7 Household Ingredients That You May Want to Consider Adding to Your Laundry
While most of us don’t want to dedicate any more time than we already do to a chore as ho-hum as laundry, it’s important that we take the time to do it right.
The majority of us probably just toss in the clothes into the wash with some detergent with a “it’ll be clean enough” mentality, but there are actually a lot of ways to up your laundry game—and many of them are pretty simple.
In fact, there are a bunch of household products that can change the way you do laundry forever—and many of them you probably already have at home already. Take a look at these secret ingredients below and give your laundry the boost it needs.
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Baking Soda
You know how baking soda can freshen up your fridge? It can also freshen up your laundry. Just add about a 1/2 cup of baking soda at the same time you put in your laundry detergent, and voilà! Your clothes will get a deodorizing boost.
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Mouthwash
Another natural freshener, mouthwash can do wonders to your laundry. Make sure you use a sugarless, alcohol-based mouthwash, and add about a 1/2 cup to the rinse mode. You can also add it straight into the wash cycle, which is especially effective in getting rid of stinky sweat odors from your active wear you don at the gym.
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Vinegar
Add a 1/2 cup of this stuff into the fabric softener compartment right before the last rinse cycle, and you won’t regret it. Vinegar can be really helpful in removing the residue of detergents that may be left in the water between the wash and spin cycle.
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Lemon Juice
The sour juice of a lemon has magical cleaning powers when it comes to your whites (it may bleach some colored clothing). Lemon juice can get rid of rust, brighten items made of cotton, and of course, leave everything with that lemony fresh odor. Besides adding it to the wash, you can also spot-treat with lemon by blotting the juice onto stains before it goes in for a load.
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Rubbing Alcohol
Have an ink stain or pen mark you can’t seem to get rid of? Rubbing alcohol is a great solution. Dab it onto the affected area and then rinse and wash the item with regular detergent. Caveat: Like lemon juice, be sure to use this just on whites to avoid a bleaching effect.
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Dish Soap
Say goodbye to grease and oil stains. Just a tiny drop of dish soap can do wonders for stains—rub it in to the area on the clothing before tossing it into the wash.
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Salt
Another product you’ll find in your kitchen, salt can be used for a variety of different stains—everything from blood (soak the item in cold, salty water) to grease stains (cover with salt and let it sit and absorb the grease before putting it into the laundry).
Do you use any of these ingredients for your laundry?