Doing our daily laundry may be really inconvenient and frustrating, especially if we are working and living alone. We feel that most of us despise the concept of washing laundry since it consumes so much of our time and is really exhausting.
Laundry truly has something to irritate everyone. People who are impatient dislike waiting. People who are easily distracted dislike folding. And no one likes the part where you put mounds of folded clothing in your living room before unwillingly bringing them upstairs, placing it on your wardrobe.
Since we can’t come wash your laundry for you, we can attempt to make it simpler by compiling a comprehensive list of our best laundry hacks, tips, and strategies. Therefore, here are some laundry hacks to make your life easier.
1. Use vinegar to soften your bed sheets
Operate a cycle with your bed sheets and a half-cup of distilled white vinegar to soften and brighten them while also removing lingering odors.
2. Protecting your dark and bright-colored clothes from fading
Speaking of turning things inside out, a general rule you should follow is to turn any clothing that does not have a dark or bright color inside out in the wash. This will help protect those colors from fading.
3. Freshening your laundry hamper
To keep your laundry fresh while you’re waiting to do laundry and make sure it doesn’t get all nasty, you will need a pair of pantyhose or any cloth that is breathable. You need to fill it up with baking soda and then load it up with your favorite essential oils, tie it up and put it at the bottom of your laundry hamper.
The baking soda will absorb the bad odor and the essential oils will emit a pleasant odor. You can also use them in your shoes; simply make them in smaller bags and place one in each shoe; this will help absorb odors in your shoes while also providing a pleasant scent.
4. Turn your leggings or any of your athletic wear inside out
The most important thing to remember when washing leggings or any athletic wear is to turn them inside out before putting them in the wash. This will keep the fabrics nice and protected, but more importantly, it will prevent pilling. Piling is the enemy of leggings and athletic wear because once your clothes start pilling, it’s very difficult to turn them back.
5. Create your own laundry detergent
This freshly found recipe calls for only a few basic components. This product is rich and creamy, and it’s excellent for stain removal. Only a few loads were done with it thus far, therefore, there might be a following update in the following months whether it creates a residue in the washing machine. The following components are included:
- Borax
- Soap flakes or pure bar soap/castile soap
- Washing soda (sodium carbonate)
To make the laundry detergent, combine 2 parts borax, 2 parts washing soda, and 1 part soap flakes in a jar with a tight-fitting cover. You could produce however much you want at once as long as the components are kept in this proportion.
You may gently increase the amount of borax in your homemade laundry detergent to improve its cleaning effectiveness. However don’t deviate too far from the recipe’s ratios. By selecting a soap bar with essential oils already mixed in it is an easy and natural approach to make homemade laundry detergent with scent.
6. Getting soft fluffy towels
We’re all curious about the real secret to getting soft fluffy plush towels. Therefore, we did some research and discovered that you should add a little bit of vinegar and a little bit of baking soda to your wash cycle, and that is the key to getting your towels extra soft and fluffy without the use of fabric softener. This is really interesting because one of the most common mistakes people make when doing laundry is using too much detergent.
Hence, overdosing on detergent can result in it dropping soil and allowing it to redeposit onto your clothes, so less is more when it comes to detergent. Reduce it by a third or half and see how much cleaner your clothes are. As an added bonus, you will save money on having to restock on detergent because it will last longer. It took most of us a long time to realize this.
7. Utilize chalk to remove grease stains
Whereas chalk is extremely absorbent, you could brush a smidge on any oily kitchen stains as they occur to absorb grease and tide you over until you can wash the garment. With this all grease stains will for sure be gone.
8. Freshening your clothes without washing them
This laundry hacks might sound a little crazy, but this is one of the alternatives for those people who don’t really have time to wash their jeans or any clothing everyday.
Stick your jeans or any of your clothing in the freezer between wears for especially if you love to wear them more than once between washings. Bacteria that generate odor will be killed by the cold air.
9. Washing your clothes and socks in one go
This is extremely beneficial. You need to purchase a mesh laundry bag, you could find these at the dollar store or maybe any convenience store near your house.
After you’ve worn your socks, instead of putting them in the main hamper, put them in this little mesh laundry bag. You can throw this in the wash with all of your clothes, and it will wash your socks together so they don’t go missing.
