You’ve been washing your clothes all wrong! Here’s how you should be doing it, according to an expert
We each waste £150 a year by doing the laundry wrong and ruining clothes
HATE doing the laundry? You're not the only one.
And because we don't take care when washing our clothes - we're wasting nearly £150 worth of decent items every year, new research has revealed.
Across Britain, a staggering 540 million items of decent clothing are chucked away unnecessarily every single year - because we've ruined them in the wash.
This adds up to 10 items of clothing each, totalling £147.60.
In reaction to Bosch's shocking survey, Good Housekeeping's laundry expert Richard Wilkinson is on hand with advice on how we're all doing the washing wrong.
Speaking exclusively to the Sun Online, he gave these top tips...
1. Never use fabric softener on our towels, because it "makes them less absorbent".
2. Don't wash polyester clothes on high temperatures, or you'll never get the creases out.
3. Only wash underwired bras on the 'handwash' programme.
4. New clothes should only be washed with similar colours, to avoid running. We're not just talking about darks and whites - you may need to run a whole 'red wash'.
5. Wash clothes inside out to avoid bobbling.
Richard added: "If clothing is becoming bobbled, try delectably removing bobbles using sticky-tape or, or carefully use a razor blade."
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6. Soak whites in bleach. Richard explained: "If the colour has run, for white items, first check whether it has a 'do not bleach' symbol.
"If it doesn't, soak in a weak solution of household bleach for 15 minutes. Rinse thoroughly and repeat as necessary."
7. Clean your washing machine every three months.
Richard added: "Run the washing machine on empty, using the hottest programme available, usually 90 degrees, and add a de-calcifying agent to the recommended dose of detergent.
"This will also help if your washing machine has become a tad smelly."
8. Use different detergents for different coloured and types of clothes.
Richard explained: "Biological powder is best for keeping whites white.
"Wash at 30C using a liquid detergent specifically for coloured clothes, but check the care labels first.
"Silk and wool should be washed in delicate, non-biological detergents."
9. Wash natural fibre clothes after most wears.
Richard added: "Moths are attracted to sweat and you don’t want clothes moths invading your wardrobe."
10. Soak rough towels and fabrics in water softener.
Richard added: "This helps to counter a build-up of mineral salts and limescale."
72% of people will ruin each of these items of clothing in one year
- 2 pairs of socks
- 2 pairs of underwear
- 2 jumpers
- 2 T-shirts
- 1 pair of pyjamas
- 1 pair of jeans
- 1 shirt
- 1 dress
- 2 tops
Discolouration was the biggest culprit of ruined clothes (27%), while stains (23%) and bobbling (21%) followed closely behind.
Stretching (14%) and holes (12%) also meant some clothes had to be binned.
The research, which was done by Bosch during the launch of their new i-DOS washing machine, also revealed that...
- 87 per cent of us don't know how to clean our clothes properly.
- Two thirds of us often don't bother to read the care wash label.
- A third of us use too much detergent, and 16 per cent don't use enough.
- Londoners and men are the worst at doing the laundry.
- A further 69 per cent of people have admitted to having to re-wash stained clothes.
- 20 per cent find instructions too confusing.
- And 28 per cent just don't think they're important.