Unfortunately, there is no way to avoid doing laundry. You will have to deal with that full hamper at some point. But there are ways to make your clothes cleaner, brighter, and smell better and solve some common laundry problems.
Build your clothes to smell good without using dryer sheets.
We love utilizing dryer sheets for all sorts of things around the house, but we don’t use them in the dryer anymore because they can leave a sticky film on the lint trap and the vent hose that stops air from going through.
In the end, the dryer doesn’t work either, and you have to use more energy to dry your clothes. If your clothes don’t stick together, adding a drop or two of your favorite essential oil is a much easier, more customizable, and more environmentally friendly way to make them smell great.
Put two drops of rose, lavender, or peppermint extract on a damp, clean, old sock. Then, turn the sock inside out and put it in the dryer with the rest of your clothes. The oil will only stay on the sock, not your clothes or lint trap. We like to try out different oils from Plant Therapy and make them our own by combining and matching their extracts.
Put aluminum foil in the dryer.
Even if you have problems with static, you don’t need to use dryer sheets. They are one-time-use items that make a lot of trash and release chemicals into the air that could be harmful. Put a few balls of aluminum foil in the dryer to remove static.
The balls remove static electricity, so your clothes won’t stick together. There are no chemicals in them, and you can use the same dryer balls dozens of times. Static can be stopped in the dryer with foil dryer balls.
Depending on the weight of the load, you’ll need two or three 2- to 3-inch-diameter foil balls. Use about 3 or 4 sq ft of foil for each ball. Package it as tight as you can with your hands, and press down any pieces that could get caught on clothing or loose.
Never lose another sock again.
Don’t just accept that you’ll end up with mismatched socks. Gather up only your dirty socks and put them in a weave laundry bag before having to put them in the washer. Keep the socks in the bag while they dry, and only take them out when you’re ready to put them away. It’s a sure way to make sure no sock gets left behind.
Add some blue to lighten your load.
Adding a small amount of blue dye to a truck full of whites can make the clothes look even whiter. Try bluing your whites if you want them to be very white. Blue tint, also called bluing, wash blue, dolly blue, and washing blue can be found in the laundry section of most grocery stores. It adds a little bit of blue dye to a load of clothes.
This is unlike dropping a red washcloth into a white load by accident. Adding a little blue makes the laundry look whiter and brighter to the eye. Bluing is a great way to bring back the color of yellowed linens, towels, button-down shirts, and even curtains.
Put that top on backward.
Turn your favorite little black dress or worn-out jeans inside out before you put them in the washer to keep them from fading. This ensures that the part that won’t be seen gets more wear from the washing, spinning, and rinsing cycles than the part that will be seen.
Baby shampoo can fix a sweater that has shrunk.
We’ve all thrown a favorite wool sweater into the washer or dryer by accident when we were in a hurry to do the laundry. When it came out, it was four sizes too small. Don’t give it yet to Goodwill. Mix cool water and baby shampoo or hair conditioner in a bucket or sink. Soak the shrunken item for at least 30 minutes in this solution.
The shampoo will loosen the wool fibers, so you can gently stretch the garment to its original size. It doesn’t always work, though: If the fibers are fully felted, which means they have shrunk and stuck together tightly, they can’t be extended back to how they were before.
Clothes dry faster on a clean towel.
If you increase the dryer’s temperature, your clothes will dry faster. But the quicker your clothes shrink and wear out, the more heat you use. And more electricity is used to heat more. If you must dry something quickly, especially a small load, throw in a few dry bath towels to soak up some of the water.
You can get rid of stains with chalk or shaving cream.
A grease stain on a favorite blouse or T-shirt can be a death sentence. But if you rub a little chalk on the stain as soon as you see it, it will soak up a lot of the oil before you can wash the item. Shaving cream is a great way to eliminate stains if you’re in a hurry.
If you do not have chalk, use baby powder instead: Scatter the talc directly on the wound and let it cool slightly before washing. Shaving foam is another great way to eliminate stains in your medicine cabinet, especially if you are traveling and don’t have many supplies. Put a small amount of the powder on the stain, let it sit for a minimum of 20 or 30 minutes, and then wipe it up.
You can get rid of wrinkles by using ice cubes.
Have neither the time nor the patience to iron? Please put your favorite dress shirt in the dryer with a bunch of ice cubes and tumble it on high heat for 12 to 15 minutes. This will get rid of the wrinkles. The steam from melting ice cubes is a natural way to eliminate wrinkles.
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