You could also simply transfer this to your dryer so that your socks are all washed and dried together and you never lose them.
10. Use a razor to remove some of the pilling
This second hack is actually the continuation of our first hack. Sometimes, it might be too late and you have some pilling on your leggings, sweaters, or whatever it is, you can use a razor to get some of that pilling off. Just be very gentle with it and take it very delicately along the fabric and you can just shave the little pills right off.
Related: 10 Tips to Stop Clothes Smelling Musty After Washing
11. Purchase a salad spinner as your laundry tool
Those goods that can only be washed by hand might be difficult to clean. Put them in a cheap salad spinner with a touch of soap for a wash that’s more forceful than hand-massaging but gentler than the washing machine.
Moreover, it could also help you dry those goods afterwards. If you don’t want to put your clothes in the dryer, use a salad spinner to remove extra water. Then hang them to dry on a rack.
12. Wash your bright-colored clothes with salt
Colors may be kept from fading by using salt. Simply mix a teaspoon of salt into your dark garments to help the color persist longer. Washing colorful garments inside out can also aid in color retention. Check out these repair ideas if your washer or dryer isn’t working properly.
13. Handling extra smelly clothes
If you have smelly clothes, for example, if you wear them to the gym and sweat a lot, you should soak them in a mixture of one part distilled white vinegar and three parts warm water for about an hour, preferably two hours.
Afterwards, wash them since the vinegar will go in and help break down some of the bacteria that’s causing the odor.
14. Try to sort in an unusual way, such as by soil level or details.
There is no laundry rule that states that you should always sort your laundry by color. Try a different sorting method; it may be more effective for your family.
Large families, for example, may prefer to sort their laundry by person, but sorting by soil level could save both detergent and energy. With this method, stinky dirty gym clothes or sanitary products could be separated from new-worn tee shirts and boost each load.
15. Try categorizing your laundry based on their size if it never seems to dry
Anybody who has laundered king-size bedding with socks knows how disproportionately large loads may cause inconsistent washing, rinsing, and drying of your stuff.
Separate little items (underwear, socks, tank tops) from larger ones to clean and dry everything in a reasonable period of time (sheets, towels, giant sweaters). You also can check out more about laundry labels category here.
16. To prevent creasing when drying, use a pool noodle
Try this if you’ve ever laid your newly cleaned clothing over a drying rack only to have them come up with a large crease. First, trim a pool noodle according to the length of your drying rack poles, now slice one side horizontally to leave it open to the center. To avoid harsh lines on your clothing, wrap the noodle around the pole of your drying rack.
17. No more banging noises when you are washing your shoes
No further loud and annoying noises are in the house. Most of us despise the sound of shoes slamming together. To reduce the commotion, make a knot in the laces and hang them outside the door, as shown
in this technique. If you prefer a mesh bag, go ahead and try that as well. The banging of the dryer will be dampened a little. If it doesn’t work, acquire yourself one of these useful dryer door bags.
18. Try sorting out based on their fabric type
To avoid friction and damage to finer materials, wash heavier items, such as towels and sheets, independently from your more delicate clothing. And, because heavier things take longer to dry, you can avoid over-drying your lighter clothing (which causes wear and tear on the fibers) while ensuring your heavier items don’t come out of the dryer wet.
Correspondingly to categorizing by fabric, segregating your laundry by texture — imagine flexible cottons vs more delicate knits — is a good method to guarantee your favorite sweater doesn’t shrink.
19. Speeding the drying process
Some people know this laundry hacks but some still don’t. When you put your clothes in the dryer, remember to throw in a dry bath towel with your clothes. The dry towel will absorb some of the moisture in there to help speed up the drying process.
Another thing that you could do in the dryer, in case you haven’t heard, is use dryer balls, specifically wool balls. Many people are unfamiliar with these wool balls since whenever the word “wool balls” is mentioned, so many people say, “I’ve never heard of that.”
This wool ball is literally one of the best products in the laundry industry because it offers so many benefits. You can put in at least six wool balls and the wool balls get in between your clothing while it’s drying. It aerates them, which speeds up the drying process. In addition, you could add essential oils on the wool balls so this releases a natural beautiful scent onto your clothing.
