Make Your Garden Thrive Even In a Drought

Dry Plants That Fit in Texas 

Table of Contents: 

Gravel- Uses, and benefits 

Design Tips

Examples of Plants 

Let's face it, gardening in Texas can be.. complicated. You have to deal with unpredictable weather, heat that goes all over the place, and never knowing if you're going to have a tornado drop on your head. It's great! If you are brave enough to work with the elements, though, you can find that it's possible to grow plants that not only are beautiful but can survive even in drought years in Texas. 

We'll start off by saying that we aren't professionals at this. What we are are people like you that live in Texas and have had many plants die under our care, despite our best attempts. To that end, we're looking at how to transform your garden into a beautiful, functional space with plants that will grow back year after year.  

It sounds weird to say, "ok, the first thing your garden is going to need is gravel," but, well, it's true? When you're dealing with a garden that you want coming back year after year, you need to limit water consumption. The biggest abuser you have? Your grass. Grass is an extremely thirsty plant, not to mention finicky! Imagine if you didn't have to fight with that any longer? No more mowing, no more watering and weeding, and hoping temperatures don't reach up so high the roots burn or so low they freeze.  Oh, and did we mention that the water you are saving can be put to plants you love?  Are you sold? Great! 

So now that you're looking at different types of gravel, there are a few things to keep in mind. 

- There are a TON of color options. It's fantastic. Whether you're going for a light and airy feeling or something a bit more earthy, there's guaranteed to be gravel for you. 

-Since you don't have to stick to specific planters or worry about grass roots, you can put your plants anywhere! And just use the gravel as filler in-between. 

- Make sure to add raking and replenishing to your calendar. You should only half to do it twice a year, though, instead of standing out there for hours every weekend. 

Design Tips for a Dry Garden 

Now that we've got you sold on the benefits of gravel, let's consider how to design your dream garden.  Start by grabbing a layout of your property. Whether you're working in just one section of your home (ie just your front yard or just your backyard) or you want to blend the areas together, you need an idea of how your property looks so that you can plan things.  Once you've got that, add in any permanent features you've got on your property. Do you have a deck that you're putting in? What about trees around the property that you want to take advantage of? (Hint, you definitely should take advantage of the trees you have, as they provide shade for your other plants.)  Basically, you'll want to sketch out anything that is definitely staying on the property or any major changes that you know you're making.  From there, consider a few things. 

- Repeating plants in random areas gives a cohesive and pleasing look, without being too manicured. (Unless that's the look you're going for.) It also guides the eye throughout the garden, creating a flow that is pleasing whether you're walking or just looking around. 

- Use light and airy plants like pampas, fountain grass, and kangaroo paw. These not only add color to the landscape, but their beautiful foliage adds texture and movement all year long. 

- Use pavers across the entrances to areas to keep gravel contained. This way, you're doing less in the way of sweeping/raking/corralling. And it means that any plant material from 'outside' your garden can easily be scraped off. 

-For stepping stones, borders, or other breaks in the gravel, you can get really creative. You can use everything from large stones to slices of wood, reclaimed wood, or timbers. 

Choosing Plants 

Honestly, this step is simultaneously really easy while also being really difficult. We know, we've been full of conundrums this week. We're sorry. So let's look at the hard part and get that out of the way. What you want to do is compile a list of drought-resistant plants. While we do have a few examples for you to consider, we're not going to say that this is all of them.  The easy part is going through and choosing which of those plants are most appealing to you. Do you like to focus on light and airy plants? Do you want to focus on color throughout the year? What about a focus on plants that are useful in medicine or around the home? Your answer is going to change which of the plants you choose and how your garden is going to end up looking. One thing we do want to say, though, is that just because these are water-wise plants doesn't make them all bland and boring. 

You can have many beautiful flowering plants in your garden like the Kangaroo Paw, Disoma,  California Poppies, or Mediterranean Lavender. Adding in "Blue Cloud" salvia will give you a beautiful shrub all summer, while the "Teddy Bear" magnolia offers up a beautiful bronze on the underside of its leaves all year long. 

