Dirty Laundry – the Secrets to Coming Clean

It’s sport season again for many families – football, soccer, lacrosse. That means grass stains, sweaty armpit stains and mud. What to do?

Here are 3 of the most common “dirty laundry” secrets from a national survey conducted by laundry detergent maker Wisk:

1)      People go more than month without changing their bed sheets – only ½ of those surveyed wash their sheets every week.

2)      People admitted to taking dirty clothes out of the hamper to wear again before they wash them.

3)      Almost 1 of 3 women admitted to wearing the same bra for several days in a row before they washed it. Likewise, one out of 3 men admitted to wearing their socks or underwear for multiple days at a time.

Guilty of any of those? Besides these fun facts, Wisk also reports that the average wash load contains 20 times more body oils and sweat than what we think of as stains. This oils and sweat can actually build up in the clothes over time. They recommend their Deep Clean product to remove this build up because it actually targets the hidden substances .

Here are few stain remedies to know about:

Sticky stuff like tape, gum and rubber cement – apply ice or run cold water over it to make the surface harder. Use a dull knife to scrap it off then use a stain remover and wash the item.

Blood stains need to be  soaked in cold water for 30 minutes then rub in laundry detergent and wash. If the stain has been sitting, pretreat it and soak in lukewarm water then wash.

Chocolate stains should be treated with a pre-wash spray after scraping off any leftover chocolate. Wash the item.

Make-up stains should be treated with pre-wash stain remover, detergent or a bar of soap. Work the stain until it’s gone. Wash the item.

And those pesky grass stains need to be treated with a pre-wash stain remover or soaked. Wash the item in the hottest temperature the fabric can tolerate using fabric-safe bleach. Likewise, muddy clothes should be allowed to dry then brush off the mud. Treat the stain with a paste of detergent and water, liquid detergent or a laundry booster. If the stain is heavy, pretreat it with laundry detergent that contains enzymes.

For more information, check out the Wisk facebook page at www.facebook.com/wisk

Photo credit: Getty Images

Marijo Tinlin is the Editor in Chief of Family First, one of the oldest family-oriented websites on the internet. She writes for Eagle Publishing’s Family Events, is the Managing Editor of www.myColoradoview.com and she runs a small business with her husband. She is also the author of a book about patriotism and teaching our children to love this country called “How to Raise an American Patriot, Making it Okay for Our Kids to Be Proud to Be American.”  It features 13 interviews with patriotic Americans including Ed Meese, Erick Erickson and Jackie Gingrich Cushman. It’s available at www.raisinganamericanpatriot.com.