Doing Laundry

Rahul and his roommate work out a laundry routine after ruining a shirt by mixing colours in the wash.

Meanings in Rahul, Roommate

Key words and phrases

washing machinea machine used to wash clothes automaticallyHe put his clothes in the washing machine.

detergenta cleaning substance used to wash clothesHe added too much detergent by mistake.

fabric softenera liquid added to laundry to make clothes feel softerShe added fabric softener to the final rinse.

load sizethe amount of laundry washed together in one cycleHe kept the load size small to avoid overloading.

spin cyclethe stage in washing that removes excess water by spinning fastThe spin cycle left his clothes almost dry.

delicate washa gentle washing setting for fragile fabricsHe used the delicate wash setting for his good shirt.

sort clothesto separate laundry into groups before washingShe always sorts clothes by colour before washing.

colour bleedwhen dye from one garment runs onto another during washingThe red shirt caused colour bleed onto his white clothes.

stain removalthe process of getting rid of a mark on fabricHe tried a stain removal trick before washing.

drying racka stand used to hang wet clothes to dryShe hung her clothes on the drying rack.

wrinklea small crease or fold in fabricHe ironed the shirt to remove the wrinkles.

shrinkto become smaller, often from hot water or heatHis sweater started to shrink after a hot wash.

hand washto wash clothes manually instead of using a machineThis wool sweater needs to be hand washed.

laundry baga bag used to collect and carry dirty clothesHe kept his dirty clothes in a laundry bag.

foldto bend clothes neatly for storageShe folded the clean clothes and put them away.

dry cleaninga cleaning method that uses chemicals instead of waterHe took his blazer for dry cleaning.

laundry dutythe responsibility of doing the household laundryThey took turns with laundry duty each week.

lukewarm waterwater that is neither hot nor coldHe used lukewarm water for the delicate wash.

care labelthe tag on clothing showing how to wash itAlways check the care label before washing.

split choresto divide household tasks between peopleThey agreed to split chores evenly.

Useful sentences

Ask Why does your white shirt look pink?
Answer There was a colour bleed from a red shirt I washed with it.
Ask Did you sort clothes before washing?
Answer No, I just threw everything into the washing machine.
Ask Should we always check the care label first?
Answer Yes, it tells you the right wash setting.
Ask Why did my sweater shrink?
Answer You probably washed it in hot water instead of lukewarm.
Ask Can we split chores for laundry duty?
Answer Sure, I'll take the odd weeks and you take the even ones.
Ask Should this shirt be hand washed?
Answer Yes, the care label says delicate wash only.
Ask How do I get this stain out?
Answer Try a stain removal spray before putting it in the machine.
Ask Where should I hang the wet clothes?
Answer Use the drying rack on the balcony.
Ask Do we need to buy more detergent?
Answer Yes, we're almost out — add it to the list.
Ask Should we fold the clothes now or later?
Answer Let's fold them now before they get wrinkled.

Dialogue

RahulOh no, my white shirt has turned pink!

RoommateDid you wash it with that new red t-shirt?

RahulYes, I didn't think to sort clothes by colour first.

RoommateThat caused the colour bleed. Always check the care label too.

RahulGood point. Should we set a proper laundry routine?

RoommateYes, let's split chores — one of us handles laundry duty each week.

RahulSounds fair. What about delicate items like sweaters?

RoommateThose should be hand washed or set to delicate wash with lukewarm water.

RahulGot it. I'll be more careful with the load size too.

RoommateGreat, that should keep our clothes in better shape.

Common mistakes

Saying "I wash my cloth" instead of "I wash my clothes."
Saying "it is shrink" instead of "it shrank" or "it has shrunk."
Saying "put on delicate wash" instead of "set it to delicate wash."
Saying "color bleeding happen" instead of "colour bleed happened."
Saying "I hand wash it yesterday" instead of "I hand washed it yesterday."
Saying "split the chore" instead of "split the chores."

Quick quiz

1. What does "colour bleed" mean?

2. What is a "care label"?

3. What does "hand wash" mean?

4. What is "dry cleaning"?

5. Complete: "They agreed to ___ evenly."

6. What is "lukewarm water"?

Practise speaking and listening

The free Day to Day English app turns every lesson into practice with audio, a story you follow and more than 1680 words to learn.

Free for AndroidPractise in the app

menu_book Key words and phrases

forum Useful sentences

chat Dialogue

error Common mistakes

quiz Quick quiz