When leaves start turning, summer’s lightweight cottons make way to heavier and bulkier fabrics like flannels, fleece, knitted sweaters and denim. With them also comes static cling and wear-and-tear from improper washing.

Here's how you can keep your fall wardrobe looking (and feeling) its best all season long.

Why Fall Laundry Is Different

After summer’s steep humidity, autumn brings two things that impact how your fabrics will respond. First, its dry air drives static electricity and your clothes start clinging to you and everything around. Second, laundry loads get heavier due to the change in common cold-weather fabrics, including sweaters, hoodies, jeans, blankets, and more. Not only are the fabrics heavier themselves, but they also hold onto more water in the wash machine, which means more stress on the fabric and the machine.

How to Prevent Static Electricity in Your Laundry 

When dry fabrics rub together, they exchange electrons with nowhere to go; causing the annoying static cling we are all so familiar with in the Upper Midwest – particularly in the Fall. 

Here’s how you can prevent it:

• Don’t over-dry. Believe it or not, there is such a thing as “too dry” when it comes to laundry. It’s actually the number one cause of static in your clothes and fabrics. Instead, use the dryer’s moisture sensor setting, or pull clothes while they are just barely damp and finish with a brief air dry.

• Separate synthetics from natural fabrics. When polyester, nylon or fleece are dried with cotton, it creates the perfect conditions for static electricity. Instead, dry your synthetic fabrics separate from your cottons and on low heat. If you can, hang them to dry.

• Use wool dryer balls. Not only are wool dryer balls better for our environment, but they also have their advantages in the dyer. As the cycle runs, they separate clothes as they tumble. When fabrics have room to move freely, drying time is faster, fabrics are softened naturally, and static electricity has nowhere to stick. Another quick trick: lightly dampen one dryer ball to add humidity to the dryer. An even easier trick: run wool dryer balls through the wash with your clothes to keep them fresh and lightly dampened when entering the dryer.

• Quick fix for clingy clothes: If you’re in a bind and have to be somewhere quick, simply run a wire hanger over the garment or lightly moisten your hands and smooth them over your fabric.

Layering Season: Wash Smarter 

For many Midwesterns, Fall is their favorite wardrobe of the year. Layers of flannel, knitted sweaters, cozy socks and slippers… but washing them every time can actually shorten their lifespan, cause pilling or fading, and cost you more money on laundry day. Instead, save time and money by: 

• Washing the layer that touches your skin; air out the rest. Items that touch your skins will always need more washing, often after every wear. But the layers on top – your grandfather’s flannel, the expensive sweater from your favorite store, and the seasonal throw blanket – only need washing about every 3-5 wears.

• Hang layers to breathe between wears. When washing machines were more manual, it was common to air layers versus washing them after each wear. This was partially due to the manual labor involved, but also good practice to maintain longevity of a wardrobe. The same still applies today. After wear, give your sweaters and flannels a few hours on a hook (not on a hanger stuffed in the closet) to air out and prevent odor buildup.

• Spot-clean instead of full washing. A small spot on a chunky cardigan doesn't require a full wash. You can actually just dab it with a drop of mild detergent and cool water, blot, and air dry.

Wash Heavy Items on Cooler Cycles 

Heavy items don’t always need the heavy treatments we often associate with them when doing laundry. Their care is actually gentler than you might think. 

• Choose cool or cold water. Nearly all of us have found ourselves pulling a flannel from the dryer either not as soft as when it went in or two sizes smaller than when we bought it. That’s because heavy fabrics like fleece and denim are more prone to shrinking in hot water. Save the disappointment, and select cold water on your machine. Your colors will stay vibrant, fit will remain intact, and their fibers won’t experience as much stress – giving them a longer life in your closet.

• Don't overload the machine. Heavy items, like all washable fabrics, need room to move and allow water and suds between. This can best be achieved by only filling your machine about three-quarters full, especially for heavier loads. By overstuffing a dryer, you’re not actually getting the cleanest clean – and sometimes, not very clean at all. It can also cost you more in the long run. The extra friction caused during the wash cycle could cause serious pilling and strain on the washer’s motor and bearings. It’s the quickest way to a repair: of your clothes and the machine.

• Turn items inside out. This protects the outer surface of sweatshirts with graphics or embroidery, jeans, and printed fabrics.

• Use lower spin speeds for bulky items. High-speed spins are prone to stretching heavy knits because of their force while the knit is still wet. This ultimately wears heavy items down faster.

• Dry low and slow, or flat. High dryer heat is hard on heavy fabrics and a major cause of shrinking. Instead, preserve their shape by doing a tumble dry on low or laying knits flat to dry.

A Quick Fall Fabric Cheat Sheet 

• Flannel: Wash cold, inside out, gentle cycle. Low-heat dry.

• Fleece: Cold wash, no fabric softener. Air dry or lowest heat.

• Denim: Wash cold, inside out, as infrequently as you can stand. Hang dry.

• Hoodies & Sweatshirts: Cold wash, zipped up, low-heat dry.

• Blankets & Throws: Wash alone or with one other large item to balance the load. Cool water, gentle cycle.