At first glance, it doesn’t seem like laundry should be an incredibly difficult chore to master.
Thanks to machines, all you have to do is make sure your coloreds and your whites are separated, then toss them into the washing machine and set it to the appropriate wash cycle setting!
Sounds simple enough, right?
It is if all you need is something clean to wear. You may be fine with that state of affairs inside the house, but there is a reason crisp lines, ironing boards, and starched collars are popular in formal settings.
There is something incredibly neat and satisfying about being sharply dressed.
Plus, having your clothes in a wrinkle-free state certainly helps a little in gaining attention and respect when presenting yourself.
Because of this, everyone has at least their own special tips and tricks to ensure the least amount of effort for the best results.
Most households are aware that shaking out clothes after they come out of the wash helps reduce wrinkles, as is ensuring clean, crisp folds when storing clothes in a drawer.
There are, however, some other tips you may not have heard of.
One of these simple tricks is tossing a few ice cubes along with your clothes in the dryer.
This sounds counter intuitive – isn’t the point of a dryer to get hot enough to dry your clothes? Wouldn’t this melt the ice cubes?
Actually, melting the ice is the entire point of this trick.
While the dryer is running, it gets hot enough to not only melt the ice cubes but turn them into steam.
As long as the dryer isn’t too packed, steam created by the melted ice cubes helps to unwrinkle clothes quickly.
The result – clothes that already appear mostly pressed once pulled out from the dryer, all at the cost of a few ice cubes.
For those of us trying to cut down on the time and effort needed to appear presentable, this trick can save us a few minutes at the ironing board.
If you are lucky, it might even be enough for you to skip the ironing board all together!
There are plenty of other tricks you can try as well! Don’t have an ironing board? Just use a hairdryer! Hang your slightly-damp clothes on a rack, then blow it dry.
Gravity and heat will remove most of the wrinkles! A similar trick that relies on the same sort of principle can be utilized if you really need to save time.
All you have to do is hang your clothes in the bathroom, then take a shower!
The steam from your shower will also do the easy work of unwrinkling your clothes.
If you want to maximize your efforts, consider adding softener to your wash cycle, or even vinegar! (Don’t worry, you won’t get that vinegar smell on your clothes afterwards either.)
Considering just how much work you have to otherwise put into making sure your clothes get unwrinkled before going out, little tips and tricks that you can apply to the process of washing, drying, and storing your clothes can help immensely.