Laundry. Some find it therapeutic since it allows them to get away from the family for awhile as they wash clothes. You could even listen to music while doing so, plus it’s a great way to get the body moving.
Some. But most people hate doing laundry despite those high tech washing machines. But fret not, as these laundry hacks can make your routine a breeze. Read on and learn a thing or two!
Organize “dirty” clean clothes
That chair or shelf where most of us keep clothes that are not dirty yet but not clean enough to put back in the closet?
Those will eventually pile up, making your room look messier. And then there’s the smell.
Keep things organized by hanging your not-so-clean clothes on a clothesline. Tracking clothes will be easier and getting one or two more uses out of a shirt before washing helps extend its life.
Taking care of the lint
Not everyone has a laundry room spacious enough to accommodate washing supplies, trash can, and drying racks.
Instead of dropping lint and dust on the floor of any room, empty the lint trap inside the laundry room. Attach a small box to the wall, or use an empty tissue box that’s lightweight and portable for the intended purpose.
Tracking outfits
It can be difficult to keep track of all of your clothes, so come laundry day, the tendency is to just toss everything in the washer.
Use a dry erase board or something similar o hang in the laundry room. Write down separation instructions for the load. Check the board when clothes are ready to dry so you’ll know which ones go on the clothesline.
Preventing wrinkles
No one irons clothes anymore, relying instead on the dryer, but more often than not, clothes still have wrinkles. That’s what usually happens with an overloaded machine.
Remove some of the clothes and add ice cubes to the dryer. Turn the machine back on so the ice cubes act as a steamer on stubborn wrinkles.
That should give you a perfectly laundered load at the end of the cycle.
Don’t shrink your clothes
Clothing always comes with a label of clear instructions on how to wash it, but we don’t really bother reading those. Some of your clothing can shrink in size when not washed right but no worries.
Soak them in warm water and add some hair conditioner. That will loosen the fabric and help regain its previous shape. Rinse the clothes to remove the conditioner once it’s back to normal.
Spin cycle for delicates
It can be a waste to run a whole load for a few items of clothing, so turn a salad spinner into a mini washing machine instead for delicates.
Add your clothes to the spinner, then fill it with water and detergent. The salad spinner doubles as a delicates dryer, and it works for lingeries crop tops, lace bodysuits, and embellished clothes.
The salad spinner removes the water without damaging fabric.
Energy-saving mode
Doing laundry takes time and spends a lot of energy. Use cold water for the washer. Warm and hot loads are not as efficient since the machine will use energy to heat up the water.
For the dryer, reduce time by adding aluminum foil balls in with clothes. It will shorten thy dryer time, and reduce its energy consumption, all while reducing static in clothes.
Wool balls to the rescue
It is so nice wrapping up in warm clothes that’s fresh from the dryer. But some don’t always come out soft, plus scratchy material is annoying to wear. Try using a wool ball in the dryer.
Toss in a few wool balls to dry with the clothes. They will be soft, huggable, and comfortable for wear. Wool balls are available in the market, or you can make your own.
Cleaning detergent cap
The right amount of detergent is key to a perfect load. Too much detergent make clothes dirty from soap, while not using enough won’t clean them after running the washing machine.
Using the detergent bottle repeatedly might cause the cap to get sticky. Toss the cap into the washer for one cycle then remove it from the clothes before using the dryer.
Skip the hot water
Washing machines may have a hot water setting, but it’s not always ideal for all clothes. They can damage the fabric and make holes in sheets without any moths around.
But don’t go for cold water all the time either, as it will leave clothes full of soap and cause bacterial buildup. The ideal temperature to wash linens, towels, and clothes is anywhere between 104 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
The ideal load size
The proper way of running a load of laundry is important. For example, separating lights and darks to prevent accidents, like color bleeding. And don’t forget about load size.
Too empty, and you run an inefficient load. Too full and those clothes won’t get cleaned well.
A washing machine doesn’t have unlimited capacity, so there is an upper limit on how much you can fit inside it.
