Busygal Laundry Tips

After a recent trip to the laundromat resulted in various pairs of jeans and towels smelling like mildew (still a mystery to me how it happened, I did nothing different from the usual), I was beside myself. Busygals don't have time or money for this nonsense! I didn't want to replace nice pairs of jeans and nice towels!

Image courtesy of vinegars.info

After a quick search on Google, I found that white distilled vinegar can do just about everything! After adding about a cup of vinegar to my load of laundry and re-washing my clothes, I was pleasantly surprised to find that my towels smelled fresh and clean. The jeans, not so much. I have no idea what happened, and only after I dried the heck out of them with many fabric softener sheets did they smell fresh again (if anybody has any tips regarding this issue, I'd love to hear them! Please leave a comment below).

Anyway, back to the towels...another discovery through a Google search (the link is escaping me right now, my apologies!): Not only is it helpful to wash them with some vinegar, but a double-dry does wonders. I've found that if you really squeeze towels after one dry cycle, you'll find that they are still a bit damp. Towels just take longer to dry. When you fold slightly damp towels and put them on a shelf, you're asking for mildew smell trouble. Make sure when you pull the towels out of the laundry to give them a good squeeze and make sure they're really dry.

Another link is escaping me, but I also found various blogs that stated that many detergents and softeners have animal fats and products in them. Some bloggers have said that this can also add to the smell. I found a product I am in love with - both for the size, convenience, and the plant-based ingredients.

Image courtesy of fastcompany.com

It's made by Method and I bought it at Target. It's highly-concentrated, and it comes in a cool, small pump bottle. Its size makes it easy to carry, and it's not messy because there's no pouring involved. I love it, and I've noticed it's made my laundry smell and feel fresher.

Give it a try! I'd love to hear what you Busygals think, leave a comment below!