Laundry Basics

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Make doing laundry easier!

I know - you do laundry two, three times a week, but sometimes we don’t even realize that we could be making little changes to our technique that might extend the life of our items, or make the process smoother.

The great divide: The first step to keeping whites white is to separate clothes into loads according to colour (whites, lights, darks and delicates). Washing colours separately ensures dark colours won’t bleed onto lighter fabrics which can cause graying and discolouration. It’s also great if you can keep the lightweight and the heavy items separate, especially when you get ready to dry them.

Whiten up: To keep your whites looking crisp and fresh try adding 3/4 cup of liquid bleach to each white load. When used as directed, liquid bleach is safe to use on almost all whites and helps remove stains and odours that detergents alone can leave behind. For colours, the ingredients found in oxygen bleach such as Javex 2 Stain Fighter & Color Booster by Clorox, remove stains but they also work to brighten colours and whiten whites.

Feelin’ hot hot hot: To keep whites from looking dingy and discoloured, wash clothes in the warmest water recommended on the fabric care label. The hotter the water, the better the cleaning.

Laundry Baskets: Put one laundry basket in each room where dirty laundry is discarded (usually one per bathroom or bedroom). Buy some of those zippered mesh bags at the dollar store and throw one in each so everybody can place delicate clothes and soiled socks in their own mesh bag.

Folding: Always fold directly into piles according to household member and then deliver to each bedroom.

Overworked and overloaded: While it may seem more convenient to pack the washing machine full of a weeks worth of laundry, this is one of the biggest laundry mistakes you can make. Stuffing too many items into the machine at one time means the detergent has a harder time reaching all of the items, leaving dirt and stains behind.

Remember to always read and follow precautions and usage directions before using cleaning products, including storing cleaning products out of reach of children.