What Is the Permanent Press Cycle, and Should You Actually Use It?

Choosing the right washer and dryer settings for your laundry can be confusing. Cycle type, temperature, load Size, spin speed—which one is best?

One of those choices on both a washer and dryer is the permanent ress cycle. When should you use it—and what happens when you do?

Learn more about permanent press and how it can help you get better laundry results.

What Is Permanent Press, Exactly?

Permanent press is a cycle selection on most washing machines designed for synthetic fabrics and wrinkle-resistant garments.

Unless manually overridden, the cycle uses a lower water temperature, slower agitation speed, and has a cooldown period before the slower final spin to help reduce wrinkling.

A dryer’s permanent press cycle uses medium-high heat (135 degrees F.) for most of the cycle before lowering the temperature during the final minutes to help reduce fabric wrinkles.

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The Benefits of Using Permanent Press

• Gentle on fabrics. Because the permanent press cycle uses lower water and heated air temperatures, it is more gentle on fabrics. This helps reduce fading, shrinking, and pilling.
• Reduces utility costs. Lower water temperature and shorter cleaning cycles save on the utility costs of washers. Many dryers stop using heated air and switch to room temperature air at the end of the permanent press cycle, again reducing operating costs.
• Reduces wrinkles in clothes. A washer’s permanent press cycle has a shorter wash cycle and a lower final spin speed. The lower speed helps prevent hard-to-remove wrinkles in synthetic and natural fiber clothes. The permanent press cooldown segment in a dryer helps the fibers in clothes relax and let go of creases and wrinkles.

Which Clothes Should You Wash on Permanent Press?

The permanent press cycle is a good choice for…

• Lightly soiled synthetic (nylon, rayon, polyester, microfiber, or spandex)
• Natural fiber clothing (cotton, linen, or washable wool).
• Clothing labeled as wrinkle-free, wrinkle-resistant, or do not iron.

What Not to Wash on Permanent Press

• Heavy items like blankets or comforters: Don’t wash these on permanent press because the final spin speed isn’t long enough to clean heavily-soiled clothing.
• Delicates: While it is more gentle on fabrics than some other cycles, permanent press it is not gentle enough for delicate fabrics like lingerie, lace, and knitted garments like sweaters.

How to Use Permanent Press Wash Cycle

1. Sort the dirty laundry. As with any laundry load, the first step is to sort the clothes and linens. Read the care labels and select items similar in color and fabric weight to wash together using the Permanent Press cycle.
2. Load the washer. Do not overload the washer. Cramming the drum full of clothes will lessen the Permanent Press cycle’s efforts in wrinkle reduction.
3. Monitor the washer. After adding detergent, selecting the Permanent Press cycle, and starting the washer, set a timer so you can remove the clothing from the washer as soon as the cycle is complete. Allowing the clothes to sit in the washer will cause more wrinkles to form.

How to Use Permanent Press Dryer Cycle

After washing clothes on the permanent press cycle, it’s a good idea to continue the laundry routine using the permanent press dryer cycle.

1. Read the garment care labels because some clothes should be air-dried.
2. Load the rest of the clothes in the dryer and run the cycle.
3. Again, set a timer so you remove the clothes from the dryer as soon as the cycle is complete.
4. Hang the garments immediately to help prevent excessive wrinkling.