A perfect load means the drum should be at around 80 percent capacity. It can also be too empty, and with more space inside, clothes can get damaged easily.
Freezing fabrics to remove sticky stains
The washer cannot clean or remove everything, and in some cases, can cause irreparable damage. Chewing gum from a park bench will get worse if you try and clean it using the washing machine.
Go for ice cubes. Rub cubes on the area and let the ice solidify the gum. Scrape it off once it hardens with a butter knife or nails.
Efficiently fold your clothes
Folding laundry and putting them away can be a pain. Some even leave their laundry for days, allowing wrinkles to set in. Bringing out the iron just adds more work.
Get a clothing folder.
They are available online or in retail stores. When used correctly, you can fold your clothes within seconds. Clothes will also be folded identically, making sorting much easier.
Cleaning the washer
It’s important to keep the inside of the washer clean and free. Mold and bacteria can grow and affect how well-washed clothes will be.
You can use the self-cleaning mode of the washer, but not every machine has this feature. Use half a cup of mouthwash to get rid of bacteria and eliminate nasty odors.
Pool noodle for wrinkles
Drying delicates is a big task after successfully washing them without any damage. A drying rack may leave creases on your delicates, but a pool noodle can easily keep wrinkles away.
Cut up pool noodles and use them over the wires of the drying rack. Let your clothes dry on the soft surface of the pool noodles.
Getting rid of the ring
Spot cleaning is a way to get rid of stubborn stains and ring. You don’t need to bleach the whole fabric either, as shampoo and dishwashing liquid can do the same job.
Put a few drops of shampoo or dishwashing liquid on the fabric and let it sit for 15-20 minutes. Wash the clothes in a regular washer cycle and the stains and rings will be removed.
When in a pinch
It’s common to forget to schedule time to do laundry especially if there are clothes that we want to wear again. If you have an item of clothing that’s still clean enough but has an undesirable odor, freeze it.
Pop them in the freezer and let them sit overnight. It won’t remove all the bacteria but it will disinfect it enough for a few more wears. This hack isn’t an alternative to washing, but it’ll do for when you are in a rush.
Say goodbye to nasty grease
Kitchen towels and aprons are prone to food stains which can be unsightly. But you can get rid of stubborn grease with chalk. Rub a small piece of chalk on the greasy stain and it will absorb and neutralize the grease.
The stain goes away with the next wash, and those towels and aprons will look fresher and newer.
Know all your stains
Every stain is different, with each needing a different approach to clean and eliminate the stain.
Use WD-40 for tomato sauce. Remove sweaty discoloration with a bleach cycle. A water and salt mixture can remove wine and coffee stains.
And of course, add baking soda to the washer to remove a stubborn smell from clothes.
Remove ink stains
Pen stains are a pain to get rid off. Ink stains are often caused by accidents. They are stubborn but don’t throw them away. Spritz hair spray on the stain then dab with a paper towel.
The towel will soak the stain, and your clothes will be restored after you do so.
Keep your blacks black
Black outfits are classic and trendy, but cleaning them can be tricky. They tend to fade when over washed or dried too much.
Try and add a few shots of brewed coffee or black tea minus the grounds to the rinse cycle. This will add a touch of dark shade to the fabric and prevent your black clothes from fading.
Works great for black shirts, shorts, trousers, and dresses.
No more wrinkles
Clothes may have a few wrinkles even after a warm cycle in the dryer. Ironing a few problem areas is also a hassle. Use a flat iron to go over a few areas like the collar or around the button.
Make sure the flat iron is clean before using it to avoid staining clean clothes. A hair straighter is small and convenient, making it easy to go over small areas easily.
No more color codes
The usual way of separating laundry is to sort by color. Some separate by color, while others don’t bother at all. But try a different way of separating them, like on the basis of how dirty and stinky they are.
You can also sort casual or office wear from gardening and sports clothes. Let the stains and dirt determine the type of detergent and the wash cycle strength.
