Okay, laundry is not the bane of my existence but it is the fungus among us that never can be killed!
Yahoo had a great article today about laundry and simple things you can do to help with stains, keeping the washer fresh, etc. Check it out
here and see below for a quick and dirty overview.
1) Take shampoo + a clean brush and rub it along any collar that shows grime from your natural oils prior to washing.
2) Super grimy clothes can be dunked in a tub of water overnight to help loosen the dirt. I need to purchase a tub for future dirt-ventures.
3) To keep brights bright and blacks black, flip clothes inside out and wash on cold (but who
doesn't already do that one!).
4) For stubborn food stains, use men's foam shaving cream on the affected area and let it sit for 30 minutes. If the stain doesn't disappear let the foam sit overnight.
5) Don't throw stained clothes, for which the stain did not disperse in the wash, into the dryer! It will make them ten times harder to clean!
6)
But if you've already done that, try the following: soak the offending garment in a solution that is equal parts water and hydrogen peroxide for a half hour. Immediately wash after.
7) Add a quarter cup of baking soda to a wash to help with stale, musty odors common during the summer months (the water just sits in there and needs some refreshing on occasion!). Another trick is to leave the washer open after a wash, even if only for a short while. It helps that water left trapped in there dry up a bit. Makes a world of difference, trust me!
8) For dried bloodstains, do a short douse in hydrogen peroxide and rinse with cold water. Wash thereafter.
9) Deals with mildewed and soap-scummed shower curtains, not an issue for moi as I have a liner that gets replaced when it gets gross.
10) Vinegar, vinegar, vinegar...you may smell something awful and fumigate a room in 2.5 seconds flat, but you sure do a lot of good around the house. You clean mirrored surfaces (and can be used for others, too) and your apple cider cousin is really good for the liver (yes, you ingest it in
unique and creative ways). And now, apparently, you do a world of wonders in the laundry room! A cup of vinegar is a great fabric softener in the rinse cycle and adding a little bit to a hand wash keeps the clothes from staying sudsy! That's a good one because I've had that struggle in the past!
On another note, my work buddy told me how she keeps her blacks so black and fresh looking even years after she purchased a garment...dye! She dyes them! How clever is that? So. It's so clever is what it is. I need to purchase said tub mentioned above and get to work on all the work clothes I own and still wear from when I first started working in January 2008! Waste not, want not, my friends. Waste not, want not.
