One cannot just go and throw anything that comes to mind into a portable washing machine, although it appears easy, it may damage your stuff.
A variety of clothing items are better if dry cleaned or steam washed.
Running some specific items in a washer can destroy them like lace work, rubber items, waterproof stuff and similar other items.
Putting hard items in your portable washer not only destroys your clothes but also the washing machine.
Hence, for the health and well-being of your washing machine, you need to take care that which things to drop inside it and which things not.
Some items that should not be washed in a portable washing machine are:
Shoes (specifically leather one’s)
Regular sneaks can be washed in a portable washing machine but not running shoes or say the athletic sneakers.
The washer may damage the leather and peel it off and can also shrink them in size, which will surely be an expensive error.
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Small-sized clothes
When it comes to the misplacement of small clothing items, your laundry is the culprit.
Such small items may get stuck in hoses or the spinning part of the machine and may result in damage that may cost a lot to repair.
It is preferred to wash such items by hand or alternative situation is to tie them together or make a mesh bag to put them inside the washer.
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Lace Items
Lace items are better to be washed by hands.
Use cold water to wash them and do not rub them with force, otherwise, their design would be distorted.
Such items are too fragile to be washed in a washer and their net-like tiny structure is too delicate to withstand the pressure of a washing machine so do not wash them in a washer.
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Rubber items
Any item which is even partially made of rubber must not be thrown in the mixture of clothes to be washed by the washer otherwise it may lose its shape and form.
Its adhesiveness might well be destroyed or the rubber may melt and can get entrapped in the hose or other tubes.
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Ties
This is the most common mistake that almost everyone does.
Ties are made of delicate fabric like silk or wool and their embroidery and detailed stitching might tear down and also the tie may shrink and lose its color.
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Stuffed toys
The wash cycle may shred the buttons or eyes of the stuffed animals and if it’s your baby’s favorite toy, then you would have to pay for this. Hence to prevent the damage, you must avoid washing in a washer.
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Bags and purses
Certain bags are made up of Leather and zip and some types of bag are made up of materials which does not tolerate the combination of water and soap that well.
While it may not damage your portable washer, it can certainly do an irreparable damage to your purse and bags.
Ideally, you should be putting in bags and purses made of cloth material and one that does not have buttons or zips (difficult to find these).
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Suits (pent courts)
The fabric of suits is delicate and is woven with special care that can be damaged even with a delicate wash.
So never commit a mistake of throwing them in a washer.
A better option for them is to get dry cleaned and to use steam to get rid of wrinkles.
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Sweaters
Sweaters made from delicate fabrics like silk, cashmere, or wool can be ruined when washed by spinning.
They cannot stand through a washing machine’s rough actions.
You can use mesh bags to minimize the amount of friction to which it is exposed.
Lastly, it’s better to air dry them.
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Soft foam pillows
Soft foam pillows are also not machine washable.
They will be turned into too soggy bricks if submerging them in water and will also be disintegrated.
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Waterproof stuff
Materials like raincoats or mattresses trap water when they are being washed and form a balloon-like effect which will burst during a washing cycle.
This will create an unbalanced situation, will upset all the cycle, and will create a huge mess.
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Flammable dirt
Never make a mistake of putting clothes that have flammable material on it inside a washer.
Highly flammable compounds such as gasoline, alcohol and even cooking oil are non-compatible with washing machines.
Placing stained garments with such compounds can initiate hazardous situation.
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Lingerie with Hooks
Women’s undergarments and night suits contain laces and its stuff is delicate.
Hence, dropping your lingerie in a washer to be washed with other clothes may not be a good idea.
The wires and hooks of bras may get stuck in some other clothes and may tear the bra as well as the other clothes. These hooks and wires may also get tangled with washing machine parts and damage it significantly.
The swimming dresses can also become inelastic in a very few washes as the material from which it is made of, cannot withstand heat.
Therefore, if you want your beach dresses to be safe and maintain their worth, better option is to hand wash them. It will not take much time and effort.
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Clothing with pet hair
If you have pets at your home then avoid placing those clothes in washing machine that contain pet hair.
Pet hair may stick on every clothes you washed and will ultimately appear everywhere i.e. on your jackets, trousers, shirts, and rugs etc.
Hence, putting any item in a washing machine containing pet hair is not recommended.
When firs get wet, they can stick to the walls of washer. To avoid such happenings, try putting such stuff after cleaning it. Properly remove the hair through a brush or whatsoever you find useful and then drop such clothes in a washing machine.
Alright! Now that we know stuffs that you should wash in your portable washer, let’s take a quick look at what you can wash.
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Things that portable washing machine can clean
All the casual dresses, undergarments, T-shirts, trousers, scarfs, napkins, rugs, curtains and common stuff can be easily washed by such washers.
Whether men’s clothes, women’s clothes, or baby stuff, it can conveniently clean them without disturbing their fabric, provided your clothes does not have fragile buttons, hooks and hard metal items.
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Conclusion
Portable washing machines are careful objects that gently wash your clothing allowing all dirt to be cleaned.
But just avoid putting stuffs that are made of rubber or has hard metal items such as hooks & fragile buttons in in your washer.
Just incase you find that your washer is giving problems, you can also take a quick look at our Portable washing machine’s troubleshooting guide.
Furthermore, we also try to answer most of the frequently asked questions related to Portable washing machines in our FAQ Section.