If you enjoy cacti and succulents, those can be an option to mix throughout your yard, and still create a beautiful array of flowers for you to enjoy. Check out barrel cacti for some examples.  

If you want something that's hardy but would do well in the shade of a tree, check out the cordylines. They do best in shaded areas, add texture to your yard, and are a stunning red or pink. You might consider mixing in coastal rosemary around the edges of those areas, as they love the shade, but they also enjoy well-drained areas. 

Whichever plants you choose, make sure to talk to experienced gardeners so that you can get the best tips for caring for your yard, whatever the weather brings. We hope that you'll consider showing us what you plant in your yard, whether it's great big cacti, beautiful flowers or an herb garden. Let us know over on Facebook what you get up to. 

If that's not what brought you to our humble corner of the internet, it might be that you're in need of appliance repair. And yep, you're still in the right place. If your dishwasher is broken or your dryer is busted, we can help. You can reach out to us by phone at ((214) 599-0055) or by heading over to our contact page. We'll work with you to set up an appointment that works with your schedule to get your home running again.

Smart Home - Getting Started (2022)

Everything you need to get started

When it comes to making your home smart, it can be confusing. There are so many different products, and systems that it's hard to know where to start.  You need to know which systems you want, what you want your home to be able to do, how to keep it all safe. Sometimes, you feel like giving up. Fortunately, as with many things, if you take it one step at a time, you can make it all make sense. 

Choose Your Core

This is where you start. If you're just shopping and randomly grabbing things that you like, they might not all work together. Instead, a way to do it is like planning a garden. You choose your tools with intention, and that starts by looking at the core. Which system do you want your home to run on? Is it Google's Assistant? Do you want to rely on Amazon's Alexa? Or do you want Apple's Siri? All of these have different toys, tech and background devices that achieve similar functions. Getting them to cross connect though? While it can be done, it's not easy. 

Can Your Home Handle It? 

We don't just mean the electrical grid, although that matters too. Instead, we're going to take a look at your internet. Have you ever had a group of friends over and everyone was on the internet for one reason or another? Maybe you're on because you've got music playing. Your brother is showing you the latest sports news. Your mom and your sister are discussing the latest politics, and your dad is browsing youtube. All of those people on the internet, will typically slow it down some, at least enough that you can notice it in comparison to how it is when you're the only one home. When you add smart devices, they are always on that network. Even if it's only checking in to see if you've said anything, they are always there. Which means that your internet is going to slow down. 

How do you prevent that then? By making sure your internet is at least 200 megabits per second or shortened as Mbps. By having at least that much, you'll be able to handle several devices on your network.

Create That Backup Plan!

What about when you have a blackout? Not like the great snow'pocalypse, but a summer blackout that lasts for a few hours or maybe a day. In that case, you might look into getting a backup battery for your internet modem. Just because the power is out in your home, in your street, in your city, it doesn't guarantee that your internet will be out. (Yes, it sounds odd, but we promise.) So, the best way to handle that is by purchasing a backup battery like these over at The Tool Review. The 10+ Best Battery Backup For Wifi Router Reviews in 2022: Top-Picks, Best Deals| Tool Review

Keeping It Hack Free

How many of these questions can be answered with your password? 

- Your birthday

- Your phone number

- Your spouse's name/birthdate/phone number

-Your favorite pet

-Your favorite sports team

-Your favorite book or tv show

If any of those are part of your password, you need to reconsider how you come up with your passwords.  You /can/ still use a combination of words and numbers, but they need to be ones that can't easily be answered. Grab a thesaurus and go looking for a word you associate with the account. Swap out all the letters you can for letters or symbols. and voila! You've got a strong password. 

Now, DON"T store that beautiful password on your computer. If you're like many people you might have been storing your password in a google docs file, a spreadsheet or a sticky note. No. All of those can be accessed by others. Instead consider one of the following. 

- A  password protection service like Dashlane. 

-A file you keep offline and saved to a USB. 