Up your fragrance game
We all want our laundry to smell nice and fresh. But it can be stressful picking the right scent in the market.
Subtle scents may not show up on clothes, and they won’t feel as clean if they still have a stench.
To avoid this problem, add ten to twelve drops of essential oils such as lemon, tea tree, and lavender. Your clothes will end up with a fresh fragrance.
Optimizing the dryer cycle
Dryers are fast and convenient for the purpose of same-day clothes. But sometimes it feels like the cycle goes on for hours, when the wash load was only 20-30 minutes.
To speed up drying time, add an extra towel with the wet clothes. The friction from brushing against fabric will speed it up, making clothes ready to wear in no time flat.
Tennis ball for drying
The proper way to dry your linens and towels is on a clothesline under the sun. But when there’s a lack of sunlight in your area, clotheslines aren’t exactly the answer.
Toss a tennis ball in the dryer to tenderize linens and make them softer. It’s great for getting rid of wrinkles in towels, so they’ll look their best when you need them.
Soft towels for days
A soft fluffy towel after a shower feels wonderful. A hard, scratchy towel is not. This comes from repeatedly washing them, which hardens towels over time.
That’s because of the chemical build up of the cleaning supplies in the fabric. What hotels do is add a secret ingredient to the wash — white vinegar.
Keeps those towels soft.
DIY wrinkle releaser
What you don’t need when you’re running late is to have your clothes wrinkled and full of static. Try this DIY wrinkle releaser to get rid of stubborn creases. There’s no need to grab the iron.
Just add a few cups of water in a spray bottle with a teaspoon of hair conditioner and a tablespoon of vinegar. Spray on your clothes to remove the wrinkles so you can dress with confidence.
Don’t just drink vodka
Vodka is enough to make your head spin, but it’s also a great way to get rid of odor from clothes. Vodka has a pungent smell but it eliminates odors well.
Get a cheap bottle for odor removing purposes. Add some to a spray bottle and spritz it on your clothes before washing and see how fresh and clean they are after.
Keep Whites White
Color mixing isn’t cool when washing clothes for the family. One red pair of socks can make all those white clothes pink. But you can protect whites with color and dirt catchers.
It’s easy to DIY, just use a towel and soak it in washing soda and water. Let it dry, then add it to a load of laundry in the washer and see the results.
Keep your socks in pairs
You could have several single socks that are no longer of use. One way to keep both of them together is a clothespin right after you’re done wearing them.
Toss them in the laundry basket and washer with the pin to keep them together during the whole cycle. The socks won’t get stuck in the nooks and crannies of the machine thanks to the weight of the plastic clothespin.
Have a solid stain strategy
We’re all busy so keeping track of laundry isn’t always easy. But you need a plan to get rid of stains. Treat them as soon as possible, or they’ll become permanent.
Mark stains with a clothespin so that you remember them before tossing in the washer. You can even color-code your clothespin for more convenience.
No more dust
Pets shed so clothes do get covered in hair. If your lint roller is missing, or you don’t have one, there’s an easy way to get rid of that clingy hair. All you need is duct tape and a paint roller.
Wrap the roller with the sticky side of the tape on the outside and use it like the normal lint roller. Remove hair, lint pieces, and dust from the fabrics before wearing them.
Just replace the tape once it loses its stickiness.
Magic of shaving cream
Shaving cream has ingredients that are similar to soap. This feature can help get rid of stains on the go.
Buy a travel-size can of shaving cream to keep in your briefcase so you can just spray some foam directly on the stains. Let it sit for a few minutes then use a tissue to remove the foam and blot the fabric.
Gentle cleaning for delicates
Tossing delicate bras and lingerie sets into the washing machine may ruin their look after a cycle. The shape can change, and the fabric could turn hard. Forget the washer to make them last longer.
Hand-washing bras and underwear keeps them from getting dirty and wrinkled. Let out excess water in a colander to dry them completely without squeezing the liquid residue.
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