Open Cleaning & Laundry

For most clothing the hotter the water, the cleaner the clothing will be. Most linens and white clothing are washed in hot water to remove germs and heavy soil. However, many of our clothes won’t come out looking very nice if they are washed in hot water. Hot water tends to make some clothing shrink, wrinkle, and fade.


When To Use Warm Water


For most people the majority of their laundry is washed with warm water. Warm water is actually a mix of hot and cold. Some machines mix the hot and cold water 50-50, although newer machines mix 60-40. Warm water is usually the best choice for permanent press and jeans. It allows good cleaning action without as much fading, wrinkling, and shrinking.


When To Use Cold Water


Cold water is usually used for delicate items, or items with instructions to be washed in cold water. If your cold water items are heavily soiled or dirty, you need to be especially diligent about checking and pre-treating for stains. You may also have to wash the items for longer, or allow them to soak before washing if they are heavily soiled.


4 Ways To Choose the Right Washing Temperature


1. Check the tag.


While you’ll be able to use your discretion with many clothing items, checking the tag allows you to find any special instructions. We often forget to check the tag when we buy items, only to find out there is a 25 step list of washing instruction for best results. Check the tags and pull out items that have special instructions.


2. Check the water temperature.


Use a candy thermometer and check the water temperature of the cold, warm, and hot water coming out of your machine. Hot water is most often 10 degrees colder when it arrives at your machine from when it leaves your hot water heater. In general hot water is 130 degrees Fahrenheit (54.4 Celsius) or above. Warm water is between 110 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit ( 43.3-32.2 Celsius). Cold water is generally between 80 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit (26.7-15 Celsius). If cold water is below 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15 Celsius), clothes are unlikely to be cleaned very well.


3. Pre-treat stains.


Pre-treating the stains will allow the clothing to get clean even if it needs to be washed in warm or cold water. Take the time to pre-treat for stain removal before they are washed and you have a much better chance of clothing coming out clean and stain-free.


4. Soak.


If clothing does require cold water, try soaking the clothing before washing to insure that clothing will actually be cleaned thoroughly.






   Microfiber cleaning cloths, dust cloths, and mops can make cleaning your home a more simple process. But to really get the most out of your microfiber a few special care instructions are necessary. Find out how to get your microfiber cleaning products clean and make them last.
Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: 30 minutes or less
Here's How:


Sort your microfiber cleaning cloths into their own load. Hair, dirt, dust, and lint will be attracted to the microfiber cloths. If you wash them with a regular load of linens, they may come out even more dirty than before. Some people even like to separate their most heavily soiled microfiber cloths from those that are just lightly soiled.
If you care about stains on your cleaning cloths, now is the time to pre-treat them. You can use whatever stain remover you rely on for laundry, or just add a little laundry detergent to the cloths and rinse them out. If you don't care if they are stained...skip this step.
Wash heavily soiled cleaning cloths in warm or hot water. Lightly soiled cloths can be washed in cold, or even on the gentle cycle.
Dry your microfiber cloths separately to prevent hair and lint attraction. Microfiber dries really fast, so it will be a short cycle. Because microfiber dries so quickly, you can hang your cleaning cloths up to dry.
Tips:


Because microfiber attracts and holds on to dirt, it's important to keep them separate from other items.
Microfiber cloths that are dirty can scratch and damage surfaces. Be sure to clean microfiber cleaning cloths after every use, for best results.
What You Need:


Washing machine
Laundry soap
A place to hand wash cloths (if handwashing)
A dryer
A place to line dry cloths (if line drying)
Stain remover (if pre-treating)




   We throw our dirties loads of laundry into the washing machine and expect that they'll come out clean and smelling fresh. But how do we keep our washing machines clean and smelling fresh?
Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: 10 minutes
Here's How:


Exterior
Washing machines are often made of baked-on enamel. The best solution is a cleaning cloth with a mild all-purpose cleaner or dish soap. Gently wipe down the exterior surface of the washing machine. You may find that lint and drizzled laundry soap have formed thick sticky spots on the washing machine. A little warm water and a cleaning rag are usually enough to get the area cleaned. For corners and edges, try cleaning with a cotton swab.


