Basic Useful Laundry Tips

It's something that we cannot get out of and we have all had to do it at least once. Laundry is that one household chore that nobody wants to do but everybody needs. It can be confusing at first and even those of us who are pros still make mistakes and our pretty clothes are the ones that pay the ultimate price.

Here are some tips that I have learned over the years that will keep your clothes looking new and everything smelling great. Remember that in today's economy you cannot afford to keep buying new clothes or sending your laundry out!

• Wash all items of clothing with bright colors, graphics, studs, etc inside out. Your favorite dark denim jeans? You want to keep them from fading! So turn them inside out when you throw them into the washing machine. That cute t-shirt with the rhinestones? It won't be cute with rhinestones falling off so turn it all inside out.
• Make sure to do separate wash cycles. I know there are tons of products out there in the market today that tell you to use this if you want to wash your colors and whites together. I am still a firm believer in washing whites and colors separately. If you want your whites at their brightest then you want to wash them in hot water and use some OxiClean powder in the cycle to really brighten them up. If you want to keep your colors bright then wash them in cold water. If you absolutely must wash white and color in same cycle (this might be the case for those who have to hit the laundry mat or use quarters for their machines) then wash it all in cold water ONLY. You might also want to invest in the new Shout color catcher product.
• Have damp, mildew smelling towels? Wash them separately from everything else and add a cup of white vinegar along with your regular detergent to the water in the washing machine before throwing in the towels. Yes, you heard me and no your towels will not smell like a salad. This truly works and it gets that smell off the towels.
• Use any detergent. Hell, you can even make your own detergent! Honestly, as long as it smells good to you, use whatever you like. My philosophy? Whichever is the cheapest on sale at the store I am buying it that smells the best. Or you can be very adventurous and make your own - tons of people have with results even better than the brand name. The only reason you have to spend money on special detergent is if you or anyone in your family has allergies or sensitive skin that reacts to certain chemicals. Otherwise anything will do the trick.
• Drip dry everything you don't want to shrink! Clothes shrink in the dryer especially if left in there for a long time. I drip dry all my jeans, pants, cardigans, t-shirts, basically any item whose shape you don't want to get messed up. I also drip my sweats because I am tall and I don't want the sweatpants to shrink in length and look funny when I wear them jogging. Get an inexpensive clothing drying rack.
• Always empty out the lint bin of your dryer before placing your clothes in to dry. This seems like a no-brainer but it's easy to forget. Why is this important? Well for two reasons. One, any lint left in there from before will make it longer for your clothes to dry. And two, the dyer won't pick off as much of the lint from this cycle now with an already full lint bin.
• Use dryer sheets for all your dryer cycles. They are relatively cheap and make your clothes smell great plus get rid of any static cling.
• Take all clothes out of the dyer the minute it is done or as soon as possible. Do not leave them sitting there for hours. They will get wrinkly and then you are going to waste hours ironing everything.

My best advice for all, but especially women since we have more of these then men, is to wash all your undergarments and delicates by hand. The washing machine can be very harsh to silks and other delicate materials and especially for underwear and bras. After dropping down some hard earned money at Victoria's Secret for all those cute lingerie items do you really want to ruin them after just 1 washing machine mistake?

*Cotton underwear can be washed in the washing machine without trouble*

Hand washing your items is simple. Just take the items and wash them in the bathroom sink. I use regular Ivory soap and hot water. Then just hang them to dry wherever you can.

If you are feeling a bit lazy and need to wash some delicates in the washing machine, then use a "mesh laundry saver" or "ball." These are usually made especially for washing bras and will protect the garments while still making them clean. See the ones that you can buy from Amazon.com below.

Just be sure to set the machine for delicate slow wash and if the delicates are white in hot or warm water or if they are color in cold water.

After all the laundry is done you might have to iron some of your clothes. Men have their button down shirts that must be crisp as well as women plus any skirts, slacks, etc. These all usually come out clean but not wrinkle free after the washer and dryer.

Best thing to do is make a pile of all the items that you have to iron, get your ironing board out and your iron and just dig right in. You can opt to use a spray starch to really make your clothes extra crisp when ironing.

If you are like me and detest ironing then you will love Downy Wrinkle Releaser. Just spray on your clothes, tug and pull on the item a bit and let dry. Presto, your stuff is not wrinkly anymore! But do not expect miracles from this. It's great for use on mildly wrinkled casual items like t-shirts and jeans but for your suit jackets or slacks still grab that iron.

Want to know a secret use of Downy Wrinkle Releaser? The product smells so good you can spray it on anything in between laundry weeks and it will smell like it just was washed!

You can buy Downy Wrinkly Releaser in many stores as well as online. While there was a rumor going around that the product was being discontinued, I can safely put those rumors to rest as NOT being true. oneCare, the company that produces Downy Wrinkle Releaser and other popular laundry products, was kind enough to let me know that they are changing the look of the package but they will continue to produce. So head over to the laundry section of your favorite stores to pick some up so you can iron a bit less!

You can try but eventually you will wind up owning clothes that have that dreaded label "Dry Clean Only". You are trying to save money, especially in this economy, but you also want to keep your clothes pretty. Dry cleaning can get very pricey especially if you have a lot of items or very sensitive items like a coat or a dress.

The good news is that there are products out there that let you do your own dry cleaning at home. A great one that is not too expensive is Woolite Dry Clean At Home. You can buy this at your local drug store or super market usually for under $12 and their website has a $1 off coupon.

A similarly priced product is Dryel. Dryel works just as fantastic with the only difference being you to put the clothes in a bag they provide where was Woolite is bag-less. Dryel can usually be found right near the Woolite in the laundry section of your favorite national retailers. Both products let you dry clean your own clothes without dishing out your hard earned cash to your dry cleaner.