When it comes to washing our clothes, many of us simply follow the directions on our boxes of detergent – but it turns out this isn’t always for the best.
Does using more soap make your clothes cleaner?
Australian cleaning guru Shannon Lush says it’s important to realise that more soap doesn't mean your clothes will be cleaner.
She says: “That's not how it works because soap is fat based.
“If you impact the fibres with too much fat it attracts dirt – you know what it's like when you put a cake of soap on the window sill?
“It gets dirty really quickly and that's because it contains fat.”
Shannon even went on to say that using too much soap can even mean clothes become dirtier quicker.
She said: “You know how your towels go all prickly and nasty?
“That's because there's too much soap left behind and because it's fat-based.
“For example, if you put butter in a frying pan it melts and then when it goes cold it gets hard again.
“When you put your towel in the dryer you are melting the fat so the towels come out all nice and fluffy but a day later they are all dry and hard again.”
Shannon added that when using a front-loading washing machine people should use just one-eighth of the recommended amount of powder or liquid, while for a top-loading machine, one-quarter of the recommended quantity should be used.
Top laundry tips
- Add two tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda and two tablespoons of white vinegar to each wash
- Skip fabric conditioner – it can add oil to your wash
- Use less detergent than it says on the box
- Add a tea towel to your clothes in the dryer
Can vinegar help your clothes dry even faster?
For the best results, two tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda and two tablespoons of white vinegar should be added to each wash.
She added: “Fabric softener is just oil based and all it is doing is sticking oil in the wash.
“Put the vinegar in the fabric conditioner slot – there's no smell left at all.
Shannon says that this method cuts your drying time by a third.
And when it comes to drying your washing, another trick of Shannon’s for cutting the drying time down is by adding a tea towel in with your wet clothes.
She said: “I hate clothes dryers but if you've got to use one, stick a dry tea towel in with your wash and your wash will dry a third faster.
“It wicks the water away and spreads the surface area for the dryer to do its work.”
Here's nine handy housework hacks you need to know and how to stop dust collecting on surfaces straight after you’ve cleaned.
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