Interior
Wiping up detergent spills right as they happen. If you wait, the spill is likely to turn into something much more difficult to clean. If something was washed that has left a solid residue in the washing machine, retrieve all the pieces and wipe down the interior of the washing machine with a cleaning cloth.


Preventing or Removing Smells
To prevent a smelly washing machine, leave the lid open on the washing machine when a load is removed to allow it time to dry out. If smells do happen, try washing an empty load with hot water and a mixture of baking soda and vinegar. For front loading washing machines, it is vital that you leave the washing machine door open in between loads. You will also need to wipe down the rubber seal of the washing machine. Small bits of debris and hair can become trapped in the crevices. Giving your machine a quick wipe down after each use will prevent smells and mildew.


Tips:


Hard Water Issues
If you experience limescale buildup from hard water, water softeners added to your laundry detergent may be a workable solution.


What You Need


Mild detergent
Cleaning cloths
Vinegar
Baking soda
Water Softener (optional)




  Our iron is our go-to tool to turn wrinkled and rumpled clothing into pressed and perfect outfits. But figuring out how to clean an iron, that can be the hard part. These simple steps can help turn that scaly stained iron into a useful tool.
Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: 15-20 minutes
Here's How:


Read the user manual.
Reading your user manual with give you a good idea of how to care for your iron. After reading it, you'll know if your iron requires distilled water, or descales itself. Take a moment and read the manual.


Clean inside of the iron.
To clean the inside of a steam iron, you'll need to know if your iron automatically descales water using a replaceable filter. Make sure to replace your filter on the recommended schedule. Other irons may need to be descaled manually. Pouring a mix of one part water and one part vinegar into the water chamber of the iron and steaming it out will work wonders. Repeat a second time with plain water.


Clean non-coated sole plates.
For non-coated irons, you can use baking soda or even a metal polish cleaner to clean the sole plate. For sole plates that need a little extra help, extra fine steel wool can be used as a last resort.


Clean non-stick sole plates.
For non-stick coated irons, clean with a soft cloth, warm water, and mild detergent. Always wait until your iron is completely cool and unplugged. Never use an abrasive cleaner. Abrasives will wear away the coating on your iron.


Tips:


If plastic has been melted on your sole plate, it can be removed. Place a piece of aluminum foil on the ironing board and sprinkle it with salt. Ironing over the salt and foil will help loosen the plastic. Never try to scrape the plastic off with metal tools. It may permanently damage the sole plate.
If the vent holes of your iron have become clogged with starch or buildup, cleaning them with cotton swabs dipped in a 1 to 1 ratio of water and vinegar can help clean the holes.
What You Need


Vinegar
Mild dish soap (non-stick sole plates)
Clean cloth
Baking soda (non-coated sole plates)
Metal polish (non-coated sole plates)
Water
Fine Steel Wool (non-coated sole plates)
Aluminum foil (for plastic removal)
Salt (for plastic removal)


  10 Laundry Disasters and How To Help Clothes Recover


1. Shrunken Sweaters.
It may seem hopeless, but there is a tiny glimmer of a chance that you can still wear that sweater. It’s worth a try to attempt to reshape a wet sweater to its original size. Add 2-3 tablespoonfuls of hair conditioner to a bucket of room temperature water. Put the sweater in the bucket to soak for about 5 minutes. Lay the sweater on a clean dry towel and slowly and gently try to stretch the fibers and reshape the garment before allowing it to dry on the towel.


2. Dried Stains.


Once a stain has been dried, it’s very hard to remove, but it is possible. Try repeating the steps for the individual stain. More than likely you’ll need to soak the stain, or use a more aggressive stain remover. On white clothes, try using lemon juice and placing the garment in the sun. Both the lemon juice and the sun will work as bleaching agents. Be sure to rinse the clothing thoroughly before rewashing.




