Everyday laundry tips

• Outfox the sock bandit

The invisible sock bandit who hangs around washing machines and snatches one sock from a pair will probably never be apprehended, but here’s a way to thwart him. Give each family member a mesh bag for their dirty socks. Then, on washday, close the bags and throw them into the washing machine. The sneaky thief will leave empty-handed and you should only have to replace socks when they wear out.

• Freshen a laundry basket

Baskets are handy for keeping dirty laundry in one place, but they can get very smelly when packed with soiled clothes. Here are two ways to prevent stale clothes smells:

1. Cut the foot off a pair of old pantihose, fill it with bicarbonate of soda, knot it and throw the makeshift odour-eater into the basket. Replace the bicarbonate of soda every month or so.
2. Keep a box of bicarbonate of soda next to the basket and sprinkle some onto the soiled clothes as you put them into the washing machine, where the soda will freshen and soften the load.

• Whiter whites

Do your white T-shirts tend to go grey? White socks look dirty no matter how many times they’re washed? Try one of these tried and trusted methods for making whites stay white.

• Soak in a solution of 4 litres water and 1 cup (180g) bicarbonate of soda.

• Soak in hot water in which you’ve dissolved 5 aspirin tablets (325mg each).

• Add 1 cup (250ml) white vinegar to the washing machine’s rinse cycle.

• Blacker blacks, darker darks

While faded and distressed-looking garments are sometimes the height of fashion, you may prefer not to look as if the last time you went clothes shopping was in the 80s. Here are some tips for keeping black and dark-coloured clothes looking like new.

1. For black clothes, add 2 cups (500ml) brewed coffee or tea to the rinse cycle.
2. For dark colours like navy blue or plum, add 1 cup (180g) table salt to the rinse cycle.
3. To keep denim from fading quickly, soak jeans in salt water or a 50:50 solution of water and white vinegar before the first wash. Turn the jeans inside out before putting them in the machine and turn the temperature setting to cold.

• Two starch substitutes

There’s no need to run out and buy starch to stiffen shirt collars or restore body to shapeless clothing. Make your own by pouring 2 cups (500ml) water into a jar and adding 2 tablespoons cornflour. Screw the jar lid on tightly and shake well. Now pour the solution into a spray bottle for use when ironing.

If some garments are looking a bit shapeless, don’t use starch when ironing. Instead, add a cup of powdered milk to the final rinse cycle of the wash to give the fabric back its body.

• Boil yellowed cottons

With time, white cotton and linen tend to turn yellow — hardly the fresh, crisp look for which these fabrics are famous. Mix 1/4 cup (45g) salt and 1/4 cup (45g) bicarbonate of soda into 4 litres water in a large saucepan. Add the yellowed items and boil them for 1 hour to get rid of the yellow.

• Brightening rugs and curtains

If cotton rugs or cotton curtains have faded, simply add 1/4 cup (45g) salt to your laundry detergent to brighten the colours. If a rug is too large for machine washing, scrub it well with a clean rag dipped in salt water.

• Banish odours

Get rid of dye or chemical smells in new sheets or shirts and the rank odour of sweaty gym clothes left to fester for weeks. Here are two old but effective deodorising standbys. First, add 1/3 cup (90g) bicarbonate of soda to 4 litres water and presoak any smelly washable items for about 2 hours. Then, as you machine-wash them, add 1/2 cup (125ml) white vinegar to the rinse cycle.

• Dry jumpers with a pair of pantihose

Don’t peg jumpers directly onto the line; run an old pair of pantihose through one sleeve, the neck and out the other sleeve then hang out.

• Clean your drier vent from the outside

Stuffed-up drier vents can, in worst case scenarios, cause fires, but most of us never think of examining the vent from the outside, on a regular basis. To do this, carefully lift up the vent flap and clean it out.

• An improvised drying rack

Air-drying anything saves money, and you don’t even need a sunny day. Suspend an old fridge shelf or oven racks from a beam in the laundry, if there’s room, and hang wet clothes on coat hangers onto the rack.