COVID-19 pandemic has taught us about the new normal such as social distancing and the importance of cleanliness and sanitation. Speaking of cleanliness and sanitation, it is very important that we do laundry regularly because when we use these clothes outside, who knows what viruses and bacteria we pick up.
However, not everyone enjoys doing laundry and we’ve become used to making our laundry pile up before we do it. Because of the new normal and the spread of COVID-19 virus, it’s very important to own or buy a washing machine to ensure that clothes are properly cleaned and heated to kill viruses. Also, it’s important to just stay at home and do the laundry using your very own washing machine than visiting the laundry service stations to avoid being exposed to COVID-19. In order to make laundry and stain removal more pleasant, we’ve compiled simple things around the house that may help with laundry chores.
In this article, I’ll discuss some laundry hacks you might not know about that may help make laundry an easier task. Most of the things here can be found inside the house and are easy to use, just make sure you need the warnings and notes to avoid unnecessary stress.
VINEGAR
One of the basic things that you should consider adding to the laundry cycle is Distilled White Vinegar. Vinegar has acetic acid, which can kill viruses and bacteria. It works as a disinfectant and deodorizer on clothes as well as a fabric conditioner. So if you suddenly ran out of fabric conditioner, just know that you can find an alternative inside your kitchen.
Other great things about using vinegar in your laundry are: it brightens and whitens clothes, it removes the “kulob” smell of clothes, it reduces lint and pet hair, it fights yellowish stains and underarm odor, it keeps dark clothing dark (make sure that light and dark clothing are washed separately), and when you find your clothes smelling like Samgyupsal restaurant you can also use vinegar as it gets rids of smoke and food odors stuck on clothes.
Warning! Do not pour vinegar directly on clothes. To learn more about how to use Vinegar in Laundry, please check out this wiki/tutorial: https://www.wikihow.com/Add-Vinegar-to-Laundry.
SALT
Salt helps to stop colored clothes from fading and losing their bright colors. This ensures that your clothes stay vibrant. If you have old clothes, a pinch of salt per load is okay. If you’re going to wash new vibrant clothes for the first time, add 1/2 cup of salt into the load to prevent the color bleeding as it goes through its first wash. Speaking of bleeding, did you know that salt also helps remove blood stains on clothes? So if you have an “accident” during your period, you know what to use.
ALUMINUM FOIL
Crumple some aluminum foil and toss it in the dryer. The foil acts as a dryer sheet making drying clothes and other pieces of laundry faster. Heat ensures that viruses from clothes are killed. Please note that this can only be used on the heated type of dryers and not on tumble-dry or spin-dry only dryers.
CHALK
If you have chalk at home especially if you are a teacher or living with one, then you should know that you can use chalk to get rid of lipstick and bacon grease on clothes. Just rub a little chalk into the stain before tossing the clothes inside the washing machine. Note that it is preferable to use white chalk since some colored chalk might make matters worse.
HAND SANITIZER
When you have stubborn stains, pour hand sanitizer on it and let it sit for 10 minutes before washing as usual. The alcohol found in hand sanitizer can act as a powerful solvent but not as strong as alcohol so it won’t ruin your clothes. If you don’t have a Hand Sanitizer, you can also use Hair Spray. Please note that you can’t use actual alcohol directly on your clothes.
ICE CUBES
Ice cubes may remove the wrinkles from clothes during the drying process. Get 4-5 ice cubes and place them into the dryer while it’s under the highest heat setting. This will produce the vapor that will help steam out clothes and remove wrinkles. Please note that tumble-dry or spin-dry only dryers and washing machines are not included in this since these do not have heat functions.
WASHING MACHINE
Though you may use any type of washing machine, it is very useful and preferable to have one that has high efficiency in terms of cleaning the clothes thoroughly. The washing machine should be durable because it’s very difficult to call for a technician these days. Having fast turnaround times and low-noise should also be a priority since having more extra time and a peaceful environment lessens stress.
When it comes to washing machine, I would recommend the Beko Washing Machine as most of their washing machines have the following features:
- ProSmart Inverter Motor: high efficiency, high durability, low noise
- SteamCure: steam-infused stain treatment
- StainExpert Programme: spotless cleaning for 24 types of stains
- 2 kg of clean laundry in 14 min
There is a lot of automatic washing machine for sale online and in stores. Whatever washing machine you choose, make sure to buy a washing machine that you feel confident in using and will not be a cause of stress.
There you have it, the laundry hacks that you need to know especially during this pandemic times. Feel free to share this article so that your family and friends would know about these laundry hacks too.