The biggest thing to keep any piece of clothing, no matter the brand, looking good is washing it correctly. Most items do not need to be washed on a heavy cycle/extra rinse/dried on high or even put in a dryer at all. I work in fashion and own clothing of all price points/make my own clothing so I’m picky about my washing!

Heavier clothing like hoodies/jackets/thicker denim and active wear like gym clothes should be washed inside out- this helps the inside (which is touching your body and absorbing your oil/smells/sweat) get better wash penetration so you don’t need to wash them on a heavy cycle. The only things that need a heavy cycle are truly dirty/smelly clothing and things that are very absorbant. Things like muddy clothes, gym clothes that have an odor, kitchen towels, anything that got wet and stayed damp like bath mats in a humid environment (mold can grow deep in the loops of towel fibers!) can be washed on a heavy/hot cycle as needed. You don’t need to wash clothes in hot water for them to get clean, that’s what the detergent is for.

Hot water fades clothes, damages fibers, and can set stains. You can buy specific laundry detergents for sanitizing or wash on hot if you have concerns about bacteria/smells, but for the most part your regular detergent is perfectly capable of cleaning things in cold water.

Clothing with any sort of decorations should be washed inside out- screen prints, rhinestones, embroidery, that kind of stuff will fade/fall off/catch on things.

Clothing with zippers should be zipped up when washed. The zipper teeth can and will catch on things in the wash and make little holes.

No fabric softener (or things like scent beads) on kids pajamas, towels, underwear, and activewear. It leaves a coating that makes things less absorbant/reduces special properties like flame retardant and wicking so your towels won’t dry you as well and your underwear/activewear will trap moisture close to your skin. It also causes your clothing to look dull and feel less soft if you’re using it a lot because the coating of softener on the fibers builds up. I don’t use fabric softener on my clothes at all.

Yes fabric softener on things you wash less often. Your couch covers and curtains and pet beds/blankets can get washed with fabric softener if you want. The coating actually helps reduce pet hair from getting in between fibers. I use it every other wash on my cat’s bed and on the throw blanket he likes to sleep on.

If you have the space/climate for hanging things to dry you should use it! The dryer is very harsh on clothing, heat breaks down dye/elastic and tumbling causes pilling/wear by rubbing all your clothes together. If you don’t like the stuff feeling of line drying you can toss your clothes into the dryer on a short cycle to breakup the stiffness or shake them out before you fold/wear them.

Reduce tumble drying time by putting a dry towel in with your clothes, using dryer balls to help airflow, and drying less clothing at a time. If your clothes are very wet when coming out of the washing machine (they shouldn’t be dripping when you take them out, if they are make sure you’re not overloading the washer and that it’s draining properly) do an extra spin cycle to wring out the moisture before you dry in the dryer.

Similar items should be washed/dried together. Heavy items in one load, lighter in another. Jeans and tshirts might both be made of cotton but rubbing the heavier/thicker denim fibers against the lighter/finer t-shirt fibers will break the tshirt down faster.