12 Easy-to-do Laundry Hints

Even the best laundry detergents can’t get out every stain.

It’s a day that every mum hates – laundry day. It’s probably the most boring yet inescapable chore we all face. But because nobody else will probably volunteer to do the job for you, we have found the simplest solutions for your laundry dilemmas.

Here are some quick laundry hints for making washing day a little easier without spending your whole day on dirty, piled clothes.

1. How to Eliminate Lint

Most laundry lint comes from towels. Wash your towels and tea-towels separately from the rest of the clothes, and clean out the lint trap from your washing machine regularly.  Also, half a cup of white vinegar added to the washing water will keep the lint from sticking.

You can also use a link remover which ‘shave off’ all of those little material pills and will make your clothing look brand new!

This Philips Portable Clothes Lint Remover is an example of a ‘Lint Shaver’  You can grab them at Catch

2. How to Whiten Formerly White Socks

In a large pot, add one cup of white vinegar per two litres of water.  Bring the solution to the boil, then pour the hot liquid into a bucket.  Add the socks and let them soak overnight. The next day wash them as normal – they will be white and bright.

3. How to Remove Chewing Gum from Clothes

Sticky and impossible to remove, chewing gum is the bane of every mother’s existence. Get rid of this pesky problem by rubbing the spot with egg whites. Let it sit for 15 minutes, then wash the clothing like normal.

For more hints on getting rid of chewing gum around the house, click here!

4. How to Remove Grease Stains

If you have grease stains on your clothes, sprinkle some cornflour onto the stain and let it sit for a few minutes. The cornflour absorbs the grease out of the fabric. Then, simply brush all the powder off and wash as normal.

If this doesn’t work – grab some washing up liquid, apply a tiny bit to the grease stain and rub it into the material making it ‘sud’.  Then pop in the wash.  The grease stain will come right out!

5. How to Fix Yellowed Shirt Collars

Shirt collars have the tendency to turn yellow from the body’s natural oils (especially men’s clothes!). To clean them, scrub in some regular shampoo into the collar before washing it.

6. How to Prevent Dark Clothes from Fading

To slow down the fading process of black or dark coloured clothes, turn them inside out before washing. Then hang them out on the washing line inside out and out of the sun.  In fact to prevent all your clothing from fading, hang them up in the shade to try.

7. How to Remove Blood Stains

Pour regular hydrogen peroxide onto a bloodstain to ease it out of the fabric. Rinse it off with cold water. If there’s still a small stain, repeat the process until it’s gone.

8. How to Prevent Colour Bleeding

One tiny red sock is enough to ruin a whole load of whites, but if it happens to you do NOT dry the clothes. Take out the offending coloured clothing and wash everything another time with detergent and colour safe bleach. Drying will allow the unwanted dye to set into the fabric.

Prevention is better than cure though so if you have bright red socks, soak them in a few cups of undiluted white vinegar for 10 to 15 minutes before their first wash and you’ll never have to worry about running colours again!

9. How to Remove Mouldy Smells From Clothing

Sometimes you just forget about clothes in the washer, and if left too long they can start to smell mouldy and gross. To kill the odour, pour in a cup of white vinegar and wash the clothes again on hot. They’ll smell just like new when you take them out.

Remember that your clothing will naturally get smellier during the Summer months (especially here in Australia) – so wash and then hang your clothing out right away!

10. Have to Use a Clothes Dryer?

It’s been raining for days and you desperately need something dry and you HAVE to use the dryer. Add two or three dry tea-towels in the cycle. Your clothes will be fluffier and they will take less time to dry too!

11. How to Eliminate Perspiration Stains

On the collar, under the sleeves, or wherever they strike, sweat stains can be removed by spraying the area with white vinegar before washing. In fact, distilled white vinegar can clean just about any stain you can think of, and adding a cup to the rinse cycle will help get rid of soap scum from the detergent.

12. How to Remove Glue from Clothing

There are lots of different types of glue, so always check the packet for any removal instructions first. If you don’t know what type of glue it is, the general instructions are to first scrape off any excess glue with blunt knife, then soak the garment in warm water for an hour or two. Wash in hot water in the washing machine and repeat this process if necessary, then hang out to dry. If there is still a glue stain try sponging it with some dry cleaning fluid or a white spirit, leave it on for about five minutes then wash again.

 What are some useful tips you know to make laundry easier?

Clare Whitfield Chief Editor

Clare Whitfield is the Editor of Stay at Home Mum and a recognised voice in practical home management for Australian families. Based in the northern suburbs of Sydney, she balances editorial leadership with life as a stay at home mum to two school age children. Her background in home economics and more than a decade of experience in recipe development, family budgeting, and household systems inform her work.

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