It's recommended to use the delicate wash cycle on your appliance when cleaning these and other items such as undergarments and delicate fabrics like lace and rayon. Use the normal wash cycle when cleaning moderately soiled cottons, linens and other mixed fabrics.
“Although gentle cycles are necessary for fragile fabrics and items with delicate decorations, they won't do a good job cleaning heavily soiled clothing and bedding,” she explains.
Avoiding heavy duty cycles, fast spins and high-heat drying can also prevent shrinkage. Use delicate cycles instead, and place delicate clothes in a mesh laundry bag for added protection. When drying, consider a low-heat or air dry setting.
1. Normal cycle. This cycle uses warm water with a high spin speed for moderately soiled cottons, linens and other mixed fabrics.
Use the Delicate or Gentle cycle
Denim may seem like a tough fabric, but that doesn't mean you should choose a Heavy Duty wash cycle. Instead, opt for the Delicate or Gentle cycle, and use cold water to help avoid shrinking or fading.
Delicate cycle:
This cycle uses the lowest temperature and the lowest tumble. Since delicate items and woolens should not be put in the dryer, we often use this setting for drying synthetics, lingerie, and other heat-sensitive everyday items.
The normal cycle is a long cycle that works wonders for everyday clothes, like t-shirts, underwear, socks, pants, and cotton garments. It has high agitation and spins to extract most of the water from the load.
The Hand Wash cycle is best for fragile items like wool or embellished fabrics, whereas the Delicate cycle is great for machine-washable delicate fabrics such as silks or wool. As always, check your care tag first to make sure your garment is machine washable.
Step 5: Choose the Proper Setting
For most laundry loads, the normal wash cycle is best. But if you haven't experimented with cold-water washing, give it a shot. Many detergents have been reformulated to work better at lower temperatures, so we think you'll be happy with the results.
Quick Wash: 15 minutes to 1 hour. Cotton Cycle: 1.5 hours to 4 hours. Synthetic Cycle: 2.5 hours to 3 hours. Delicates Cycle: 45 minutes to 1.5 hours.
A delicate wash cycle (or “delicates”) is the washing machine equivalent to handwashing. The difference between the hand wash vs delicate cycle is that this setting uses cold water with low agitation with a slow spin and is the shortest, gentlest cleaning cycle.
If your washer leaves clothes soaked, you may also need to check your cycle settings. Hand Wash or Delicate settings often use slower spin speeds to avoid harming fragile fabrics, leaving a standard wash load soaking wet.
“A good general rule of thumb is to stick to cold and delicate cycles,” says LaLonde. “Cold cycles are the way to go to prevent shrinking. Most fabrics are much more susceptible to shrinking when exposed to high heats.”
Regular, normal, or cotton
The regular wash cycle (a.k.a. 'normal' or 'cotton') is the lengthiest and most intense cycle, with high agitation in both the spin and wash cycles.
These delicate fabrics are too sensitive for regular washing methods and must be laundered separately to keep them looking new.
Do Clothes Get Clean On Quick Wash? Absolutely. Clothes will easily be cleaned in a 15-minute quick wash cycle. However, such a cycle will only perform a very simple wash.
The delicate wash in a washing machine is specifically designed to protect fragile fabrics from damage during the wash cycle. This setting uses lower agitation and gentler spin speeds, making it ideal for materials like silk, lace, wool, and thin fabrics that require extra care.
If you don't follow the instructions on the care label, your clothes may shrink, fade, fray, or get damaged.
With high agitation and a lengthy cycle, the Normal cycle is typically the most intense washing machine cycle. Select the Normal cycle for everyday laundry items made of cotton, linen, and durable synthetics, such as sheets, towels, T-shirts, socks, and (non-fancy) underwear.
The cheapest setting on a washing machine is usually the Eco wash program, also called the Saver wash. By using lower temperatures and less water, it reduces energy and water consumption, saving you money in the long run.
The delicate wash cycle uses high levels of cold water and a low spin speed for carefully tending to undergarments and delicate fabrics that need to be handled with care, like lace, lingerie, or silk neckties. Specialty items like electric blankets or stuffed animals may also benefit from a delicate wash.
The regular cycle is your go-to cycle for towels, sheets, sweats, and jeans. Whether you choose automatic dry, which uses a moisture sensor to determine if your clothes are dry, or select the amount of time you feel the clothes need, the regular cycle is going to use the highest heat setting available on your dryer.
How long should a dryer take to dry? A typical drying cycle takes about 45 minutes, but this time can vary depending on the cycle, heat setting and size of your load. Delicate cycles take roughly 15 minutes, while heavy cycles, like bedding, can take up to three hours to fully dry.
There are plenty of benefits to air-drying your clothes rather than tumbling them in the dryer. It's the more economical and environmentally friendly option, plus it can help reduce wrinkles, static cling, and wear and tear.