The right wash
To ensure that the laundry does not discolour or is washed at the wrong temperature, you should adjust the wash cycle to the material. Separating white from colored laundry helps keep the white laundry light-colored, and if you also let your white laundry dry in the sun for a short time, this also has a bleaching effect. This eliminates the need for bleach, which attacks clothing and causes it to wear out more quickly. Many people also wash very hot, although this is not necessary. Washing towels and bed linen at 60C and clothes at 30C is quite sufficient: the fabrics are less affected and the water does not need to be heated as much. Compared to washing at 60C, you save 70 percent electricity with a 30C wash, which pays off in the long run. If the laundry is then to be put in the dryer, the laundry must be spun with more revolutions, if it is hung up to dry, with less. Both ultimately save electricity and put less strain on clothing.
One or the other piece of clothing has to be washed by hand – which uses more than twice the amount of water than washing with a machine. To save water anyway, you can add a dash of vinegar to the detergent, which will speed up the effect. Incidentally, short wash cycles do not save water. However, many machines have a timer that you can use to set when the machine should start or finish. In this way, instead of running the laundry quickly in the evening, you can conveniently set the timer and take it out of the machine the next day.
Home remedies instead of chemical clubs
Commercially available special detergents contain chemicals that attack both clothing and the person who wears it later. This is unhealthy, harmful to the environment – and expensive. Most stain removers can be replaced with simple home remedies such as lemon, vinegar, salt and baking soda. The only thing to consider is what the stain and fabric are made of. Some of these household items can also attack the fabrics, which of course you don’t want. But if you know what you’re doing, it’s best to rub the stain on the shirt with such an agent, let it work for a short time and then you can save yourself the pre-wash cycle. Incidentally, it is only suitable for heavily soiled laundry anyway.
In addition to all these and many other small and large tricks, it is important to use a machine that suits your needs and to maintain it regularly so that it works as well as possible for as long as possible.
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