How To Choose Your Washer Settings Without Destroying Your Clothes (And BTW, What Exactly is Permanent Press?)

I admit I wash 90 percent of our laundry on the cotton/normal setting. Sometimes I separate towels into their own load and wash them on the towel setting. Rags always go through the Sanitize cycle. But other than that, the settings on my high-tech washer and dryer are basically unused. I've been paying more attention, though, to the impact of how I launder our clothes on their longevity. And I'm determined to put all of my laundry settings to better use.