Doing laundry

Doing laundry is more of a challenge for low vision patients that many people may realize. Pouring laundry detergent without spilling is always a challenge. The washer and dryer controls are hard to read. In addition, laundry machines always seem to be in the area with the least amount of light.

There are solutions to make things better. Using laundry pods instead of liquid laundry detergent is one approach. If the low vision patient prefers to use liquid detergent then there is a way to minimize messes. Instead of pouring the liquid detergent directly into the washing machine’s detergent dispenser, we have a different idea. The patient can use some smaller containers that have the capacity that is normally used for a load of laundry. Then, the patient can take the bigger bottle of detergent and fill the smaller container in a sink.  That way any spills or overfills are contained in the sink which can easily be cleaned.

There are a couple of strategies to operate the controls with more ease. The first is to mark them using high contrast bump dots. Bump dots, strategically placed like at the start and stop positions, are very helpful. Another strategy is to make large print drawings of the controls and mount them near the washer and dryer. As we always say, good lighting always helps. A lamp mounted so that the light shines onto the controls can be very helpful. If mounting a light is not practical, a good flashlight can also do the job.

Low vision patients, like all of us, have to deal with laundry. The key is teaching them strategies that makes things easier