Loving Laundry now

There are many never-ending tasks in a household; cooking, cleaning, and laundry. Doing laundry is a chore that gets overwhelming when you see the big ol’ pile of clothes. No matter how hard you try to get it done on time, there’s a next batch awaiting, it is frustrating. Loving laundry is important.

I mean, doing laundry has become an easy task over the years. You don’t have to wash near river banks, thank god! All you got to do is a) Add the detergent b) Press the controls c) Wait for the dryer to do its job. Sometimes we leave it there overtime or let it soak, so it loses its color or fades. Let’s learn some tricks so that we don’t let common mistakes slips and ruin laundry day. Here are some helpful guidelines from how to do your laundry; from sorting them to DIYs.

7. Saving the white debacle

I think its high time we stop massacring white clothes. Accidently mixing one color item in the white clothes pile, and your whole day is ruined. Do your whites start to grey or dirty whiteish? Here’s a hack for whites to be whites.

Soak your whites in an appropriate amount of warm water for the number of clothes. Add 150 gms of bicarbonate of soda. Add a ½ cup salt and detergent, to the washing machine rinse cycle.

6. Don’t leave any zippers open or Shirts buttoned 

These zips when left open and left to wash, they create ruin soft clothing. Make sure they’re zipped up, and also unclip the bra while you toss it in the machine. That can damage the drum, why don’t you toss your delicates in a pillowcase and everything stays in place at the same time. Always remember to unbuttoned any shirt or dresses. They can loosen the buttons or make the buttonhole bigger. Uncuff and don’t forget the collar buttons as well.

5. Oh my God! Is that brand new? Let your clothes shine.

Faded clothes can bring your mood down a bit, you don’t seem to stand out of the crowd. And if you have a lot of dark clothes in your wardrobe, here’s a bunch of helpful tips;

When you’re a fan of black or black shirts make you pop. To keep them dark, add a cup or two of brewed coffee/tea to your rinse cycle.

For dark blues or other dark colors, add a cup of table salt to the rinse cycle.

Denim heads here are a useful and slow fade technique you can rely on. Soak your jeans in saltwater or white vinegar & water on a 50-50 basis, before the first wash. Turn the setting to cold and turn the jeans inside out before putting them into the machine.

4. Super Detergent to the rescue

Sometimes your detergent will be just doing fine, but the chemicals are just too harsh on your clothes. Don’t fall for ‘Brands and expensive name tags’, they won’t revive your clothes. When you put the clothes in the machine, add a half cup of detergent then add baking soda in the rinse cycle. They feel softer and smell better- what more do you want.

3. Bleach game on!

Brighten your clothes instead of adding 1 cup of white vinegar, it is an oxygen booster then add lemon juice to the wash. Air-dry your clothes in the sun. You’ll have bright clothes with a fresh, clean scent. They don’t contain any harsh/dangerous chemicals. Don’t put silk while bleaching. Chlorine-based bleach is more aggressive than non-chlorine bleach and they tend to destroy fabrics. Keep your mind open for the least aggressive first.

2. Stain and odor OUT!

Some stains are easy to remove, some just get messier and create an even bigger stain. These are a few tips, to help you ease off on stains. To get rid of yellow dal or turmeric mishap, just add sodium, baking soda. Chalk eliminates the grease or oily stains. Remove ink stains by rubbing on hand sanitizer or hairspray. Get rid of stubborn armpit stains via lemon juice and baking soda. Distilled white vinegar is a softener, wrinkle releaser, and odor reducer that should be used in every wash load. Hydrogen peroxide helps you get the bloodstain off the clothes, rinse well. For the smelly- sweaty workout clothes just, squeeze a large lemon in, it will help break down oils trapped in & leave a clean fresh scent.

1. Time saver ideas

Remember to use hot water for whites, warm water for the average loads, and cold water for bright colors. Wash new clothes before wearing them to so that they carry a pre-treated anti-mold/antibacterial chemical that was added during manufacturing. When you’ve accidentally shrunk your favorite sweater. Just soak it in a solution of hair conditioner and warm water, then gently it back to its original size. To cut ironing time in half- place aluminum foil under your ironing board cover.  

Let’s get those clothes under control, I hope these hacks help you solve the daily crisis you meet at home. Happy washing!

With that being said, Dhobi G is a go-to help for anything related to laundry. You may browse many more similar tips at https://blog.dhobig.com/. Visit Dhobi G at www.dhobig.com. Make sure to check them out on Facebook as well at https://www.facebook.com/DhobiGOnline/.