Lavamos la ropa blanca sin la ropa de color.

Lavamos is the first person plural form of lavar, so it usually means we wash or we are washing.

One useful detail: with -ar verbs, the nosotros form is the same in the present and the preterite:

• lavamos = we wash / we are washing
• lavamos = we washed

So only the context tells you which one is meant. In a sentence like this, it is most naturally understood as a present/habitual statement: We wash the white clothes separately from the coloured clothes.

No. Standard let’s wash would be lavemos.

So:

• lavamos = we wash / we are washing / we washed
• lavemos = let’s wash

A learner might expect lavamos to mean let’s wash, because English sometimes uses we in a similar way, but in standard Spanish they are different forms.

Because ropa is a collective noun in Spanish. It refers to clothing/laundry as a group, but grammatically it is singular.

So Spanish says:

• la ropa = clothing / clothes / laundry

Not usually:

• las ropas for ordinary everyday meaning

This is very normal in Spanish. English uses a plural noun clothes, but Spanish uses singular ropa.

Because blanca agrees with ropa, and ropa is singular feminine.

So:

• ropa = feminine singular
• blanca = feminine singular adjective

Even though in English we may think of many items of clothing, Spanish grammar follows the noun ropa, not the number of actual garments.

Because in Spanish, descriptive adjectives usually come after the noun.

So the normal order is:

• ropa blanca = white clothes / white laundry

Putting the adjective before the noun is much less common here and would sound unusual. For simple description, noun + adjective is the standard pattern.

In a laundry context, ropa de color means coloured clothes, meaning clothes that are not white.

It is a very common expression when talking about separating laundry:

• ropa blanca = whites
• ropa de color = coloured clothes
• sometimes also ropa oscura = dark clothes

So de color here does not mean especially bright or multicoloured. It just means the coloured laundry category.

Because ropa de color is the natural, idiomatic expression used for laundry.

There is a difference:

• ropa de color = coloured clothes, as a laundry category
• ropa colorida = colourful clothes, with bright or varied colours

So colorida describes the look of the clothes, while de color is the normal practical label for sorting washing.

Because Spanish often uses the definite article when talking about a specific category or set that is understood in context.

So:

• sin la ropa de color = without the coloured clothes / not together with the coloured laundry

You could also hear:

• sin ropa de color

That sounds a bit more indefinite, more like without any coloured clothes mixed in.

With la, the sentence sounds like it is talking about two known laundry groups:

• la ropa blanca
• la ropa de color

Yes, exactly.

It means the white laundry is washed without the coloured laundry in the same load. In natural English, the idea is:

• We wash the white clothes separately from the coloured clothes

Spanish uses sin to express that separation very naturally here.

Because Spanish often uses the definite article in a general, natural way with everyday tasks and categories.

So:

• Lavamos la ropa blanca sounds normal and complete.

If you remove la and say:

• Lavamos ropa blanca

it is still understandable, but it sounds more indefinite, like we wash white clothes in a more general sense, rather than referring to the white laundry as a category being handled.

In this sentence, the article helps make it sound more natural and more like a normal statement about sorting laundry.

Yes. The Spanish present tense can describe:

• what is happening now
• a habit or routine
• a general rule

So Lavamos la ropa blanca sin la ropa de color can mean:

• We are washing the white clothes separately from the coloured clothes
  or
• We wash white clothes separately from coloured clothes

In laundry advice or household context, the habitual/general meaning is very likely.