Related: Life Hacks to Fix a Faded Spot on Clothes
20. Get some ice cubes to use as a fake-iron
Assuming your apartment has a dryer, you could rapidly “iron” your clothing using an ice cube. Place the wrinkled garments in the dryer with an ice cube or two. After that, adjust the dryer to the hottest setting possible, and let the ice cube produce steam in the dryer leaving your clothes appearing smooth.
21. Removing stains
According to research, the best thing that worked on most types of stains was dawn dish liquid or dish liquid in warm water and a brush. With this, try brushing the stain out.
If you already did this and washed your clothes and there are still stains there, the most important thing you want to remember is don’t dry your clothing.
The reason behind this is that if you try to dry your clothes, the steam produced will set in the stain and make it nearly impossible to go back. Therefore, if your clothing is still abstained, you need to go back and repeat the process to get rid of the stain.
22. Spray vodka on your clothing
Vodka has a natural deodorizing effect. Always carry a spray bottle of inexpensive vodka with you and then spray it on your clothing to freshen up stinky garments before washing it.
23. Learn to use a laundry folder
24. Clean your washing machine regularly
Everyone should know that it is very important and essential to wash your washer because you can’t get your clothes clean if your washer isn’t clean. This is something that’s very easy to overlook and forget about. It would be amazing if you could wash your washing machine every one to two months. Some washers actually have a self-cleaning cycle so here’s how you do it.
Put two cups of baking soda in your empty washing machine and run it on a long hot water cycle so the baking soda, which is a mild abrasive, can gently scrub the interior and remove some of those moldy odors.
Following that, add 2 cups of distilled white vinegar and approximately 20 drops of your favorite essential oil. Furthermore, because lemon and lavender have antimicrobial properties, they would be excellent additions.
After that, run it through another long hot cycle to disinfect the inside of your washing machine with vinegar and essential oils. Simply set your phone to remind you on a regular basis. You could probably do it every six weeks or so, and your washer will always be nice and clean as a result.
Also, don’t forget to always wipe the interior gasket with a microfiber cloth after every cycle. You don’t want any moisture on there because it could lead to mildew development over time, so just wipe it down quickly and it will keep it fresher for longer.
25. To counter yellowing, use the “bluing solution”
Having white clothes may be one of our biggest issues on a daily basis; it could really be frustrating especially if it is still new and hasn’t been worn. If you notice that your whites are growing warmer (buttercream-like), you may add a little amount of liquid bluing solution to your wash to impart a slight blue tint and bring your whites back into balance.
26. Shaving cream may be used as an on-the-go stain remover
Shaving cream has active components that are comparable to those found in many home soaps, and the frothy nature works well for removing stains, especially when you’re in a hurry or on the road. Rub enough cream into the stains, let it sit for a few minutes, and then blot it up.
27. Try using aluminum foil to dry your clothes
This has to be the most common laundry hacks out there. As an alternative to dryer sheets, crumple up aluminum foil into tight balls and add it to the drying load of your tumble dryer. It will separate your clothing and aid to eliminate static electricity.
28. Once you return from your trip, throw the entire luggage in the washing machine.
This could appear melodramatic since there may be clean clothing in there. However, tossing your holiday luggage in the washer is a powerful gesture for anyone who is struggling with their trip, especially if they have been living out of their suitcase for a week or more.
29. Hacks to iron quicker or even not at all
Many of you probably despise ironing because it consumes so much of our time. Furthermore, it demands a great deal of patience since we must ensure that everything is done correctly in order to get pleasant and neat outcomes. So here are some laundry hacks that you can do, it would be better if you could practice all of these laundry hacks altogether.
- In the last rinse, make sure to add fabric conditioner.
- Spin only at low speeds.
- While your clothing is still moist, reshape them.
- Tumble drying cycles that are colder and shorter are preferable.
- Leave your shirts, skirts, dresses, and coats to dry on hangers, subsequently fold them gently once fully dried. In most circumstances, this will allow you to avoid ironing.
- If there are some clothes that need to be fixed, ironing them while they’re still moist is so much faster and easier.
30. Use your hair straightening irons to iron your clothes
Is it necessary for you to remove a crease from a shirt? One of the simplest laundry hacks is to use hair straighteners to get in the middle of buttons or straighten out a hem. Before clamping them on your bright white apparel, make sure the iron is clean and clear of product buildup.
