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4 Laundry Myths to Ditch Today

LAUNDRY TIPS

Clean clothes are important to everybody, so you would think that by now everyone would be basically in agreement on how best to get their clothes clean. The reality is that there are persistent myths about cleaning clothes that are like stubborn stains; they just don’t seem to go away. Are you still being fooled by persistent laundry myths? Take a look at the truth about some common laundry myths so that you can keep your clothes in great shape. 

Myth One: Adding Coffee to the Wash Prevents Black Clothes From Fading

Depending on your job and schedule, both laundry and coffee might be very important parts of your day. That doesn’t mean that you should mix the two. 

A persistent laundry myth that keeps making the rounds is the idea that adding a cup of coffee to your load of black clothing will help keep your black clothes from becoming faded. Coffee can be used in dyes, but dumping coffee in the washing machine won’t have any real effects on your black jeans. 

Myth Two: Hot Water Gets Clothes Cleaner

There are some specific reasons to use hot water when you’re doing laundry. Use hot water on things like sheets and pillowcases, on very soiled items like gym clothes, and on clothing that specifies that it needs to be washed in hot water. For everything else, cold or warm water is fine. 

Today’s washing machines are designed to get clothes clean in cooler water, and in many cases, hot water doesn’t make any difference to the laundry itself. However, it does make a difference to your electric bill, and to anyone in the house who is trying to take a hot shower while you’re doing the laundry.

Myth Three: Scrub Stains From the Outside

When you pre-treat stains before washing, it makes intuitive sense to scrub the stains from the outside, where the spill occurred. However, this is a mistake. You’re actually rubbing the stain into the fabric fibers. 

Myth Four: Hairspray Takes Out Ink Stains

This is a myth that had some basis in fact at one time. Alcohol-based hairsprays could help lift ink out of fabrics.