My husband loves to tinker in the garage, and a result, he often get stains on his clothes. Those of you with kids can relate, I’m sure. So I handle it just like you do. I pre-treat the stained article of clothing and then wash it. And then I try really, really hard to make sure that the stain is gone before I toss it into the dryer. If I’m lucky enough to remember, I spend 10 minutes sorting through the pile of wet clothes, just trying to find the stained item. Most of the time, though, I forget to check, and if the stain isn’t gone, it ends up setting in the dryer and the item is ruined. After ruining another shirt this week, I decided I needed to find a better way to remember.
I found the perfect solution over at This Little Project. The author, Jedda, shares her clever laundry “secret weapon”, which she calls the Stainbuster Bag. She bought an inexpensive mesh laundry bag (easily found at a dollar store) and whenever something stained is going into the wash, she puts it in that bag. Then when it’s time to move the clothes to the dryer, the bag sticks out like a sore thumb and reminds her to check for stains. This tip is just brilliant and I can’t wait to try it out!
Be sure to check out Jedda’s other amazing posts over on This Little Project. There are lots of fun and educational ideas for your kids, and tons of “little projects” for the family!
8 comments so far:
OMG! I never thought of this one! I frequently have something (usually shirts) that need to be treated for stains, and I try to drape them over the edge of the laundry basket, so that I will remember to deal with it before laundry time. Unfortunately, about half the time I forget and end up with a shirt that needs to go through industrial stain pretreatment (three different pretreatments that I use together –probably not recommended–but it works) before wearing again. I think, to add on, I will work a non-red lighter-colored but visible thread on the bag at the zipper to differentiate it from the “delicates” bag that usually has stuff in it. Thanks for passing on this idea.
If you are looking for a miracle grease remover, just rub a little Prell shampoo on the spot and let it sit a couple of minutes before washing (sometimes, I do it when I throw it in the hamper, but be careful about doing this with light colored clothes since it may leave a light green / yellow mark).
Thanks for the great tips, PatGLex and Tina!
Thanks for the Linky Love and feature!
And thank YOU for the great tip, Jedda!
I use the mesh bags for my bra’s. It keeps the hooks from getting stuck in something and pulling out the hook or snagging other articles.
I use dawn dish soap for red stains on clothing before washing it the stain always comes out.
Those are great tips, Sherry. Thanks for sharing!