Washing clothes is a chore we all have to do and while you might have your own routine, you could be doing it all wrong.
A laundry expert has shared five things she would never do when it comes to washing.
In a video shared to Instagram by Which? the expert highlights alternatives to help you effectively wash your clothes.
How many of these five things are you guilty of?
5 things you should never do when washing your clothes
Fabric softener
The laundry expert says she would never use fabric softener as “it can leave a layer of residue on your clothes”.
She adds that it can also reduce how absorbent your towels are and sensitive skin can also be irritated by it.
Homeowners shouldn’t use too much detergent either as it can also “leave a residue on your clothes”.
Powders for dark or bright colours
Using powders when washing dark or bright-coloured clothes can “make them duller”, according to the laundry expert so she would never use them in this case.
Instead, she advises homeowners to use capsules or liquids. She explains that the powder can be kept for whites.
Washing everything at the same temperature
The expert says washing everything at the same temperature isn’t a wise idea because while most people wash clothes at 40C, this can be too harsh for delicate items.
She adds that modern detergents can wash well at temperatures such as 20C or 30C – you could save some money on your energy bills too.
Recommended reading:
- Use your washing machine during this 'magic hour' to slash your energy bills
- These 5 'surprising' objects should never touch your washing machine
- Find out what different washing symbols mean and how to care for your clothes
- How many times should you wear items of clothing before washing them?
Washing jeans and jumpers too often
The expert encourages people to only wash jumpers and jeans when “they’re actually dirty”.
She says things like underwear and sports clothes will need to be washed after each use though.
Smelly washing machine
A smelly washing machine could be due to blocked up pipes and the expert says she’d never put up a smell coming from the washing machine.
To clean your machine, you could put it on a hot wash with no detergent or clothes inside or buy a washing machine cleaner.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel