Laundry Lessons: Coming Clean

Let’s face it: Most of us don’t exactly look forward to doing laundry. As a result, it’s one of those chores that are easy to put off until later. But putting the laundry off until later can have a downside. Hidden dirt can build up in your clothes, and it may be harder to get visible stains like chocolate or grass out of clothing.

A national survey by Wisk revealed that four out of five people admitted to at least one dirty laundry secret. Top secrets include:
• Going more than a month without changing bed sheets. In fact, only half of those surveyed wash sheets once a week.
• Taking dirty items out of the laundry basket to wear.
• Repeating underwear -- nearly one in three women admit to wearing the same bra for several days in a row, while close to one in three men admit to having worn the same socks or underwear for several days.

Most people say they "just know" when an item needs to be washed, but what they may not know is that the average wash load contains 20 times more body oil and sweat than visible stains. These hidden soils can get trapped deep in the fabric of clothes and build up over time. Leaving the laundry until later also means it becomes harder to remove visible stains. Fortunately, there are some things you can do to get rid of common stains:

Adhesive (tape, chewing gum, rubber cement) - Apply ice or cold water to harden surface; scrape with a dull knife. Saturate with prewash stain remover. Rinse, then launder.

Beverage - Soak stain in cool water. Treat with pre-wash stain remover, liquid laundry detergent, or a paste of powder detergent and water. Launder with fabric safe bleach.

Blood - New stains should be soaked in cold water for 30 minutes. Rub detergent into any remaining stain. Rinse, then launder. Dried stains should be pretreated or soaked in lukewarm water with a product containing enzymes, then laundered.
Chocolate - Gently scrape off excess chocolate. Treat the stain with a prewash spray. Follow up with an enzyme detergent to remove residue before washing.

Cosmetics - Treat with prewash stain remover, liquid detergent, a mixture of detergent and water, or rub with bar soap. Work into dampened stain until outline of stain is gone, then rinse. If greasy stain remains, soak in an enzyme product. Rinse and launder.

Grass - Treat with prewash stain remover, or soak with an enzyme product. If stain remains, launder in hottest water safe for the fabric, with a fabric-safe bleach.

Mud - Let dry, then brush off as much mud as possible. For light stains, pretreat with a paste of dry detergent and water, liquid detergent, or a liquid detergent booster; launder. Pretreat heavy stains by presoaking with a laundry detergent, a product containing enzymes.

Source: Wisk Deep