My *Life Changing* Laundry Routine

I have strong opinions when it comes to laundry. I could write a senior thesis on the tales and woes of cleaning clothes. But for now, an article on Substack will have to suffice.

About a year and a half ago I started to notice my family’s clothes weren’t smelling as fresh as I expected them them to coming out of the wash. This puzzled me, because I thought I was using a high quality machine with a high quality detergent (LG front loader; Kirkland Signature Free & Clear). After a few more weeks of less than stellar smelling laundry, I went down a Reddit rabbit hole, as I do for many topics ranging from personal finance (to Roth or not to Roth?) to the Australian Survivor season rankings (Titans vs. Rebels is #1).

It was there I discovered R/KismaiAesthetics in the Laundry subreddit. Kismai, as I will call them, is the all knowing, all seeing, pansophical sage who has blessed the internet with their laundry wisdom. Since implementing their advice, my clothes feel better, smell fresher and last longer.

Below are my key learnings from this months long deep dive, and what has made the biggest difference in my laundry routine. With two kids in day care and a daily cardio-doing, weights-lifting husband, I needed something that would work hard.

To make things simple and save you from further research, at the bottom of this article I have listed the specific products I use, all available on Amazon or your local grocery store. I am not earning any money from these recommendations and none of this is sponsored. :)

Know your enzymes

Ever heard of lipase? Nah, I hadn’t either. This important enzyme is the most commonly missed ingredient in modern detergents (likely due to cost) yet it’s one of the most important. It targets fats, grease, oils and body sebum and removes them from fabrics. Without getting too deep into the chemistry aspect, lipase essentially breaks down these substances into smaller molecules which allows the water in the rinse cycle to blast them away. Everything your body touches should be washed with a lipase based detergent or booster. It prevents yellowing in the arm pits and removes trapped odors from synthetic clothing. Kismai keeps an ongoing list of detergents, pretreaters and boosters that currently contain lipase, here.

Now, if you’re a star student like myself and want to take things a step further, use a detergent with deoxyribonuclease (aka DNase). There aren’t many on the market yet (check Kismai’s spreadsheet for detergents/boosters with this enzyme), but this ingredient specifically targets biological residues such as blood, sweat and body oils. Unfortunately, I blessed my daughter with my genetic propensity for bloody noses anytime the weather changes, so this is especially important.

Avoid fabric softener like the plague and what to use instead

Fabric softener literally coats your clothes and sheets in a filmy, waxy, oil based substance that does everything from destroying the water resistance of your technical gear to making your clothes more flammable to gunking up your machine causing mold and mildew to irritating your skin. It traps odors and body oils can degrade your fabrics over time. I recommend ditching the use of fabric softener immediately.

There are other ways to have nicely scented laundry. Like, the Downy Rinse & Refresh line. This is a revolutionary citric acid based rinse product that neutralizes detergent residues from your laundry and improves the smell and textures of your fabrics. It works way better than vinegar and doesn’t smell funky. Personally, I use the fragrance free version, but they have several scented options. You can more about the benefits of citric acid here, but since I’ve added citric acid to my routine, my sheets and towels feel so much fluffier and softer.

Sort your loads

Sorting your laundry is not just for preserving color. It ensures the right fabrics are cleaned properly based on their soil level and allows you to customize the temperature (more on that below) and choose the right product/s for the job. Sorting also protects delicate fabrics from rough abrasion which causes pilling and fiber degradation. My sorting groups are as follows.

• Whites

• Colors

• Darks

• Denim

• Towels

• Sheets (separated by color if I am washing a duvet cover)

It sounds like a lot, but it usually turns out to be about 1-2 loads per day and on Sunday when I wash all the sheets, about 3-4 loads. Maybe that is a lot, but laundry has become somewhat of a hobby at this point, lol.

Water temperature

As much as the clothing companies like to tell you, cold water doesn’t clean your clothes as well as warm water. Most of the wonderful, hard working enzymes in your detergent require warm water to be activated. Not too hot, about 100 degrees, slightly higher than body temperature. If I have a particularly dirty load (remember I have a baby and a toddler, blowouts happen), I will use a hot cycle. There is some concern about color bleeding on higher temperatures, but I always sort my laundry and when I am washing newer clothes, I throw in a Shout color catcher.

Dosage and rinsing

Have you ever washed and conditioned your hair, blow dried it and noticed it was still greasy? That is usually because I’ve either used too much product or skimped on the rinse, or both. You need far less detergent than you think, and way more rinsing than you think. Read the directions on your detergent packaging and dose accordingly.

My non-fancy, LG machine allows me to add three additional rinses to the wash cycle, which I always select. Non-negotiable. Proper rinsing ensures every speck of detergent is freed from your textiles, allowing them to be as close to their purest, original state as possible.

Skip the dryer

The heat and friction of the dryer will wear out your clothes faster, that’s a fact. As a busy person, I don’t have time to air dry everything but I do make a point to air dry most of my clothes on one of these folding racks, with the exception being pajamas and some workout clothes. If they dry crunchy, running them under the iron will help soften and loosen the fibers. It’s also important to ensure the items are bone dry before folding and putting them away, otherwise you will end up with a mildew smell that is difficult to remove.

Clean your machine

This is a step many people forget. Especially if you have a front loader, always keep the washer door open to allow the drum and rubber gasket to dry out between uses and towel dry the gasket after each use to prevent mold. I keep old washcloths stored in the laundry room for this purpose. I also run a self cleaning cycle about once every couple of weeks (30-40 washes) with plain old citric acid poured directly into the drum or dishwashing powder.

My Process

The specific products I use are as follows. If these aren’t available in your area, I highly suggest consulting Kismai’s Lipaise List for other options.

• Liquid detergent: 365 by Whole Foods Market SPORT Laundry Detergent

  • I use this for all our clothing. Contains lipase and DNase. Lightly scented.

• Powder detergent: Tide Clean and Gentle

  • I use this for sheets and towels, and the powder goes directly in the drum. It contains lipase, as the 365 does, but also added oxygen bleach for extra cleaning power, and it’s cheaper and more widely available. Unscented.

• Rinse aid: Downy Rinse & Refresh (Fragrance Free)

  • I use this for all loads, poured into the fabric softener drawer.

And that’s all, folks! If you have any questions, feel free to drop a comment.

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Until next time!

Emily