Colored Clothing: Should You Wash Your Clothes Inside Out?

Colorful clothing is vulnerable to the effects of detergents. However, if you follow these simple rules, you should be able to maximize the lifespan of your clothing's colors.

Should you turn your clothes inside out before loading them into the washing machine, or not? Some people believe it's necessary to preserve fabric quality and prevent damage, while others say it doesn't affect the washing result or quality. So who's right?

Ultimately, it depends on what type of wash that you want to do. According to washing machine manufacturers, if you're only looking to give your clothes a light wash, you should turn them inside out. This method prevents damage to the outer part of the clothing.

Firstly, it reduces the risk of detergent stains. Detergent stains happen when the detergent doesn't dissolve properly. Most of these stains aren't permanent but can be rather unpleasant and make the clothes look dirty, despite having been washed. 

Additionally, it increases the contact of the detergent with the dirtiest parts of the clothing. Throughout the day, we move around and sweat, and sweat is absorbed by the parts of our clothes that come in contact with our bodies. By turning clothes inside out, sweat stains are in direct contact with the detergent.

Turning your clothes inside out also helps prevent the formation of lint on the outside and protects decorative elements. Elements like screen printing, embellishments, and embroidery are more sensitive to washing. When washed inside out, they're better protected.

However, if you have stains on your clothing and want to get rid of them, it's better not to turn your clothes inside out. Stains usually appear on the outside of the clothing, so turning garments inside out during washing can make it harder to remove them. The most effective way to remove stains from clothing is to first soak it with a special stain remover and then wash it in the washing machine.

And one more tip: to maintain the quality of your clothing, it's ideal to minimize the number of regular washes and alternate washing right side out with inside out washing. To make sure your clothes retain their color intensity for as long as possible, use powder detergents designed for colored clothing.