Laundry ~ Tips & Tricks

[billig]

I used to have that same problem as the OP all the time when I lived in a house with our own well.
Now I live with city water and things don't stink...I think it is some form of mold or something...because city water is chlorinated.
And it was always the same where they smelled nice coming out of the dryer, but after they were wet...peeeeeew!

[puppylove]

I have tried the vinegar and the bakind soda like amesw mentioned above I was very pleased with the results.

[tdt2000]

Socks! I bought small plastic clothes pins (comes in three different colors) at the dollar store. Assign a color to my husband, older son and myself and we each have a bin on our dresser full of our color pin. When dirty socks come off, they get pinned together prior to going in the hamper. They go through the washer and the dryer pinned together. The pins stay on (as long as they are clipped right) and it makes it easy to match socks and know quickly whose is whose. Saves me soooo much time folding laundry (and I don't dread the white load anymore).

[RosieG]

I make my own laundry soap. I use Fels-Naptha soap, washing soda and borax. I could not find the soap locally, so I order from soapsgoneby. Also be sure to get washing soda; not the baking soda that some stores put in the laundry aisle.

Grate the Fels-Naptha. Process in food processor: 1 cup of the soap with ½ cup each of the soda and borax. I grate the soap and let it dry overnight before processing. Use 2 tbsp per load.

[shrup]

Very good information here.

Does anyone have a good laundry soap recipe to wash delicates like Woolite?

[housemaid]

About the bad odor in towels when wet, I started having the same problem after getting a new front-loading washer. Mine is a 5-year-old Kenmore. Some of the front loaders aren't designed well. The Sears has a fold-back rubber seal around the drum, and you have to run your hand under the seal every now and then to be sure that an old smelly sock or something has not caught in there. I hadn't been doing that because I didn't know about it, and the washer repairman found that the Shout Color Catchers I had been using had caught under the seal, shredded (after many wash cycles), gone through the holes, and were plugging up the drain. It is a good idea, also, if you have a front-loader to leave the door ajar to let it dry out so it doesn't grow mold.

But I still had the smelly towel problem, and I found that Wisk HE detergent cut way down on that. The other detergents I used like Tide HE, Cheer, Gain HE, and Purex left the bad smell. It really helps to use high heat in the dryer on the towels, too, and be sure they are absolutely dry. Just the slightest bit of dampness left in the towels before folding will result in bacteria growth. (I did try borax and vinegar, and found them to be of minimal benefit.)

Chlorine bleach always completely eliminates any odor in my laundry, but I can't use it on my dark towels. I have been wondering if the color safe bleach (Clorox 2) is useful for germ killing or not.

[heyitsjenny]

I found this recipe in my email.

Fabric Softener

2 cups baking soda
2 cups white vinegar
4 cups water

Mix ingredients and store in a plastic or glass container in laundry area. Lable the container and keep out of reach of children. Yield 64 ounces, for approximately 64 cents.

To use, add 1/4 cup to the final rinse water in your washing machine.

NOTE: Be CAREFUL when mixing the vinegar with the baking soda (it has a bubbling reaction) and shake well after it has settled and before each use.

I use this all the time, in the winter though I'll mix in some store bought fabric softener to cut down on static cling.

Will this make your clothes smell sour? Or will there be no smell at all? 'Cause I'd really like to use this recipe - it is so much cheaper than Snuggle or Downy.

[MamaBird06]

I didn't read through this whole post so sorry if this is a repeat but for those with front loaders I have found that if you put a little baking soda in the powder dispenser it will reduce the suds allowing you to use regular detergent. I do it with the 2x concentrated purex and fill it to where the 3x would be and put a tablespoon of baking soda in, and really there are very little suds. HTH someone.

[billig]

I'm reading some Readers digest helpful hints book, I read this hint and thought what the heck?

Keep colors bright. Add a teaspoon of pepper to the washload. Pepper keeps bright colors bright and prevents them from running too.

[carmeneh]

Very cheap stain remover for laundry....
Hydrogen peroxide.
I buy these for 2/$1.00 usually

Pour directly on a stain
some stains require an overnight sit- I put a little more on in a few hours and have patience!

Works on most everything
Blood
red dye (koolaid etc)
rootbeer
cherry
blueberry
blackberry
tomato sauce
oil

My mother thought she ruined her shirt after picking blackberries and I let her yellow shirt sit overnight and all the stains were gone!

I have also used it on set in stains!

I put in a spray bottle and spray it on
My 4 yr old gets everything he eats on his shirts and I just spray before I wash.

Also works great for carpet stains too

I have never had any color items discolor from use!

much cheaper than "oxy" products and its basically the same ingredient just in a different concentration!