How to wash clothes by hand

Have you been destroying shirts in the washing machine or overpaying at the dry cleaners? Washing your clothes by hand is actually the best way to save your clothes and extend their lifetime.

1. Wash clothes in a place with abundant water such as a shower head, bathtub faucet, or outside using the garden hose, etc.
2. Find a bucket/basin/bathtub/stoppable sink that is big enough to hold your clothes. Remember that clothing is smaller, heavier, and harder to manage when wet.
3. Add detergent. If you are using liquid, pour it right in. If you are using powder, it might work better to dissolve it with a smaller amount of water.
4. Add clothes. You might realize this is an important step, but don't forget to sort your clothes before putting in for wash. Clothes can be sorted on various bases like color (colored, dark, or white clothes), or you can sort based on type (put your normal clothes like shirts and pants together or put your heavier clothes like bed sheets and towels together) or any other way which you think it best fits you.
5. Cover the clothes with water. Whether you use hot, warm, or cold water depends on the type of fabric you are dealing with. Cold water is usually the best option for most fabrics and conserves energy. Warm water is better for heavily soiled clothes, but hot water can shrink cotton and wool. Luke warm water is appropriate for silks. Hot water is the best for socks because it kills fungi.
6. Let the clothes soak for about 20-30 minutes. 20 minutes is appropriate if you don't have many clothes, 25 if you have a medium amount, and 30 if you have a big bundle of clothing. Don't soak any longer because detergent will damage both the fabric and fade the color of your clothes.
7. Use a brand new, never-before-used toilet bowl plunger to agitate the clothes with a gentle up and down action. Your hand will work just as well. If you do use your hands knead your clothes as if you were kneading bread.
8. Drain out the water. Remove the clothes and let them drain for several minutes. (One way is to put the clothes in a sink, bath tub, or any clean place where the force of gravity will take the water away.)
9. It usually takes three changes of water to remove the soap. Put the clothes back in the container and cover with clean water. Agitate them. Drain the water. Repeat this step at least two more times. Rinsing the clothes until the water runs clear will also work.
10. Take out the clothes, and allow them to drain for several minutes.
11. Hang everything up to dry on plastic hangers.