Crafts & DIY
Laundry Life Hacks
These hacks are sure to save you time and energy, while also maintaining the health of your washer/dryer.
D.G. Sciortino
06.21.17

We spend good money on our clothes and we want to make sure they last as long as possible. The best way to do this is to do your laundry properly.

Doing your laundry the right way will keep your clothes from wearing out prematurely while making sure colors stay bright and bold. Knowing some laundry tricks can also prevent stains from ruining your favorite outfits.

Here are the laundry hacks that will help you get the most out of your clothing.

1) Clean Your Washer

Your washing machine can get a grimy build up after all those loads of dirty laundry which can leave your clothes looking dull. Eliminate this gunk by placing a quart of white vinegar and a cup of baking soda into your washer after it fills up on the setting with the hottest water and biggest load.

Let it cycle a bit then open the lid and let your solution sit for an hour. After the time is up, let the cycle finish. You can run the cycle again with a quart of vinegar to make sure any loose gunk is flushed away.

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DIY Natural
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DIY Natural

2) Sunshine As the Ultimate Stain Remover

If you have any stubborn stains, especially ones caused by tomatoes, put your clothes out to dry in the sun to help blast away those stains away. Your clothes should be soaking wet when you lay them in full sun. This works best on whites.

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Stain Remover 101
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Stain Remover 101

3) Soften It Up

Sometimes new fabrics can be pretty stiff. You can soften up your clothing by adding a cup of vinegar to your rinse cycle.

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Simple Fixes For Messy Mixes
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Simple Fixes For Messy Mixes

4) Bread as a Lipstick Stain Remover

You can blot a wad of bread (minus the crust) onto a lipstick stain to remove it. What doesn’t come up with the bread will come out in the laundry.

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My Honey's Place
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My Honey's Place

5) Tennis Ball in the Dryer

Putting two or three tennis balls in your dryer with your comforters, pillow or other bedding items helps them to retain their cozy fluffiness and helps them to dry faster.

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Down Comforter Expert
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Down Comforter Expert

6) Ink Stains

Spray some hairspray or pour some hand sanitizer onto your ink stains and let it sit for 10 minutes before throwing your clothes in the wash. It will help make those ink stains completely disappear.

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Reader's Digest
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Reader's Digest

7) Black Pepper for Black Clothing

If you want to keep your black clothes looking their blackest, you can add 1 to 2 tsp. of black pepper into the water with your clothes at the beginning of the wash cycle.

The coarseness removes residue while the tint of the pepper strengthens the hue of your black clothing.

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Off the Grid News
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Off the Grid News

8) Grease Stains

Grease can ruin your clothing for good so you’ll want to combat it as quickly as possible. Rub some chalk or baby powder over your stain to absorb the oil. Wash your clothing as you normally would to fully remove the stain.

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PopSugar
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PopSugar

9) Brighten Whites With Lemon

If your whites seems a little dull, try tossing some sliced lemons in a pot full of water until it boils. Turn your heat off and put in your whites and let them sit for an hour.

Next, toss your clothes into the wash as you normally. They should be all brightened up when you take them out. Dry in the sun for maximum whiteness.

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Step to Health
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Step to Health

10) Extra Stinky Laundry

If you have some laundry that is extra stinky, you can add 1 cup of vinegar into the washing machine at the beginning of the wash cycle to get that stink out.

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Nifymag
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Nifymag

11) Unshrink Clothing

If you shrunk your favorite pieces of clothing you can still salvage it. Fill up a large container with lukewarm water and add in about 1 tbsp. of hair conditioner. Put your garment in and soak it for a half hour. Gently stretch it back out and rinse with water. Let your garment air dry while lying flat.

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Down By the Bays
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Down By the Bays

12) Make Clothes Dry Faster

Place a fluffy dry towel into your dryer with your wet clothes to help the wet garments dry faster.

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YouTube Screenshot
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YouTube Screenshot

13) Keep Colors From Running

Adding a 1/2 cup of salt into your wash cycle to prevent your colors from bleeding during their first wash.

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Lifehacker
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Lifehacker

14) Steam Out Wrinkles With Ice Cubes

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The Star
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The Star

Put a few ice cubes into your dryer and run it on its hottest setting. This will remove wrinkles from your clothing. Just don’t put too much clothing in the dryer!

15) Reusable Dryer Sheets

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Clark's Condensed
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Clark's Condensed

Pour some fabric softener onto a hand towel and let it dry. You can use the towel as a reusable dryer sheet.

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