- An actual notebook for your passwords 

If you're going with the last two, don't tell anyone what they are, or write "Passwords" on the outside. While it's unlikely that someone will want to steal your work passwords, you would be surprised at the number of people who would be interested in stealing your bank or medical passwords. 

Now that we have your home set up and secure, let's take a look at what type of smart devices would best suit you at home. 

What Type of Smart Home Represents You? 

Are you an entertainer? Having friends and guests over most weekends and during the week too if you can? Then you might look into smart lights, a tv and a sound system. This way you can say "Hey Google! Turn the lights on X and play Y." And while you're working on that you can ask google for the contents of your fridge with a smart fridge to make sure that you always know what you have on hand for taking care of your guests. 

If on the other hand you're a homebody, you're more focused on keeping your comfy and secure. In which case, you'll want to add a system for thermostats, sounds, lights, a garage door opener, and a security system. The thermostats, sounds and lights can all be programmed to a 'routine' where once it's a certain time, your home system will turn everything to the settings you choose. The garage door opener isn't much different than a button activated one, but it's nice to be able to say "Hey Google, open the garage" as you're heading out the door. As for smart security systems, while they have many, many different features, one we particularly like is being able to pull up the feed directly on your phone or video hub to see if that was a raccoon you heard or an intruder. 

Our last category is one that many of us have been wanting since we were kids and is now becoming possible. The Jetsons! Although most of the systems won't talk to you or offer witty repartee like Rosie did, you can set up your home system to vacuum and mop for you. While the systems aren't perfect just yet, they definitely make your life easier, and isn't' that the point? 

What do you think? Which category of smart tools do you most want to get? Do you have some that we missed out on? Let us know in the comments below or over on our Facebook page, we'd love to hear from you! 

If you ended up here not for smart homes, but because of your already smart appliances (or 'dumb' ones, we work on them all) you're still in the right place! Everywhere from Carrollton to The Colony, to Coppell, we'll here for you and ready to help. Reach out to us on our contact page or by calling us at ((214) 599-0055). 

Clearing Out Clutter

How to take all the clutter down.

Table of Contents

Groups

Labels

Give It A Home 

Cunning Storage Solutions

How many times a month do you end up looking around your house and wondering where all of this clutter came from? For us, it's about once a week. Especially after the last two years of living in quarantine, it's a bit much! It's time to start cleaning and busting that clutter. We've got three 'general' tips that can and should be applied everywhere in your home. Then we'll take a look at different areas of your home where you can sneakily hide things that no one will suspect. Let's get started and get clutter busting. 

Group Like With Like

Technically speaking, this is all grouped together.

Photo by Dimitry Anikin from Pexels

When it comes to keeping things organized, you want to group like with like. Books with books, dishes with dishes, pop tarts with pop tarts. (We can't be the only ones whose children insist on having every flavor.) This root concept is really simple, and the great news is that it doesn't have to make sense to anyone but you and your household. (We're adding that caveat because getting kids to use a system they don't understand is surprisingly difficult.) Having everything together means that when you want something, it's easier to find it. So long as it's with other things "like it" you'll know where you need to go. 

So, think about how you sort things. Do you have games, books, and out-of-season sweaters all together on one shelving unit? Could you separate them out so that your clothes go elsewhere, leaving the books and games together as 'entertainment' and the sweaters go with other clothes? This is just us though. 

Labels

This one can be intimidating to start, but once you're going, it's easy to maintain. We'll break it down with you to give you some ideas of how you can use labels to make your life easier. Once it's complete you're under self-applied pressure to keep everything on forward momentum to maintain the system. We'll also point out that labels don't have to be just boring black letters on a white strip of paper. You can get very creative with how you want your labels to look dependant on where you're using them. 

  -Kitchen

In the kitchen, you might consider labeling which shelf is for what inside of your refrigerator. Think about all of those pictures you seem in home decor magazines with the perfectly organized fridges. 

