New Year New Laundry Routine For Me Laundry Tips & Arm & Hammer

Well, the fad of  using the washing machine and dryer has worn off for my husband. So I’m back to doing laundry and after a house full of people we have a ton of laundry to do. I mean I have a lot, blankets, sheets, and then the towels.

Spending one whole day doing laundry is not my cup of tea so I really need to get on top of it and do a load a day. There are almost always whites to do and the power of ARM & HAMMER^™ Baking Soda helps remove tough dirt and odor while delivering long lasting freshness that we like in our laundry.

Arm & Hammer actually has a great step by step program to a successful laundry routine. Here is a summary of their laundry tips.

You can sort your laundry which I do by color.

• Sort by Color:
  Whites, light colors, similar bright colors, and dark colors.
• Fabric Type:
  Delicate fabric, laces, lingerie, washable silk, etc. require gentle care and need to be washed separately. Lint-giving fabrics (chenille, terry, etc.) should not be washed with lint-attracting items, such as corduroy, permanent press, dark socks, etc.
• Soil Content:
  Heavily soiled work or play clothes should be washed separately from lightly soiled clothes.

Decide what water temperature you want to use. I almost always use cold.

Be sure to Pre-treat your laundry. (with kids you’re always doing this, this is about to be a chocolate stain)

• Pre-treat:

  • Liquid Detergent: Pour ARM & HAMMER™ Liquid Detergent directly onto tough stains and rub in.
  • Powder Detergent: Apply a paste of detergent and water, rub on stain.
• Pre-soak:
  Use for large stained areas or deep set soils.
  • Liquid Detergent: Apply ½ cap of liquid detergent to washer with warm water, soak garment overnight, drain machine, then launder as usual
  • Powder Detergent: Apply 1 full scoop of powder detergent to washer with warm water, soak garment overnight, drain machine, then launder as usual
• Pre-wash:
  • For heavily soiled garments, run through pre-wash cycle before laundering.

You can also use additives, don’t forget to add them. I only use additives on extra smelly laundry like puke covered laundry, and over the holidays poor Miles had the flu. Here are tips for types of additives to use.

ARM & HAMMER™ Baking Soda Additive:

• Liquid Laundry Detergent Booster: ARM & HAMMER™ Baking Soda helps your liquid laundry detergent work harder for you, because it helps maintain the optimal pH balance necessary for detergents to work well. Add 1/2 cup of Baking Soda to your wash with the usual amount of liquid detergent.
• Deodorizing Your Wash: To remove the stubborn smells in your clothes while you wash, add 1/2 cup of ARM & HAMMER™ Baking Soda to the rinse cycle. It neutralizes the odors, leaving your clothes smelling fresh and clean.
• Chlorine Bleach Booster: Use ARM & HAMMER™ Baking Soda to help your liquid chlorine bleach work harder. Add 1/2 cup of Baking Soda (1/4 cup for front-loading machines) with your usual amount of liquid bleach. Your whites will be whiter and your clothes will be cleaner and fresher.

ARM & HAMMER™ Super Washing Soda:

• The all natural laundry detergent booster that adds extra cleaning and freshening power!

OxiClean™ Stain Remover Products:

• OxiClean™ Stain Remover products release oxygen to target the stains, rather than the fabric, removing many tough stains. Available in several forms: Powder, Spray, and in-wash additive.

Bleach Additive:

• Color-safe bleach is the bleach choice for colored garments. Chlorine bleach for whites. Test garment for colorfastness by dipping a hidden portion of garment in bleach product for a few minutes. Use with hottest water that fabric will allow.

And then for drying, I dry almost everything on low. If something had a stain you need to make sure the stain is gone before you dry it. Whites I do dry on high. Another tip:

Try ARM & HAMMER Total™ 2-in-1 Dryer Cloths: ARM & HAMMER Total™ 2-in-1 Dryer Cloths soften, control static cling and give you the long-lasting freshness you’d expect from ARM & HAMMER™ Laundry Products.

But the best tip I can give you as a parent doing laundry, make the kids do their part. If they are old enough to dress themselves they are old enough to put their own laundry away.