Finding simple but helpful hacks for your laundry is always a perk. After all, people spend an average of 119 minutes a week washing their clothes, linens, and other fabrics, according to Wrinkle Free Delivery, which adds up over the months and years. If you’re tired of finishing a load of laundry only to feel like some items are still grimy or lackluster, there’s a trick out there for you — and it might already be sitting in your pantry.
Detergents and bleach are both useful in getting out dirt, stains, and other marks from your clothing, but they can also be detrimental at times. Wirecutter notes that if you are using too much detergent, the chances of residue buildup rise exponentially. This can leave fabrics feeling gummy or rough, which is never an ideal outcome after you’ve just spent your time washing them. Bleach is an extremely potent product, but there’s actually a savvy hack out there that can boost its brightening power, which will make your whites as fresh as the day you bought them. So what is this easy addition, and how does it work? Get ready to meet your new laundry BFF.
Baking soda is the secret ingredient you’ve been looking for
Baking soda is one of those products that offer a variety of perks but still tend to remain the unsung hero of homeowners. Baking soda can help creaky floorboards and freshen up your carpets, but it serves another purpose when it comes to your laundry. Arm & Hammer knows their stuff when it comes to this awesome household staple, and their website explains that this powder helps to keep pH levels in your fabrics balanced. This prevents odors from sticking to the fibers, thanks to the sodium bicarbonate. Neutralizing smells is important because over time fabrics can hold onto potent scents.
If laundry detergent has the chance to build up on your clothing, the residue can actually absorb bad odors, making it harder to get rid of them the more you wash. By using baking soda mixed with ½ a cup of your liquid detergent, the granules will boost the effectiveness of the latter, while ensuring it doesn’t get gummy or accumulate on the fibers.
The benefits are in the powder
It isn’t just detergent that this wonder product can help. How Stuff Works notes that by adding baking soda to your bleach when doing laundry, the ingredients boost this whitening agent’s power. Your clothes will be brighter than ever, and all you need is ¼ to ½ cup of baking powder to see results. Who needs to constantly buy new clothes when they have a box of baking soda in the pantry?
Fabric softener is a staple of many people’s laundry rooms, but similarly to detergent, too much of this liquid can be detrimental. If you like the soft, velvety feeling that it leaves behind, but don’t want residue, why not swap it out for baking soda? According to Laundry Heap, the powder balances the pH of water, in turn diminishing the amount of mineral build-up that can leave clothing feeling hard or rough. As an added bonus: its natural properties won’t irritate sensitive skin, so anyone can add this step to their laundry routine.
