When to use a mesh laundry bag

Water and detergent flow through mesh freely — the bag doesn't reduce cleaning. What it stops: hooks and zippers reaching the contents; the contents' own straps wrapping around the drum or other items; fine fabric rubbing against coarse fabric; and small items migrating into fitted-sheet corners or the machine's drain. What it can't stop: agitation itself and heat — a bag is not permission to wash a hand-wash item on normal or to tumble-dry a bra.

• Bras — hooks fastened, one or two per bag; the bag protects the bra AND everything near it.
• Lace and mesh underwear, camisoles, slips — see washing delicates.
• Tights and stockings — the tangle champions.
• Swimwear, if it goes in the machine at all.
• Embellished or sequined items on their (rare) machine trips.
• Baby socks, bibs, and mittens — the vanishing class.
• Socks, if you're tired of singles.
• Sweaters and fine knits headed into a wool/delicate cycle — folded, in a large bag.

1. Fill bags loosely — half full at most. A stuffed bag becomes a solid lump that neither washes nor rinses.
2. One snag-hazard per bag: a bra and a lace pair in the same bag can damage each other; the bag walls don't help with inside jobs.
3. Match bag size to contents: tights in a small fine-mesh bag, a sweater in a large one.
4. Zip the bag fully and tuck the zipper pull under its guard if it has one — an open bag zipper is itself a snag hazard.
5. Bags can go from washer to AIR drying with contents; take delicates out to dry properly rather than tumbling the bag.

A mesh bag doesn't overrule the load around it or the label inside it. A bagged silk blouse in a load of jeans still gets pummeled by a heavy load's agitation; a hand-wash-only label still means the sink. The bag earns its keep in an already-gentle load — cold water, delicate cycle, soft company. Think of it as the seatbelt, not the airbag.