6 Laundry Tips You Wish You Knew Sooner

No one likes to spend any amount of money on the perfect top, pants or even children’s clothes, only to realize that they came out smelling less than fresh, accidentally stained beyond repair, or otherwise tarnished. Here are a few well-guarded laundry tips that you didn’t even know you needed.

A clean home is a happy home, or so the old adage goes. This can well extend itself into your laundry room and the clothes you wash and love to wear.

LAUNDRY TIPS I WANT YOU TO KNOW

No one really enjoys doing laundry — do they?  Especially when you face some laundry mishaps, like ink stains, blood, and odors. If you do laundry the right way and just follow these 6 simple laundry tips and soon you’ll never have to let laundry stress you out again.

1. Rubbing alcohol will remove pen stains

Whether it happened at work, your pen leaked in your Vera Bradley, or you accidentally sent a ballpoint pen through the wash, try rubbing alcohol. (Prepackaged hand-wipes or baby wipes can do the trick in a pinch.) 

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For Ballpoint Pen Ink:

Place a paper towel under the stain, and douse the stain with rubbing alcohol (in a pinch? use hairspray). The ink should start to disappear.
Blot the stain with alcohol and clean paper towels until the ink is no longer visible.
Rinse with cool water, apply a pre-wash stain remover, and wash the garment in the hot water.
Be sure to check that the ink is completely removed before tossing the item in the dryer.

NOTE: Ballpoint, rollerball, and gel pens are different types of ink and may need to be treated differently. If you know what type of offending pen left the stain, it’s always best to check the pen manufacturer’s website for ink-removal instructions.

2. Hydrogen peroxide removes blood

Have you ever cut yourself in the kitchen and accidentally dripped on your shirt, or grabbed a towel afterward only to realize you just turned the fluffy white thing into a mess? This trick is your friend. Soak the area with hydrogen peroxide for a few minutes before tossing in the washer for a cold pre-soak. Follow up with a wash (per manufacturer’s instructions) and it is good as new.

3. Baking soda removes odor

It works for more than the refrigerator. When your towels stink, your children have played too hard, or your workout clothes could use some freshening, simply pour 1-2 cups of baking soda into the hot water in your washer basin and soak the offending items. Follow up with a cold wash with normal detergent and you should be well on your way to freshness.

RELATED:  Prevent and remove mildew smell from the laundry.

4. Foil can save the day

If you happen to run out of dryer sheets but you must do a load, simply toss in a wadded up piece of tin foil and you will obliterate the static that sneaks socks into sweatshirts with a sticky, static glue. Throw the foil away after the load; it is usually a quick one time fix.

RELATED: Alternative uses for dryer sheets

5. Vinegar can substitute

If you typically use fabric softener but you run out, simply replace your fabric softener with distilled white vinegar. It is an economical replacement and will leave your clothes feeling just as soft, and leaves no residue whatsoever.

6. Cleanse the washer

If your washing machine has developed a mildew-like flavor that has you wanting to escape, you can buy washing machine cleaner, such as Afresh Washer Cleaner which is what I usually use.  Or you can simply put 2-3 cups of white vinegar or bleach through a cycle of wash (sans clothing) with hot water and enjoy the renewed, refreshed, and oh-so-clean washing machine.

 

Now you’re a laundry master.

You are now all the wiser about laundry.  Whether you choose to share the tips or hog them for yourself, you now have an arsenal of information that you didn’t even know you needed.

EXTRA TIP:

Make sure they always know how to fix common laundry day mistakes with a printable laminated laundry tip flip book to hang on the laundry basket or on a hook in the laundry room.

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