How can you improve your laundry experience? The concept itself may seem quite challenging to grasp, but, what if we told you that we have tips that can make your laundry day much shorter and a lot more effective than it is now? In fact, you’d be surprised that some of your “efficient” habits might be doing your clothes and machines more harm than good. If you’re looking to make doing laundry more efficient, here’s how you can increase the quality of each wash, save time, and take your overall experience to the next level.
Don’t Procrastinate the Sorting
No one likes to spend a good portion of their laundry day sorting through a dirty basket of ungodly smells just to separate colors and fabrics. Instead, you can invest in a divided hamper or even build a DIY laundry organizer to encourage yourself and your household to sort their clothes on a daily. If every time you take your clothes off, you separate the dark and new clothes from the light ones, and separate the different types of fabrics, as well as, the delicates, on your laundry day, you would just be shoveling different loads into your machine (or washing them on hand). But the point is, each minute you take out of each day will save you a lot on laundry day. If you don’t believe that, time yourself and note the effect of such a simple change in routine. Suggested – How to Identify Scams From the Get-Go
Read the Labels
Do you know those little papers attached to the inside of your clothes? If you haven’t been reading them before, perhaps it’s about time you start doing so. Why start now if you’ve been doing it your way for years? Because while you might not end up with a shrunken wardrobe, wrong laundry settings can accelerate the fading of colors and the wear and tear of clothes. To avoid shortening the lifespan of your wardrobe, try to read the labels and wash clothes accordingly. Granted, it may be hard and time-consuming at first, but you’ll get used to it in no time.
Choose Your Equipment Wisely
While you might spend time picking out the right fishing gear, workout clothes, and cooking utensils, for most people, it’s rare for laundry to take up as much importance. However, picking out the right washing machine is one of the laundry essentials that cannot afford to be ignored. Did you know that front-load machines are more energy and water efficient than top-load washers? Did you also know that they can provide a quality clean with the least amount of damage? It’s not just about picking a reliable machine, but you also need to consider your other needs.
Promptly Deal with Stains
Don’t confuse laundry day with stain-removal day. What’s a stain-removal day? It’s any day you get a stain. In other words, don’t leave the stains until laundry day. The more a stain stays on your clothes, the more it is absorbed by the fabric, and the harder it is to get out. Nowadays, there are stain guides available all over the internet. With a couple of clicks, you can find an easy way to deal with your stains using household items. Next time you get a stain, treat it as promptly as you can, then throw it back in the hamper. That way, you’ll be saving your clothes’ lives and your own time for an overall improved experience.
More Is Not Better
A pinch of salt amplifies the flavor of certain foods, but that doesn’t mean that a pound of salt will make the foods Michelin star-worthy, but quite the opposite. Likewise, the more detergent or fabric softener you add to your clothes, the closer you’ll get to the negative side of the ‘effects spectrum’. If a quarter cap gives you all the positive effects, the more you add, the more you’ll be risking things like residue stains and trapped suds. Not just that, but you could also be risking residual odor in your machine. Plus, the more suds there are, the more water and effort is put in by your machine to break them down. Meaning, more detergent can actually reduce your machine’s life.
Having read this list, we encourage you to come up with ways you can implement those tips in your household. If you live alone, it might be easy, but weaning your flatmates or family off old habits might be a little challenging. For that, we’ve found that the best way to make a long-term change is to explain the negative effects of the habit and provide an easy alternative. That being said, if you’re unsure about anything, don’t forget that the internet is always here to help you out. Have a fun laundry day!
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