Don't Fear Washing Delicate Fabric

We all have clothing we send to the dry cleaners because we're afraid to wash it ourselves, or don't know how.

But, Real Simple magazine's Kris Connell tells The Early Show co-anchor Rene Syler washing your delicates isn't that difficult.

In "Real Simple Solutions" Tuesday, Connell shows how. The magazine's current issue has an article on this as well.

Connell observes that many people fear ruining something if they wash it themselves. Also, many people who do hand wash their delicates could do it better: It's really a skill. This is for the ambitious hand washer, because it is time consuming.

Among the delicates people tend to shy away from washing by hand: cashmere, active wear (workout clothes) and intimate apparel. People think cashmere will get pilled and ruined if it's washed. The main concern with active wear is perspiration and how quickly it will stain. With lingerie, worries include damaging the elastic.

There are numerous "do's" and "don'ts" for delicate washing, such as sorting the lights and darks, making sure to use the right temperature, not oversoaking (doing so increases your chances of bleeding or fading or having your embellishments fall off), and making sure to reshape your knits before drying them so they don't become misshapen.

Detergents favored by the Real Simle staff include Woolite and Victoria's Secret Gentle Affection Delicate Wash.

Some other keys: not using a lot of detergent; being sure to just swirl the clothes around instead of rubbing them back and forth; not wringing the garment out but folding it and pressing it against the side of the basin to get the water out; not running water over the garment (that can stretch delicate fabrics). Once you take the garment out of the soapy water, transfer it into a basin of clean water to rise it off. Then, squeeze it and lay it out on a white towel to dry.

An interesting point is the difference between a tag in your clothes that says "dry clean only" and one that just says "dry clean." If the tag says "dry clean only," then Connell says she would only send it out and not try to wash it herself. But if it just says "dry clean," it gives you the green light to hand wash it. The tag is more of a suggestion than a command, Connell notes.