No sock left behind

I have always thought that washing machines have a black hole inside that abducts socks, leaving behind their soul mates and leaving me with lots of lonely socks. I have been trying to look for handy ways to keep them together in the wash, but I have to admit that sometimes they find a way out!

Safety pins are part of our daily work here at LaundryRepublic: we pin our laundry tags on garment care labels to keep track of the items throughout the cleaning process. So I have applied the same method for my socks. I keep a little box with good quality safety pins near a smaller and separate laundry basket where I put only dirty socks (to avoid losing them before even washing!), and pin each pair of socks together at the ankles. Once they come out from the dryer, I keep them in the drawer with the safety pin, until I put them on again and I just put the safety pins back in the box! Good quality safety pins don’t rust and it’s a very simple and efficient way to not lose any socks.

Instead of safety pins, you could use binder clips or rubber bands, which can be very handy before you separate the pair of socks by colour to identify which socks belongs where. I have also found something called sock rings: little plastic rings with teeth in them to put your socks in and hold them together. However, those are a bit more expensive, and easier to get lost.

Even when you try hard, some couples are simply not meant to be together. So I have pulled together the ideas of some very creative people who have created an orphanage for lonely socks. Check out our new board on Pinterest for these inspiring ideas. They will look great in the laundry room!

http://pinterest.com/laundryrepublic/no-sock-left-behind/

Give your clothes a fresh starch!

Starching shirts and blouses helps them to last longer and gives them a nice, crisp finish. At LR, we apply a light starch to shirts as standard, but did you know that you can quickly and easily recreate this yourself by making your own spray starch at home?

Dissolve one tablespoon of cornstarch into a pint of cold water, stirring until it develops a milky colour. Put the solution into a clean spray bottle and label it clearly. Then shake well and spray onto your clothes before you iron them. You could even add a couple of drops of your favourite essential oil to lightly fragrance your shirts at the same time!

Set up an efficient laundry room!

Continuing in our series of tips to make your laundry easier in 2013, today’s post is about how to set up an efficient laundry room/station at home. If done properly, this can really save you hours and hours.

First, put a laundry hamper in your room or bathroom to make transporting your dirty washing to the laundry area easier. Next to your washing machine, have three different hampers or baskets to sort your laundry (see our previous blog post). Separate white garments from reds and other bright colours, and put garments that need special treatment in the third bin. Consider using a fourth one to separate towels and avoid getting fluff on the rest of the load.

Gather all your cleaning products in an easy-to-access location near the washing machine and dryer (ideally on a shelf or in a cabinet). Arrange them in the order you use them: stain removers first, followed by bleach and detergent, then fabric softener and distilled water for ironing at the end. You can also keep space on the shelf for clothing-care items like sewing supplies, lint remover, or shoe polish.

Keep the ironing board within reach and have a drying rack on hand for air drying non-tumble dry items and for hanging items immediately as they come out of the dryer to minimise wrinkling.

Of course, the most efficient way to do your laundry is to give it to our skilled team! We’ll collect it, and then wash, dry and neatly fold your laundry into a wrapped parcel, which we’ll deliver back to your home. For more info visit our website http://www.laundryrepublic.com/ or give us a call on 020 7193 3130.

Simplify your laundry!

One of our resolutions for 2013 is to give our customers and followers the best tips to make your laundry easier and more effective. If you’re still one of those people who loves to do your laundry at home (really?) here’s some straightforward advice to help you save time and energy – by sorting your clothes correctly before washing.

First, check the care labels. Put any garments that need special treatment (hand washing, no tumble dry, delicate fabric, etc) in their own pile. For the rest of the laundry, sort it by colour. Make sure that you separate white garments (if you want to keep them white!) from reds and bright colours, as these can leak into the rest of your clothing. In addition, to avoid getting fluff on your garments consider washing towels in a separate load.

Turn all the clothing right side out, unless the label instructs otherwise. Do up all the buttons to avoid damaging other garments and check the pockets – to avoid nasty surprises (like pens), and you may even find some extra cash!

Check each item for stains – to pre-treat them before laundering or clean them further before drying. If not, you risk setting the stain forever. If you find any rips or loose threads, it’s better to fix them before cleaning as it could get worse in the washing machine.

Of course, the LR team is more than happy to help make your laundry easier, simpler and greener – so if all this sounds like a chore, let us take care of it for you!

Decoding Laundry symbols

No one likes doing their laundry – it’s a chore, but it needs to be done (although it’s one that we can make much easier for you!). Knowing what the care symbols mean is a good start – cleaning something in the wrong way or at the wrong temperature can result in disaster.

Here’s a basic guide – we hope it’s useful!

Washing Instructions –

washing-2.jpg

Bleaching Instructions –

bleaching.jpg

 Ironing Instructions –

ironing.jpg

Tumble Drying instructions

drying.jpg

Dry Cleaning Instructions –

dry-cleaning.jpg

If the garment is delicate or you are not sure which procedure is best for your clothes, hand it over to our experienced cleaning team for specialist treatment. LR is always happy to help!

Source:  Home Laundering Consultative Council