You have probably seen so many laundry hacks on the internet and in books. However, if you have tried some of them, you probably already figured out that most of them simply don’t work. Did you ever wonder why?
The simple reason is that the majority of those hacks are not based on fabric care science. Another reason why is that they are probably not suitable for the type of washing machine or fabrics that you want to treat.
If you want something to actually work, you should always make sure it is suitable for the particular clothes, fabrics and fibers that you have. Make sure you improve the cleaning of your clothes by using hacks, suitable for you.
We would like to share some hacks that actually work and are tried by professional cleaners. All of them include products and ingredients that you can easily find around the house. Check them out and see for yourself.
How to help your clothes dry faster
You probably know how annoying it is to miss a piece of clothing when running a laundry cycle. If you really need it clean it might be a problem. What is more, you will also need it dry. In order to dry clothes faster, you can try adding a couple of dry towels in the dryer. They will help absorb most of the moisture and speed up the drying process.
Extra tip: If you have a smaller piece or delicate garment that you hand washed, you can place it in a salad spinner and give it several spins to help it dry quicker. That method will remove extra moisture without excessive wringing and twisting that can stretch or damage your fabrics, or even leave a lot of wrinkles.
How to remove wrinkles with ice cubes
If you forget your clothes in the dryer after the cycle is done, you will probably end up with a ton of wrinkles all over them. What if you really need a shirt but it is all wrinkly and messy? There is a quick hack you can use in such a situation or whenever you don’t have an iron or time to iron.
Simply grab a few ice cubes, throw them in the dryer and add the wrinkly clothes. Turn your dryer on and set it to a quick cycle at a high temperature. After it is done, hang your clothes and smooth out any deep creases with your hands. The high temperature and the ice cubes will create steam that will help get rid of the wrinkles.
Reverse a shrunken sweater with hair conditioner
Accidents happen. If you didn’t know that wool and dryers don’t go together, or a wool sweater somehow ended up in your dryer and is shrunken, try this hack:
Whenever you put your favourite wool sweater in the dryer, it will probably end up a couple of sizes smaller. In order to fix this you can mix a solution of water and hair conditioner and submerge the shrunken item. Let it sit in the solution for at least 30 minutes (depending on how shrunken it is). The hair conditioner will help relax the wool fibers so you can gently pull the item back to its original shape.
Baking soda is a great deodoriser
If you are already using baking soda around the house, you probably know how good it is, especially for cleaning and deodorising. We suggest you get an extra box for your laundry. It can boost the performance of your laundry products and even replace a few of them.
- Skip the fabric softener: If commercial fabric softeners leave your towels less absorbent, use baking soda instead.
- Brighten whites: Boost the cleaning power of both chlorine and oxygen bleach. Just add 1 cup of baking soda to the wash when using bleach.
- Sticky iron: If the bottom of your iron is covered in gunk, you can clean it with baking soda. It will not scratch its surface.
Distilled white vinegar for your laundry
Get a bottle of distilled white vinegar to use for your laundry. It is nearly essential for laundry that looks clean and bright each time it comes out of the washer. Here is what it can do for you:
- Detergent residue may leave your fabrics looking dull and feeling scratchy. Adding a cup of vinegar to the final rinse will help with that.
- One cup of vinegar in the rinse cycle will help reduce mildew and body odours disappear from your clothing.
- Fix your smelly washer. Hot water and 2 cups of vinegar will get rid of some of the microbes that make a washer smell bad.
Keep socks from disappearing
Make your life easier by washing your socks in a little mesh bag. That will work for baby socks, as well as other small items. By doing this you will prevent socks from getting lost. Just fill the bag and throw it in the washing machine, then straight into the dryer.