From grassy picnics to sweaty soccer games to saucy cookouts — clothes can be particularly vulnerable to all kinds of stains and odors during the warm weather months.
Check out these tips for doing your laundry in a way that keeps clothes fresh and looking new as long as possible.
• Understand the basics. Different stains require different cleaning agents, and unfortunately, there is no one single ingredient that cleans all kinds of stains well. For example, milk and grass stains require enzyme cleaners, while ink or wine stains require peroxides. Of course, clothes also need brighteners and detergents to come out looking their best. Understanding these basic principles can help you treat clothes more effectively.
• Pre-treat stains. Stained clothing should be pre-treated with a tough, multi-faceted solution. Rub in pre-treatment gently and wait three to five minutes. Just be careful not to allow the solution to dry on the fabric. Some garments will need a longer pre-treatment. If so, add the solution to water and soak the soiled clothing in a bucket before washing as usual.
• Fight odor. Select products that keep laundry fresh longer. For example, Dryel has an Odor & Wrinkle Releaser that provides an extra boost of clean.
• Extend the life of clothes. Pair a great detergent with a laundry booster that can tackle multiple types of stains. For example, Biz has more stain fighters than other brands, while also brightening clothes. Available in powder, liquid and liquid boosters, independent, third party tests have shown that Biz works 80 percent better than detergent alone.
• Read the tags. When in doubt, referencing tags for washing and drying directions can help you best maintain a garment’s color, brightness and shape. More fresh laundry tips can be found at bizstainfighter.com.
No matter what sort of adventures you and your clothes get into this season, adopting better laundry habits can mean keeping your family’s garments fresh-smelling and stain-free.
-Statepoint
Author
- Ezra McMullin is a content and social media producer at MSGPR and attends Angelina College. He unwinds after a long day by playing XBox, telling himself he'll just play one more level before bed.
