Over the years, you have probably learned many laundry rules. For instance, don’t toss shrinkable fabrics in the dryer and separate white garments from dark ones. However, expert laundry cleaners warn that some laundry hacks you have learned from a friend or neighbor are not true. Here are ten laundry rules that you can stop implementing immediately.
Rule 1: Remove ink stains using hairspray
Ink stains are one of the most common stains you will likely encounter during laundry day. It might seem like a hopeless task if you’ve tried to scrub away an ink mark on your shirt. Most people believe hairspray can help clean up spills and remove ink marks from clothing. This idea began in the 1950s and was a valid tip. However, it’s only alcohol spray that works on the ink stain.
Unfortunately, today’s hair sprays differ from those aerosols of the 1950s. Most formulas don’t contain alcohol and can cause more stains, compounding the ink problem on your favorite pair of jeans.
Rule 2: Keep your clothes black by adding coffee to your rinse water
Some people are convinced that adding coffee to the rinse cycle would keep clothes from fading away. But according to expert laundry cleaners, you’d need a lot of coffee actually to do anything about the problem.
One study found that washing your clothes in hot water could cause the fabric to lose up to 40% of its original color over time. And while certain things might help, like washing in cold water or even using baking soda, none of those methods work well enough to reverse the effects of regular laundry cycles.
Rule 3: Add more detergent to keep your clothes cleaner
According to professional laundry cleaners, more detergent is not better when it comes to keeping your clothes cleaner. Anyway, we are all guilty of using a high quantity of washing detergent to create excessive suds that end up redepositing soil onto the clothing.
If you are using a liquid detergent cap that makes it challenging to see the measuring lines, use a permanent marker to make those lines visible. Using the right laundry detergent quantity will save you money and still get cleaner laundry. If you use a front load washer and a bad smell comes from your washing machine, it could be due to the excess detergent or fabric softener you are using.
Rule 4: Treat stains from the front
It’s tempting to tackle stains on your shirt by rubbing them away. But most laundry cleaners recommend turning your shirt inside out and treating the stain from there. Treating the stain from the back of your fabric means you are pushing the stain out of the fabric instead of rubbing it deep.
Rule 5: Chlorine bleach can boost detergent power
Detergents and chlorine bleach can cancel each other out and leave your garments stained and looking dull. To allow the enzymes in your laundry detergents to whiten and brighten your clothes, laundry cleaners recommend waiting about five minutes after your wash cycle begins before adding diluted chlorine bleach.
Rule 6: Hot water can kill all laundry germs
Using hot water alone for your laundry won’t kill all bacteria and germs in your clothes. That means washing linens or clothing of an ill person can still spread the germs to other clothes whether you use cold or hot water. Only disinfectants such as pine oil, chlorine bleach, and phenolic disinfectant will sanitize your washer and laundry.
If you need help cleaning your clothes, consult with experienced laundry cleaners like Do My Laundry.
