Tired of ironing? 5 tips for wrinkle-free clothes

1. Don’t overload the washing machine

A full load doesn’t only strain the fibres and reduce washing performance, but also causes excessive creasing. If your garments can’t move freely in the drum, they’ll be pressed too closely together, which will crumple them up. As a rule of thumb, there should be about a hand’s width of space between the clothes you put in the washing machine and the top of the drum. If you’re washing delicate textiles such as wool, linen or silk, only fill up the machine halfway.

2. Wash heavy fabrics separately

We sort our laundry mainly by colour and washing temperature. However, the weight of the material can be another relevant factor. If you wash heavier fabrics such as denim with fine garments, the latter can get squashed. This creates a lot of wrinkles – and wears out the finer material. So even if having to separate your laundry even more is quite impractical, especially if you live on your own, it may be worthwhile washing denim items separately.

3. Select a low spin speed

The higher the spin speed, the more the garments are pressed against each other and against the drum. A lower setting of 800 revolutions per minute reduces compression and decreases wrinkling. It also ensures that your clothes are sufficiently damp and shapeable when they come out of the washing machine. This is important for the following tip.

4. Shake out your clothes properly

Shaking out your clothes properly before hanging them is an absolute must. The wetter the laundry, the easier it is to get rid of wrinkles and creases. It can also help to smooth out the fabric by hand – especially for wrinkle-prone materials such as linen or viscose and delicate areas such as collars, cuffs and button bands. Garments that tend to wrinkle, such as shirts, should be dried on a hanger, as the clothesline will leave a distinct crease.

5. Take out laundry immediately

Sometimes our planning is off or we’re just too lazy to get up straight away, leaving the washing in the drum for hours after it’s done. This can lead to particularly stubborn creases that form during the spin cycle. You can save yourself a lot of trouble if you take the clothes out of the machine and hang them up immediately at the end of the wash cycle.

Tips four and five can also be applied to the tumble dryer. If you do so, it’s important that you choose a setting that leaves the clothes slightly damp. However, the result is better when the clothes come straight out of the washing machine. If you care about your clothes, I’d advise against tumble drying in general, as it strains the fibres and can shrink delicate materials.