3. Dingy Whites.


White fabrics can become yellowed or grayed and dingy. For gray and dingy whites try the triple soak. Soak the whites first in a solution of a bucketful of water and 2 tablespoons of liquid dish soap. Next rinse out the whites and soak in a solution of 2 tablespoons of ammonia and a bucketful of water. Next, rinse out the whites, and soak in a bucket of warm water and 2 tablespoons of vinegar. Rinse thoroughly and dry. This soaking method will leave your whites bright and clean.




4. Wrinkled Clothes.


If clothes have been neglected in the dryer for too long they are probably wrinkled. To smooth out the wrinkles, put the load back in the dryer with a damp towel (for a medium sized load) or a damp sock (for a small load).


5. Pink Whites.


A red sock in the washer with your whites can leave you seeing rose-colored laundry. To try to fix this problem you’ll need Rit Color Remover. This product works wonders on white laundry that had dye transfer on it. The Rit Color Remover can also be effective at removing dye on some colored or patterned backgrounds, although you run the risk of having the original color or pattern of the garment damaged.


6. Crayons in the Dryer.


I’ve got quite a bit of experience with this one. I’ll never forget the first time I looked in the dryer to see streaks of red crayon melted around the drum. To get rid of it, start with scraping off as much of the wax as you can. I like using a credit card because it doesn’t scratch the drum, but does a good job of removing dried on wax. Depending on how tough the wax is to remove, you might need to use a blow dryer to remove the wax. Hold the dryer 6 inches away from the drum. It will heat up the wax, allowing you to wipe it away. Next, you’ll need some WD-40. Spray it on a cloth and wipe at the waxed areas until the wax is gone. For your final step, use a mild detergent like dish soap or an all-purpose cleaner and warm water to do a final wipe down of the drum.


7. Stickers Washed and Dried.


Sometimes a “Good Job” sticker gets left on clothes as they go through the laundry cycle. A sticker that has been washed and dried, congeals and becomes very difficult to remove. Use an ice cube to freeze the stained area, and try to scrape away as much of the sticker as possible with a spoon. Apply baby or cooking oil to the sticker area and try to scrape away more of the stain as it loosens. Rinse the area thoroughly with a little dish soap and warm water before applying a stain remover gel and rewashing.




8. Mildew Smells or Stains.


Did you forget about the clothes in the washer and now they have a sour smell? If the clothes smell, but aren’t stained by pinpoint sized dots of mildew, you may simply be able to rewash them with a helping of bleach for whites, or color-safe bleach for colors. If you indeed have mildew stains, washing with chlorine bleach will remove the stains from white clothing. For colored clothing use a mixture of color-safe oxygen bleach (1 teaspoon) , and hydrogen peroxide (1 cup) to sponge the stained areas before rinsing thoroughly and rewashing. Clothes may also benefit from soaking in a borax solution.




9. A Pen Explodes.


If a pen found its way into your laundry, it can wreak a lot of havoc before it’s found. Whether you realize there are ink stains after clothes are washed, or after they are dried, the steps are the same.


The first solution to try is rubbing alcohol. Place the clothing on top of a clean white towel. Be sure to test in a hidden spot before applying rubbing alcohol to the permanent ink stain. Blot rubbing alcohol onto the stain. The towel underneath will become wet and discolored from the ink. Be sure to move the garment to a clean dry section of the towel as this happens. Continue until no more ink stain can be removed. Make sure you rinse the stained area completely free of the rubbing alcohol. Next try fingernail polish remover. Blot in the same way as you did with the rubbing alcohol, moving the stained area to a clean dry section of a towel as the ink stain is removed. Rinse thoroughly.


Honestly, this will work much more effectively if the clothes haven’t been dried, but it can still work on set in stains, it will just take a lot of hoping and patience.






10. Washed Tissues.


If a tissue has been inadvertently washed, leaving shreds of tissue all over your clothing, the easiest solution is to pick out the biggest clumps you can see before putting the clothing in the dryer. The smaller clumps will get caught in the lint filter where you can remove them after the drying cycle. The more clumps you can remove before the clothing goes into the dryer, the better. Once the clothing is dry, shake out the garments to remove any loose pieces.