- Pantry

Yup, your pantry can be labeled too. Start by sorting things out (there's that 'like with like' concept again.) Then group it together. Some things to consider might be labelling surplus flour, sugar, types of beans etc. Or if you keep a lot of canned goods, you might attach a  note that the newest cans should go at the back.  This one really is only limited by how in depth you want to go. (Your Blogger is dreaming about the day she has a pantry large enough to warrant this.) 

- Laundry

When you have a large family, or a large closet, you almost always end up with different types of detergent for different purposes. Why not label them? 

- Living room

Yup, you can label your living room too. Break down your DVD collection between "kid friendly" vs " Not" for when you have family over. Or you could seaparate out the different games into different cabinets. 

- Bathroom

Does your SO have towels that are only theirs? Or maybe you have a set of towels that you want to keep for when guests come, and keep your kids from using? Label where you keep them. You could also apply a sorting and labeling system to the underside of your sink, keeping things from getting lost or shoved in haphazardly. 

-Bedrooms 

Whether it's your space or your child's space, labels can be very useful. We advise talking about a system before you implement it into your kids room though, this way they know what you're expecting. 

Not only means you know exactly what you’re looking at, they also make it easier to find what you’re looking for. Begone clutter!

Give It A Home

That last point leads right into another key organizing concept. Remember how we were talking about having your books and your sweaters together? Take a look at that same idea, and takes a closer look at why you're putting things in certain places. Do you always put on your comfy sweater while you're reading? Or maybe you come in the front door and go straight for your mugs to pour yourself a cup of tea, and you end up with your keys and mail on the counter. These are 'homes' that we unintentionally create for things. 

Instead of unintentionally doing it. try to do it intentionally. If you know you're going to go straight for the tea, consider putting a mail sorter and a basket underneath. This way when you come in, you can sort your mail, have a spot for your keys, AND still stick to your routine. 

For this concept you want to look at what routines you already have that you're willing to change and those that you're not. If you have other areas that you have clutter collecting that you're /not/ happy with, you need to start by understanding /why/ it keeps landing there before you can change it. Would putting a hamper in the bathroom save you from socks all over the floor? What about putting a tray for drinks in the fridge to keep from losing them behind leftovers? Or putting out of season clothing in clear bins so that you can know what you have in between seasons? So grab a pen and paper and check out where you have clutter piles and why they might be there. 

This beautiful pantry from Good Housekeeping is our dream. Look at how organized everything is!

Cunning Storage Solutions

How many places can we find to store things? The answer? Many. SO many. 

Mind the Gap! 

There are two options here, depending on how you're looking at things. A gap that exists already, say around furniture, behind door or above things. Or you might be looking at floorboards and the bottoms of cabinets. 

Do your cabinets go all the way down to the floor, or is there a gap where they rise about 3 inches? There are kits that can turn that into storage. It's great for stashing cutting boards, cookie sheets and cooling racks, as well as any strangely shaped plates you might not want to keep in the 'normal' cabinets.

You can also make use of the space between your cabinets and appliances, unless you're already reveling in a smooth, no-gap kitchen. If you're not though, consider having a custom built, pull out cabinet.

Watch it Stud! 

Behind your bathroom mirror is a great place to turn into a storage area. Some of us already have pop out cabinets, but many of you prefer the look of a flat mirror. Fortunately, you can carve out a space in between the studs and turn that into a set of shelves to get things off of your counters. 

Or you might take a look a full length mirror or piece of art that you have elsewhere in your home and do the same thing elsewhere. 

Doors Go Both Ways

 Look at your doors. Can you hang an organizer on the back of them? Whether you're creating an organizer (thank you Command Strips) or you have one already picked out from Crate & Barrel, doors are a great spot to store things and keep them off the floor.  

Use Space Wisely

We mentioned it before, but putting extra organization into cabinets is very useful. Whether that's stackable boxes or open sided bins, there's all sorts of ways to maximize the space within your cabinets that you might not have thought of. The same concept can be applied to drawers. The most common idea is using a silverware tray so that all of your silverware is sorted "like to like." (There it is again!) 

