If your clothes are coming out of the wash still stained or smelling bad, try this
If you’ve ever put a wash on, only to take it out and find the stains haven’t shifted and it still smells, you’re not alone.
Luckily, there’s an easy trick that takes the stress out of laundry day – and could save your clothes from ending up in the bin. Advice from consumer champions at Which? say the answer could be as simple as baking soda.
Also sold as bicarbonate of soda, it’s the inexpensive cupboard staple best known as a raising agent for light, fluffy bakes – and it can be picked up for around 59p at Morrisons or about 65p at Aldi. In its top tips, Which? recommends using it to “pre-soak any smelly items” before they go in the wash.
It explains: “If your laundry basket is full of grass-stained rugby kit or sweaty gym gear, the chances are it’s already not smelling its best. Rather than chucking these items straight into the machine, give them a good soak beforehand to help minimise the chance of odours clinging on through the wash.
“You can dissolve half a cup of baking soda in a basin of warm water, soak the garments for half an hour and then wash them in the machine as normal. You can soak particularly smelly items for longer if necessary.”
Chances are you’ve already got baking soda in the cupboard, but if not, white vinegar is another option that Which? says “works well too”. Mix one part vinegar with four parts water and use it in the same way as the pre-soak. Just make sure you rinse items thoroughly before putting them into the drum, as leftover acidity could damage your machine.
According to popular baking brand, Dr Oetker, “you don’t just have to use baking soda for cooking. It’s also great for tackling all kinds of tasks around the home thanks to its alkali properties”.
This includes:
- Pop some in an open bowl in your fridge to eliminate any unsavoury odours.
- Make a paste with lemon juice to help remove grease from your oven
- Add a scoop to your washing machine to get rid of stains in clothing
- Try mixing bicarbonate of soda with vinegar to create a kitchen cleaning spray
Don’t leave it
As soon as the cycle ends, take your washing out and hang it up. Which? says leaving clothes sitting in a warm, damp drum for hours can make them smell worse – and fabrics like cotton and wool hold onto moisture for longer, so they’re even more likely to pong.
It explains: “The general rule is that a few hours is the limit before you’ll need to wash the items again, but in an ideal world, you’d remove your clean items as soon as possible when the cycle ends. The delay-start setting on your machine could come in handy here, allowing you to schedule a load to finish when you’ll have time to handle it.”
Skip the fabric softener
Which? explains that while it “may sound counterintuitive repeatedly adding fabric conditioner to your washes can actually make your clothes smell worse over time.” That’s because it can leave a build-up on fabrics over time, stopping detergent from soaking in and cleaning properly.
“It can also essentially ‘trap’ odours in your clothes by creating a coating over the top of them, making them much trickier to shift for good”, it adds.
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