- Did you find a grease stain, whether from steak drippings or a splash of olive oil? Reach for your grease-fighting dish soap and apply it directly to the stain, rubbing to let it soak in, then throw in the washer soon after. It should get rid of the stain.
- Do you have rings around shirt collars? That’s from natural body oils, so grab a bottle of shampoo, squeeze a bit in your hand, and rub all the way around the stain. Let sit anywhere from twenty minutes to an hour before washing.
- Check stained shirts when you take them out of the washer. If the stain is still there, don’t put it in the dryer! The heat of the dryer will make the stain much harder to remove. Try soaking the garment for an hour or two in stain-remover or a solution of water and dish soap (for grease stains), then washing again with the next load.
- You may sort your load by color, but do you sort by fabric? For example, don’t put black fleece with plain, bright cotton—the fleece will pick up lint! If you can, do each load by a similar fabric.
- Always turn your bright and dark colors inside-out when you wash and dry them, and make sure you shake everything out to unroll sleeves and hems.
- You only need about half of the recommended amount of laundry detergent, even with concentrated detergents. Too much detergent, and your clothes will be stiff because they retain it in their fabric. To see if you’re using too much detergent, run an experiment: Start a small load of laundry without detergent, and throw in a few of your bath towels. Leave for about 10-15 minutes of agitation, then come back and open the lid. If the water is soapy or sudsy, you’re using too much detergent. Cut back!
- If your washer permits, start the water running before you put clothes in. Once it’s a few inches high, then pour in your detergent and swill it around. This distributes the detergent evenly throughout the water and ensures all of your clothes come out clean.
- Need to dry a few garments quickly? Throw a dry bath towel or two into the dryer with your wet garments. It’ll help absorb the extra moisture.
- To avoid static, reduce your drying time and take clothes out of the dyer before they’re absolutely dry. At that point, hanging or laying them out and smoothing them may also prevent the need to iron.
- You don’t have to use your dryer for everything—in fact, unless your clothes are very durable or you’re trying to shrink something, it’s much better to just hang your clothes or lay them out to dry. A fold-out drying rack can save you loads of money on having to run the dryer after every load. Plus, clothes that dry naturally will last much longer; excessive heat damages clothing and fades color. Keep your sweaters, jeans, and knits out of the dryer whenever you can help it. When you have to put them in the dryer, keep them inside out.
- Does your washer have that musty summertime odor? Add a few tablespoons of baking soda to your next load in the washer, and the scent should go away.
- Having a hard time getting wrinkles out of clothes on your ironing board? Lightly mist them with water from a spray bottle and try ironing again. If you want, add a few tablespoons of fabric softener to the spray bottle for a fresh scent.
- Need to iron something delicate, like silk or lace? Lay it out on your ironing board, then cover in with a hand towel. Lightly mist the hand towel with water, then iron over the towel over the delicate fabric.
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