Avoid this! Put our tips to good use, and bust that clutter!

Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

Are you starting to look at your home a bit differently? What about the open spaces versus the piles of clutter? Let us know over on our Facebook page, we'd love to hear from you. :) 

If you're here not because you need to declutter but because your appliances have gone on the fritz, we can help! Head on over to our contact page and we'll work with you to set up a time that works for you or you can call us at ((214) 599-0055 )! 

Additional Reading

Getting Your Home Clean, Month By Month

Making Cleaning More Fun

10 Crazy Dupes For Household Cleaning Supplies

Organizing Your Fridge For Efficiency And Safety

Decluttering The Kitchen

The Five Most Common Types Of Clutterbugs

Why You Should Handwash Your Clothes

And How To Do It Right

Table of Contents

Why To Hand Wash Your Clothes

How To Hand Wash Your Clothes

What do you do when your favorite sweater says "hand wash only" in big capital letters? Or that gorgeous vest your grandfather gave you can't go through the washing machine? Well, you have to figure out how to wash it by hand and how to be careful about it. Fortunately, it's not as complicated as media makes it seem. 

Why You Should Hand Wash Your Clothes

So, let's take a look at a few situations of why you should hand wash your clothing. There's plenty of different reasons that affect all of us, even if it's once in a blue moon. 

-if they're handmade or knitted 

Even if something is very well assembled, they can be delicate. They also need to be washed carefully so that they maintain their shape, rather than getting beaten up by your machines. 

- If they're delicate

Some examples here might be lace, pieces with embroidery or pieces that are old. For example, if you have a blanket that's been passed down through your family through several generations.  

- If it's got sequins or beaded pieces 

Pieces with sequins and beads are so delicate. Not only do you need to flip them inside out in order to wash and hang them, but if you want to keep a piece for several years, you'll want to wash it by hand. This ensures that the threads fixing the sequins and beads to the clothing are kept safe and secure. 

-If it's marked "dry clean only" 

  While this isn't always the case, there are many times when you can handwash these items as well as taking them to the cleaners. The reason "dry clean only" is used is that either the fabric mill or the designers are saying "we're not taking responsibility if it gets damaged by you." 

-If you're travelling and need something fixed quickly 

- If you don't have a functioning washing machine, due to mechanical failure or blackout 

Let's face it, this is the most likely to happen to any of us. You might have a time when your washer breaks down in the middle of the week, and even your most trusted handyman is booked through to next week. Or if there's a blackout in the middle of summer and you need clothes for tomorrow. It happens. 

How To Hand Wash Your Clothes

By now you're probably demanding to know "alright then, if it's so important, how do I do this? Shouldn't it just be the same as washing my hands?" To which we say, ehhh, not quite. 

Start by making filling up your sink or a basin with cool to warm water, depending on the garment in question and whether or not it's color fast. You also don't want it to be ice cold or else your hands are going to start hurting rather quickly.  

Don't go adding your detergent or clothes just yet. You want to do a color test on some of the hidden spots of the garment in question. Some spots you might try are the seams of the garment, the armpits, or behind the knees. 

Now add your detergent of choice to the water and give it a quick stir to get the detergent to dissolve. Gently lower your garment into the mix, submerging it fully. Now using your hands, squeeze the suds through the fabric, like you're kneading the fabric gently. Lay it out on the bottom of the basin, and let it sit for five to ten minutes. Once that time is up, flip it over, knead the fabric again and flatten it out, allowing it to sit for the same amount of time.  

Once the time is up, remove the garment from the sink and drain the wash water.  Fill it again with cool water and lay your item in it and swish to rinse.  Squeeze out excess water, but not like you're wringing out a washcloth. This is supposed to be a gentle process. Roll the garment in a towel to move to the next step. Bring your garment to a table or a mesh rack and lay out a dry towel. Blocking the garment back into shape, lay it out until dry. Then flip it over and let the back dry, replacing the towel if needed. 

