Laundry Tips for Longer Lasting Clothes

Clothes cost a lot of money these days and you want them to last as long as possible! I have put together some tips to help you prevent laundry mistakes that will send your clothes to the rag bag.

One simple thing you can do to keep your clothes lasting longer is always have a carry on stain removal pen or wipes on hand. The first rule in treating stains is to do it as soon as possible.

Another simple thing you can do is to pre-sort your laundry before you wash, be it by colour to prevent a new shirt from bleeding into your old clothes or by fabric, some fabrics can obtain what looks like grease stains by just being washed with different kinds of fabrics.

Making sure you zip up your sweaters before you put them in the washer helps them keep their shape. When drying sweaters it is better to lay them flat and zipped up than to put them in the dryer you don’t have to worry about getting that ever annoying crinkled-up zipper.

Another tip for longer lasting clothing is to not wash or dry your clothes in hot water or high heat. Some types of fabrics (such as cotton) will shrink if washed and dried in hot temperatures, or stains that you are trying to remove can permanently set in your clothes.

Don’t want your new pair of “my butt looks great” or “my legs are thin” jeans to fade after the 1st wash? Some people ask the all too common question whether washing your denim less is better for the pair of jeans or not. Well there are a few ways you can lengthen the life of your jeans. One way is you can soak them in a vinegar solution (50% water 50% vinegar) for 30 minutes then wash as usual. Soaking your jeans with vinegar prior to washing them helps set the dye in the fabric.

There is also the trend of not washing your denim at all. It’s called Freeze Cleaning.  Freeze cleaning doesn’t remove dirt or dust and certainly does not remove stains, but it does kill the germs that cause jeans to smell. Sounds promising if you ask me. Let’s face it, how often are our jeans actually soiled with stains or dirt? Most of the time they are just starting to smell not so fresh anymore. So the next time that happens try putting your jeans in a plastic zip-lock bag and put them in the freezer for 24hrs.

There you have it ladies! Some old fashioned laundry tips and some new ways to keep your clean clothes lasting longer!