Laundry care involves treating stains, hand washing, (sometimes) using and caring for a washer and dryer, sorting clothes and selecting the proper temperature for washing them, drying the clothes, mending, ironing (as desired), and folding and arranging clothing neatly into closets and drawers and also for seasonal storage. Phew!
Fortunately for us, anything done in relation to Krishna's service can become a happy experience done out of love and gratitude for the Lord. Each piece of clothing is actually His property, since we are His servants, and therefore should be taken care of nicely. All the steps of laundry care can become a joyful procedure.
First of all, clothes should not be left laying around, but should be properly hung or folded. Dirty laundry should be kept in a basket or hamper and washed as soon as possible.
STAIN REMOVAL TIPS
Ideally, a stain should be treated right away, so that it doesn't have time to set in. Generally a paste of soap and water can be rubbed into a stain before laundering. Dedicated housewives, however, rejoice whenever they discover a stain removal method that works. Here's a few:
- Blood is best removed with a washing of cold water and soap. Never use hot water. It sets the stain.
- Ink stain can be soaked in milk before rubbing it well. Repeat until the the stain vanishes.
- Grease stains from a bike can be rubbed with vegetable oil first. The oil should then be washed out before washing as normal.
As for keeping white clothes white without bleach, old-fashioned bluing liquid added to wash water helps. Or hang drying whites in hot sunshine.
SORTING
Clothes can be sorted in various ways. Most important would be to wash whites separately. Also very dirty clothes can be soaked and prewashed together. Delicate clothes are best hand washed or separated by means of a meshed bag. Also the lint makers such as towels and socks should be separated from the lint takers.
Clothing with iron-ons should be turned inside out to help it last longer.
And although it is tempting to just dump everything in the washer and just turn it on, it's not a good policy. Unless you like to wash your cell phone or dollar bills your husband forgot to remove, pockets should first be checked.
SPECIAL FABRICS
100% wool fabric does not need much washing. Because it does not absorb perspiration, it is considered pure and may be generally aired out instead. Similar treatment for the same reason may be done with pure silk garments also.
WASHING
It's important not to overload a wash machine or bucket with too many clothes at once. Clothes need space to move around to get properly cleaned and it protects the machine from damage caused by too heavy a load.
Washing a load or two of laundry daily is easier than a huge, time consuming, once a week laundry day. .
FOR FRESHER SMELLING LAUNDRY:
Add 1/4 cup baking soda to a load or else soak clothes in it before washing.
DRYING
Line drying is best, and hung properly, fewer items will need ironing afterwards. Dryers eventually eat up the clothing and are expensive to maintain. Otherwise, they can be good for super busy households or rainy weather, and a sweater dries nicely laid flat on top of a warm dryer.
IRONING
For less wrinkles, clothes should be removed from the dryer and folded as soon as the buzzer goes off. Less wrinkles. Similarly, if you must dry a sari or a dhoti in a dryer (not recommended normally), fold it first so it may come out less twisted and wrinkled when finished.
If line dried, clothes that need to be ironed can be taken down when slightly damp.
Time is saved by ironing only clothing that really needs it or for special occasions. No time to iron a garment? An item tossed into the dryer with a damp towel help get out the wrinkles.
MORE LAUNDRY TIPS
If you accidentally wash light clothes with a dark lint-collecting garment, use masking tape or duct tape to get the lint off.
To prevent fabric from "pilling", turn the items inside out before washing (unless heavily soiled- which means presoaking first) and use the right cycle according to the fabric. Permanent press, for example, does not do well washed in a normal setting. The former is gentler on the fabric. Pills happen because of abrasion to the fabric surface. The less abrasion you give the fabric, the better it will look. And if possible, line dry instead of tumbling them dry.
Buying several pair of socks that are the same color (preferably dark) makes matching easier.
HOW TO WASH SARIS
Saris washed in cold water prevents shrinkage and color fading.
A gentle cycle or hand washing as described above can be used since saris dry quickly when hung on two lines instead of one or stretched out across a line without folding. In other words, the less the sari is folded when hanging on a line, the faster it'll dry and smell fresh.
Another plus about hand washing, just one daily, is that you are not left with this huge pile of saris every week or so, tangled up together from being in the wash machine and then laboring over hanging them all up to dry. They do not do well in dryers.
The sari should be taken in as soon as it is dry, since sunlight eventually fades the colors .
The sari should be taken in as soon as it is dry, since sunlight eventually fades the colors .
New saris, made very stiff from starch, may be soaked over night with fabric softener added before washing. If you dislike fabric softener, others swear by this technique- sleep in your sari or crunch up the fabric really well, over and over, with your hands. They get softer faster.
MORE INFO
For everything you ever wanted to know about laundry, the best book I've seen is called Home Comforts by Cheryl Mendelson.
MORE INFO
For everything you ever wanted to know about laundry, the best book I've seen is called Home Comforts by Cheryl Mendelson.