Is it time consuming? Yeah. Is it worth it to preserve delicate lingerie, sweaters and handmade clothes? Yep. Like we pointed out up above, if you end up without power at any point, being able to handwash your clothes is a useful skill to have. What do you think? Do you do this for any of your clothes? Tell us in the comments below or over on our Facebook page. 

If you're looking up this article because your washing machine has given up the ghost, we can help! Whether you live in McKinney or Plano, Dallas or Coppel, we can help bring it back to life. More importantly, we can get your home running smoothly again. Just give us a call at ((214) 599-0055) or reach out to us on our contact page and we'll get back with you shortly to schedule an appointment that works for you. At Appliance Rescue Service, we won't stop until you're satisfied. 

Additional Reading

5 Laundry Hacks To Make Laundry Easier

How Do They Do Laundry In Space

Are You Making These 5 Common Laundry Mistakes?

8 Ways To Whiten Your Clothes When You Don’t Have Bleach

8 Ways to Whiten Your Clothes When You Don’t Have Bleach

Because you don’t always have it on hand. 

Table of Contents: 

The Sun

Lemons

Baking Soda

Powdered Dish Detergent

Aspirin

Distilled White Vinegar

Borax

Hydrogen Peroxide

Have you ever bleached your favorite shirt one too many times? It starts to wear and have thin spots. Whether it's a set of sheets or an article of clothing, bleach will eventually 'eat' at the fabric as much as it eats at the stains. There are also other concerns with using bleach. It can cause skin irritation or burns if not properly diluted, it can make you dizzy from breathing in fumes. As if that isn’t enough, given enough time on your shelf, liquid bleach will break down and no longer be functional. Fortunately, there are plenty of options that you can use instead of turning to bleach that will preserve your clothing. 

Item Used: The Sun(!)

Soak Time: NA

Water Temperature: NA

This is the only one in our list that is applied after you’ve washed your clothing, and that’s why it’s going first. And, it’s the SUN. For this you need to turn your clothes inside out after washing them and then hang them on a clothesline outside. While the sun will whiten  whites, it can also fade your clothes if they have other colors on them. Using this method also means that you will be cutting your electric bill some, as well as making your clothes smell nice. 

Item Used: Lemons

Soak Time: 2 hours or overnight

Water Temperature: Hot Water 

If you need to get rid of set-in stains,  grab a few lemons. You can use these delicious fruits in one of two ways. You can either soak the clothes for 2 hours, or you can soak them overnight. Either way, you're going to want to slice your lemons into slices about 1/4" thick,  and use more depending on how much dirt there is. We estimated at 1 lemon for a standard level of dirt and 2 lemons if you're dealing with more. 

Item Used: Baking Soda

Soak Time:  standard wash

Water Temperature: standard wash

If you want to whiten your whites in a "set it and forget it way," try this. Note: This method is only going to work if you have a top-loading washing machine. 

Start by setting your machine to the desired load settings, but don't add your clothes yet. Instead, let the drum fill with water. Once it has grab 1/2 cup of baking soda and add it to the water, stirring the water if needed until the baking soda has fully dissolved. Once that's done, add in your clothes and let the machine run as normal. 

If it's a larger round of laundry you can put in as much as 1 cup of baking soda. 

Item Used: Powdered Dishwasher Detergent

Soak Time: 30 minutes

Water Temperature: Hot 

If you don’t have bleach but you do have powdered dishwasher detergent, you’re in luck. Although this post is mostly about avoiding using bleach, we know that there are some occasions when you’re short on time and you need that stain busting power fast. Most dishwasher detergents of the powdered variety contain sodium hypochlorite. This will whiten most whites, but it works especially well on natural fibers like cotton, wool, hemp and linen. 

To use this you’ll want to use ¼ c per 1 gal of hot water. Mix the two and ensure that the detergent has fully dissolved before adding your clothes. Allow them to soak for 30 minutes before rinsing in cold water and transferring them to the wash. 

