What colours can go into a washing machine together?

Mixing the wrong colours can lead to fading, stains or ruined clothes, and no one wants that.

With a few simple tips, it’s easy to avoid colour mishaps and keep your laundry looking its best for longer.

This quick guide from Hotpoint covers which colours can be washed together, helping you sort your load with confidence.

A visual for understanding which colours can be washed together

We have created this simple-to-follow table so that you can quickly see which colours can go together the next time you are filling your washing machine:

How to stop colours running in a washing machine

Sorting your colours properly is one of the easiest ways to avoid colours running in the wash.

But there are a few other simple steps that can help protect your clothes too:

·       Wash new clothes separately the first time. Fresh dyes can bleed more easily, so it’s best to keep new items away from older favourites.

·       Turn clothes inside out before putting them in the machine. This helps protect the fabrics and can reduce visible wear, especially on seams or denim.

If colour run has occurred, there’s no need to panic. Rewash the stained item on its own while it is still wet, as this gives you the best chance of removing the dye before it sets into the fabric. Once you’ve done that, run an empty cycle to rinse out the drum and prevent any leftover dye from affecting your next load of laundry.

Understanding other laundry symbols

It is also important to make sure never to put cottons, denims and delicates through the same laundry cycle. Each of these types of fabric need to be washed at different water temperatures.

Understanding laundry symbols on labels will inform you how to sort your laundry load by fabrics:

·       Laundry to be washed hot – Identified by a green symbol of a tub of water with either 60°C or four dots on it.
This refers to garments that are machine washable and should be washed hot, to a recommended maximum temperature of 60°C.

·       Laundry to be washed warm – Represented by a green symbol that has a tub of water with either 40°C or two dots on it.
This refers to garments that are machine washable and should be washed warm, to a recommended maximum temperature of 40°C.

·       Laundry to be washed cold – Characterised by a green symbol that has a tub of water with either 30°C or one dot on it.
This refers to garments that are machine washable and should be washed cold, to a recommended maximum temperature of 30°C.

·       Laundry to be hand washed – Represented by a green symbol of a tub of water that has a hand in it.
This refers to delicate fabrics which should only be washed at temperatures of 40°C or lower, either by hand or using the hand wash programme on your washing machine.

·       Do not wash laundry – Identified by a red symbol that has a cross over a tub of water.
This refers to any fabrics which can only be dry cleaned.

For any garments which are machine washable, be sure to look out for the following on the fabric’s care label too:

·       One horizontal line underneath the tub of water symbol – This informs you that your washing machine’s synthetic cycle should be selected to wash the clothing.

·       Two horizontal lines underneath the tub of water symbol – This informs you that either your washing machine’s gentle or wool wash cycle should be selected to wash the clothing.

How Hotpoint washing machines better protect your laundry

Buy a Hotpoint washing machine and you will find that our appliances feature so much standout technology aimed at protecting your clothes each time they are put through a laundry cycle.

ColourCare technology protects clothes for up to 4x longer than other washing machines, for instance. Then there is the fabric care technology packed within our appliances, which presents you with specialised programmes designed to address the exact needs of several types of fabric.

Browse our entire range of washing machines to find the perfect appliance for your home today. And don’t forget to register for our newsletter if this will be your first order on our website, as you can receive free delivery of your new appliance by our dedicated fleet.