Tide offers one of the best laundry sites on the web, complete with beginner tips, at http://www.clothesline.com/tipsTimeSavers . The site includes instructions for laundry beginners to more advanced stain removal techniques. Learn to sort your laundry by color, making sure to zip all the zippers and empty all the pockets. Get guidelines on pretreating, presoaking, and prewashing stubborn stains. Pretreating is used for small spots and all you need to do is rub the spot with soap. Presoak is used for deep-set stains and blood. Soak the item in a bucket of laundry suds for up to thirty minutes. Use cold water for bleach-sensistive stains and drink mixes. And prewashing is used for heavily soiled garments. Beginners need to know the differences in water temperatures. Hot water is primarily good for whites and very dirty clothes. Cold water can be used for dark colors and colors that run. Warm water can be used for everything else. You can always use cold water for rinsing (which will also save on your energy bill)
House Work, http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/2328/... , provides a site of household tips to save you time and money, including laundry tricks. For instance, turn all your jeans and shirts inside out before washing to prevent fading. Treat perspiration stains and odors with a spray bottle full of vinegar
Laundry Helps Page, http://heblehaven.simplenet.com/laun.htm , offers several suggestions on saving money on laundry too. Add one cup of ammonia with detergent to remove body oils when laundering clothes, sheets and towels. Do not mix ammonia with chlorine bleach. Add salt to get ride of excess suds in the washer. To brighten whites, soak in one gallon warm water with one cup white vinegar, then rinse. When possible, sun dry your sheets and clothes. Be aware that some apartment complexes don?t allow this.
The Soap and Detergent Association offers two invaluable sites that you definitely should visit. Your Guide to Fabric Care Symbols ( http://www.sdahq.org/laundry/fabricsymbo... ) provides a wonderful chart on reading clothing tag fabric care symbols. Print this chart off and hang near your washer for reference. And Fabric Care Language Made Easy ( http://www.sdahq.org/laundry/fabricsymbo... ) is another chart that you will want to print, which goes along with the fabric care symbols. With these two charts, caring for your clothes will be a snap.