Item Used: Aspirin

Soak Time: Several Hours

Water Temperature: Boiling

When in doubt, if you have nothing else in your house, head to your medicine cabinet. If you have aspirin tablets, you’re in luck. For this, you’re going to need 10 tablets for every 1 gallon of water. 

Grab a large pot, and figure out how much water you need to cover whatever it is you’re working on without overcrowding the pot. Now remove the clothes and set the pot to boil. While that’s working, count out the number of tablets you need and start to crush them. You want them to be in a fine powder before you add them to the water. They’ll dissolve more easily that way. Once the water is at a boil add the powder and stir till it’s dissolved. Now remove from the heat and add the clothes to the mixture. Allow them to soak until the water is cooled. 

Item Used: Distilled White Vinegar

Soak Time: Several Hours

Water Temperature: Warm Water

DIstilled white vinegar is an item many of us keep in our homes. From recipes to cleaning, it’s a staple in many homes.  You can use it for softening clothes, getting rid of that gross musty and mildew-y smell that towels seem to pick up, AND for whitening your whites. 

There are two ways you can use it. You can either wait until the last rinse cycle of a wash and add in ¼ c to the load. Or you can get a basin of warm water, add 1c to it and then soak the clothes for a few hours.  It depends on how bad the stain or smell is, and what your schedule looks like.  

Item Used: Borax

Soak Time: 30 min or longer

Water Temperature: Warm

Borax is one of those household superheroes that we don't really think about. There are many different sites that proclaim its many uses around the home for everything from getting rid of bugs to removing stains and residue on your clothes. But, we're willing to bet that at least 50% of you don't have it in your homes. (Not that we blame you, you can't keep /everything/ in your home.) 

For a gallon of warm water, you'll mix in 1/2 c of borax and swish it around until it dissolves. Then add in your clothes and allow it to soak. You can use this on most clothing, without having to worry. We do recommend avoiding delicate items though, just to be safe. 

Item Used: Hydrogen Peroxide

Soak Time: 30-60 minutes

Water Temperature: Wash Standard

Hydrogen peroxide, H202, or “the bubbly stuff you put on cuts,” whatever you call it, you’re bound to have it in your medicine cabinet. It’s wonderfully useful stuff that can be used several different ways to help with laundry. 

If you’ve got a standard load that needs some whitening: When you go to start your load of laundry, pour in 1c of 3% hydrogen peroxide into the detergent or bleach dispenser. You can use this as it’s own secondary wash, or you can include it as part of a standard wash cycle. Either way, continue to load and run your machine from there. 

If you’ve got set in stains that need help: Grab some liquid dish soap from your kitchen (we suggest Dawn as that’s what we’ve used to best results.) Apply a few drops of that to your stain and then pour the peroxide over it. You need enough to soak the stain and the area around it. Now grab a small scrub brush and scrub for a minute or so. Set the item aside and leave it alone for at least an hour.  When you’re ready to wash it, come back, rinse it with cold water and then toss it in the wash. 

If you’ve got underarm stains turning your shirt grey:  Mix up equal parts water, hydrogen peroxide and baking soda. Apply the paste to stains and let it set for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Once your done scrub off the paste into the trash, we advise using a scrub brush. Now wash as normal. 

With all of that said, what do you think? Which of these did you know of? which ones had you never heard of till now? Do you have any family tricks that we missed? Let us know in the comments below or over on Facebook! 

If you're here because your washing machine is broken, or any of your major appliances really, we can help. Fridges, ovens, stovetops, ice makers, washing machines, and dryers, we service them all. If yours has decided to start giving you trouble, now is the time to call and set an appointment so we can get things back into working order for your home. Even if you're just uncertain about a particular sound or how something is working, we're happy to help. We do repairs as well as maintenance checks on all major appliances in the hope of keeping your home running smoothly. You can reach out to us by phone at ((214) 599-0055) or by going to our website. 

Additional Reading: 

What You Can't Use Vinegar to Clean 

Green Home Cleaning

Deep Dive on Washing Machines Part One

How To Hand Wash Your Clothes