How do you wash and keep socks looking nice?

Socks can be tricky, but here are a few suggestions....NEVER WASH IN COLD WATER!!! Most detergents will not activate properly or do any real cleaning unless you are above 70 degree wash water temperature. SO washing in a minimum of warm water is recommended, although many people (myself included) use hot water for whites. Most new washing machines that are "energy star rated" will monitor the temperature of the incoming wash water and make sure it is within specified ranges when set to warm or hot. Look for such things as "automatic temperate control" or "precision temperature" or any other similar sounding labels near the temperature selector switch.

Regardless of the temperature (either warm or hot) you can also try cutting back on your amount of soap. At least half the recommended amount of soap on the box or jug if you are washing with normal tap water, and only 1-2 tablespoons of soap if you have soft water. Alot of the "white fuzzies" can be attributed to pilling from too much soap. Excessive soap will also cause your clothes to get that "dingy" appearance, whether they are whites or colors. And lets face it, the soap manufacturers dont care if you are using too much soap, their goal is to sell you another box/jug of soap. So if you use it twice as fast as needed, you are just buying twice as often as you should.

If you are not sure you are using too much soap or not use this easy test that I have amazed customers with over many years. Take some clean bath towels out of your linen closet or wherever you store them for use and put 5-6 in your washer and set it to max water level and warm water. Dont add any soap and let it fill and wash for several minutes 5-8 should be enough. Then open the lid and if you see an oily film on top or even worse you see suds on the top of the water, you'll know you're using too much soap and the washer is not able to rinse it all out.

So in conclusion...use warm or hot water wash (cold water rinse is fine), cut back on the amount of soap per load, and watch for improvements. You can also use an oxygen activator along with your detergent (like an Oxi-clean or other such product, or even bleach occasionally, but it isnt necessary).

Good luck and happy washing!

I've never found a way to wash colored socks and keep them from looking fuzzy after a few washes. I always assumed it was because I don't spend a lot on colored socks because I rarely wear them.

I wear white socks almost every day and I've found that washing them in hot water was the only way to keep them looking nice and clean. I rarely use bleach, but if they happen to get dingy looking I will put a load of whites in the washer and fill it with hot water, laundry detergent, and a little bleach and let it soak for an hour or so, then let it run through the whole cycle. I always do an extra rinse when I use bleach.

Even though I'm a guy I prefer to wear knee-high socks with shorts when I can get away with it. I agree they look really smart when they are right up and really sloppy when they start falling down. Knee-high tube socks usually to stay up by themselves, depending how old they are. Elastic garters worn under turnover top socks are probably the best way though - worked that out after I went to a boarding school where they had to be kept right up if guys wore shorts. No more constant sock pulling after I started wearing them. They are often worn with rugby and football socks as well - otherwise those will keep falling down too.

try soak your socks in any Bath Soaps.. not detergent... leave it for a while.. then handwash..