13 Laundry Tips to Make Your Clothes Bright and Fresh Like Spring

Doing the laundry is probably one of the most boring house chores, but there really is no way around it. Even though engineers invent new home appliances all the time and now there is even a type of the washing machine that can be controlled remotely, this process is still not an enjoyable one. According to statistics, women spend about 17 minutes a day doing the laundry. In this article, we will share some tricks that can significantly decrease the time you spend on sorting, washing, and drying your laundry.

Bright Side has prepared a list of recommendations that will make doing the laundry a fast and simple process.

1. Use mouthwash to clean the washing machine.

Washing machines need to be disinfected regularly in order to continue functioning at the level it’s supposed to. There are special detergents you can buy, but you can also use regular mouthwash — just add half a glass to the area where you usually put the detergent in the washing machine and start the full washing cycle. Fungus, mold, and harmful bacteria will be destroyed.

2. Use special bags when washing socks.

Many people have been in a situation when their socks disappeared in the washing machine. And scientists Simon Moore and Geoff Ellis even developed a formula that explains this mystery.

But experienced housewives recommend buying special bags for washing small pieces of clothing for every family member. In this case, the problem of lost clothes will be solved without any difficulties.

3. Put some aspirin pills into the washing machine to whiten your clothes.

Some people try to avoid wearing white clothes because of the yellow sweat stains that often appear. If you’ve ever been afraid to ruin a nice, white shirt, then we’ve got some good news for you! Putting several aspirin pills into the washing machine can help whiten your whites due to the salicylic acid. So reach for your favorite white shirt and know that yellow sweat stains are a thing of the past!

4. Don’t dry your clothes too much.

It’s very hard to iron clothes that were dried for longer than necessary because the fabric becomes resistant to thermal impact. In some very difficult cases, even an iron with a steamer won’t help you. It’s easier to iron the clothes that are damp. And if your clothes do get overdried, just sprinkle some water on them.

5. Use baby shampoo to restore clothes that shrank.

This may sound unusual, but baby shampoo or conditioner can return your shrunken clothes to their original size. Just add a little bit of it to a container with warm water and let the article of clothing soak for 10-15 minutes. Then, dry it with a towel and lay it out horizontally to let it dry completely. The conditioner will flatten the fiber and return it to its original size.

6. Don’t use conditioner when washing something white.

Experienced housewives don’t recommend adding conditioner when you are washing something white because it doesn’t let the clothes become as white as possible. If your goal is to get your clothes to be brilliantly white, then you need to use a special bleach instead of your usual detergent and conditioner. Other components don’t let the bleach work as well as it can.

7. Don’t sort your clothes by color.

Don’t sort the clothes by their color — sort them by the density of the fabric. Heavy fabrics absorb more water than lighter ones. That’s why the detergent is washed out of different things to a different extent and why mixed washing damages the clothes made of thin fiber. But you should remember 2 exceptions:

• White clothes are always washed separately.
• The temperature shouldn’t be higher than 85° F or the clothes of different colors will lose the saturation of the colors.

8. Put tinfoil balls in the washing machine.

To forget about static electricity in your clothes, put a few tinfoil balls in the washing machine. They will absorb the static charge.

9. Use shaving cream to remove makeup stains.

Sometimes it’s impossible to get rid of makeup stains since some foundation, and some types of lipstick can stay on your clothes forever. However, to remove the makeup, you can put some regular shaving cream on the stain and just wash the clothes as you usually would.

10. Wash caps in the dishwasher.

To make sure that your cap doesn’t lose its shape, don’t wash it in the washing machine. The solution is simple — you can wash it in the dishwasher. Put it on the top shelf of the dishwasher and start the full cycle.

11. Use cold water to wash dirty socks.

You can’t wash socks in hot water because most of the dirt (such as sweat) is protein-based. If you apply very hot temperature to such dirt, it will always stay in your socks. That’s why, no matter what most people think, it’s best to wash socks in cold water.

12. Remove stubborn stains with a hair dryer.

In order to get rid of old non-protein stains such as from grass, soil, or juice, you can heat them up with a hair dryer and put a little detergent on the spot. After that, you can put the article of clothing into the washing machine. Heating the stain will help the ingredients of the detergent work more efficiently.

13. Use dry towels to make your laundry dry faster.

Laundry dries faster if you hang dry towels between rows of washed clothes. If a piece of clothing is still damp but you really need to put it on and leave, then you can just wrap it up in a dry towel and put it in the washing machine to help get rid of any remaining moisture.

What other laundry tips do you have? Share them in the comment section below!