Or At Least As Many As We’ve Been Asked
Laundry is like the internet, both necessary and a total time suck. With many contradictory instructions for how to get what you want out of it. This week we’re answering some of the most common laundry questions in hopes of cutting down the time you spend doing it.
1. Is distilled white vinegar as useful as the internet thinks?
When it comes to laundry, it is indeed that useful. While it won’t fix every problem, it can be used to
Soften clothing
Reduce body odor
Clean your washing machine between loads (really, a half cup in where you’d normally run your detergent and it helps get rid of that funk!)
2. I feel like my colors are getting dingy since switching to a High Efficiency machine. What gives?
HE machines bounce the clothing around in the wash instead of submerging them the way traditional machines do. That leads to additional wear and tear, and greater potential for dye transfer. Pretreating your clothes with color safe bleach will help them stay vibrant, and get even cleaner as well.
3. Does a High Efficiency washer have to use HE detergent? Or can I use what I have?
HE washers are designed to use less water. What that means is that if you use standard detergent it could take as much as 5 rinse cycles to get all of the suds and residue out of your clothes.
If you don’t have any choice, you have to get your clothes clean today, consider using less than a quarter of the amount of detergent you would have before.
4. Do I have to sort my clothes?
Simply? Yes.
If you throw it all in together you end up frying shirts and lingerie just to get your jeans and towels dry. Not to mention you’re dealing with transferring dyes, lint build up, piling, and snags or holes.
An easy solution is to keep a hamper that has one section for whites, one for lights, one for darks and one for dry clean only.
When it’s time to do laundry, sort by fabric types and your clothes end up not only looking nicer, but lasting longer as well.
5. How much can I cram into my dryer before I cause damage?
If you’re using the word ‘cram’ odds are you’re already doing damage.
Overloading is one of the biggest reasons dryers break. The dryers belts or pulleys are strained and then the motor overheats.
Fortunately, it’s easy to avoid this outcome. If you’re dealing with lighter fabrics, you can get away with filling the dryer ⅔ of the way. If it’s towels, jeans or bedding though, you shouldn’t fill it past ½ way. Stick to these two amounts and your dryer will thank you.
6. I shrank my favorite shirt! Can I fix it?
If you dried it, it’s possible, but much more difficult.
If you caught the shrinkage when you pulled it out of the wash, maybe.
-Cotton is very forgiving, as is polyester. These can be both be gently stretched out and laid flat to dry.
-If it’s wool… we suggest you go shopping?
7. I have multiple pets and the fur is always in my washing machine. What can I do?
Get a lint roller. Not only will it remove pet hair before you wash, but using it will keep that hair out of the washer drum or the drain pumps.
8. Can I hand wash clothes labeled dry clean only?
In short? No.
The manufacturers test their clothing during the deign process to see which method of washing holds up best and keeps the clothing lasting as long as possible.
There are kits for the dryer like Dryel which will help freshen clothes, eliminate odors and even get rid of light stains and wrinkles. However things like velvet, leather and silk, even some nylons, polyester or spandex, don’t hold up very well in the wash and should be handled with care.
9. My T-shirts are being destroyed by sweat stains. How do I stop looking like I don’t care?
Start by pre-treating the shirt in the areas where you know your sweat collects., You’ll want to do this every time you wash them, even if you can’t see a stain.
If the stains are in a white shirt, soak the shirt in boiling hot water in a dish pan to loosen up the stains. Then use a mixture of hydrogen peroxide, water and baking soda, rubbing the fabric together to get it worked into the fabric. Rinse and toss it into the wash with color safe bleach.
10. My white linens keep ending up dingy. What am I getting wrong?
With time and repeated use, whites become dingy from missed stains, dye transfer and redeposited dirt.
Try these tips to fix it.
-Always separate your lines by color, whites, lights, darks. Each gets their own load.
-Don’t overload the machine.
- If the fabric is packed too tight the dirt will just get moved around instead of washed down the drain.
-Use hot water instead of cold to more easily remove dirt and body oils.
- Skip dryer sheets and instead dry on low heat so that any remaining dirt isn’t baked yellow.
In short, it’s always better to ask questions when it comes to laundry, rather than having to replace your wardrobe or linens. We hope we were able to shed some light on your questions and if not, feel free to ask in the comments or on our Facebook. If your washer, dryer or any of your other appliances are acting up, feel free to call and set up an appointment. Or you can go to our appointment page and use that to set one up.
We hope to see you again next week.