Cycle" it's the end of the washing process when the garments are spun quickly to remove water.
Enzyme Detergent ingredient that helps break down complex soils so they can be more easily removed by other detergent ingredients.
Fabric softeners Also called fabric conditioner. A laundry product that freshen and softens clothes for less static and fewer wrinkles. Available in liquid and sheet form.
Gentle Cycle A washing cycle normally used for sweaters, silks, and other delicate fabrics that need to be washed with care.
Hard Water Water with a high mineral content, which can render some laundry detergent ingredients ineffective.
Hypoallergenic A type of laundry detergent with no fragrances or dyes, specially formulated to be gentle on allergies and sensitive skin.
Liquid Fabric Softener Liquid version of a laundry product that freshen and softens clothes for less static and fewer wrinkles.
Mildew Certain kinds of molds or fungus that thrive on many organic materials, including clothing.
Oxygen Bleach A bleach that is safe for use on most fabrics and is sometimes known as "color safe bleach" or "bleach alternative".
Permanent Press Washing machine setting that adds moisture during the spin cycle to help reduce wrinkling in permanent press fabrics.
Phosphates Laundry detergent builders that help suspend soils removed from laundry in the water and keep them from redepositing on your clothes.
Pilling Rough, sandy appearance fabrics can develop due to abrasion from normal wear and cleaning.
Pre Treater Products used on garments before going into the wash to improve the performance of your detergent or to help get out stubborn stains.
Rinse cycle The final rinse in your washing machine, where any remaining laundry detergent is removed and fabric softener is added.
Silica Gel Plastic covered beads, often in small packets, used to absorb excess air moisture when storing clothes.
Solvents Any liquid, solid or gas that dissolves another liquid, solid or gas at a specific temperature.
Synthetic Any fabric made from man made fibers.
Trichloroethylene Solvent commonly used in dry cleaning
Unstable Dyes Clothing dyes that easily fade or change color in the wash.
Washing Machine Cleaner Product used to fight odor causing residues from laundry soils, detergents and water hardness minerals in your washer.
Washtub Symbol Machine washing instructional icons, usually found on the clothing care tags in garments.
Water Conditioner Small packets that can be added to change hard water and make detergents more effective.
Laundry
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Tips & Tricks
Many stains are more likely to be removed entirely if soaked in cold water before it has had time to set.
If in doubt, test your color garment for colorfastness – apply warm water to an inconspicuous part (inside of the hem, for instance), then press this part with a warm iron between two pieces of white cloth.
To protect your favorite garments, try turning them inside out before washing.
Use a partitioned laundry basket to sort your laundry as you remove it.
Overloading your washing machine could mean that your clothes don’t properly get clean.
White streaks of powder left behind on your clothes due to undissolved detergent are usually caused by overloading your machine, and can be removed with an additional rinse cycle.
Washing much smaller loads on non-cotton cycles to give more freedom of movement in the drum and result in better cleaning.
Using too little detergent can cause whites to become dingy as there are insufficient ingredients to hold soils in the water so they don’t redeposit on the garments.
Overdosing in a soft-water area can lead to “oversudsing” which, in extreme cases, can mean suds come out of the machine.
Always check the fabric care label for the manufacturer’s washing recommendations.
Some dyes will bleed even in very cold water, so always sort your washing into light colors, dark colors, whites, and delicates.
To compensate for washing at lower temperatures, try using a Cotton (most agitation) or Synthetic cycle, if the garment care label allows. There are also detergents specially designed to work in cold water.
Whenever possible, dry your clothes outside on a line; you could see significant energy savings.
Make sure to close all zippers, fasteners, and hooks to prevent and reduce abrasion of fabric and consider placing delicate items into mesh laundry bags.
To pre-treat stains, apply undiluted laundry detergent directly onto stained areas. For best results, allow product to sit on stain for a few minutes, scrub product into stain, then wash.
When adding chlorine bleach, always use the bleach dispenser on your washer to ensure that it is added at the right time in the wash cycle. If your machine does not have a dispenser, add chlorine bleach at the end of the wash cycle.
Check garment care labels for recommended wash temperature.
For all HE washers, make sure to use a low-sudsing HE detergent.
Use the right amount of detergent. Follow package directions carefully. For heavily soiled and/or large loads, use more detergent.
If you do not have a detergent dispenser on your machine, add the detergent while the washer fills with water, ensure the detergent has dissolved, then add the clothes.
Keep your washing machine free of residues by running a monthly wash cycle with Tide Washing Machine Cleaner.
