Brabantia: Winter laundry

Laundry, like most other household chores, seems to multiply during the cold months when everyone needs more layers to keep warm, kids’ sports clothes are covered in mud and washing takes double or triple the time to dry. Luckily, Brabantia has some smart tips to share to make winter laundry less of a chore.

Remove stains easily and quickly

Spilt red wine or hot chocolate? That happens in the winter. But you don’t want those stains to be there until spring, of course. So, get rid of them! There are a few clever tricks for removing stains.

Spilt red wine? Fear not. Dab the clothing item with a damp cloth, sprinkle salt over the stain and pour boiling water over it. Then wash it on the hot setting.

Chocolate milk is a different story. Have you had a collision with a cup of hot chocolate? Then take immediate action. Don’t let the stain dry and don’t rub it either, but rinse with cold water. Then put the garment in a bucket of warm water and a lot of salt for 2 hours. Rinse and machine wash.

This typical winter stain should disappear like snow in the sun. Instead of soaking in a bucket of salty water, you can also dab the stain with glycerine or pure alcohol and wash your garment afterwards.

Keep woollen items in tip-top shape

Wool is a natural product and always seems to come out of the washing machine a little smaller. But by ironing wool on the wool setting or at a low temperature with a little bit of steam, this disappears. Skip the cuffs when ironing. Has your woollen item shrunk exponentially? You might be able to fix it, by soaking the garment in lukewarm water with hair conditioner for about 15 minutes. Then lay it on a towel to dry, smooth it out and pull it lightly to stretch it. Then carefully wash and dry again.

Quick drying tips

At Brabantia, we know all about drying clothes. And we also know that your clothes don’t just get wet from the washing machine. Have you been caught out by a winter shower and does your quilted jacket look more like a wet rag? Then you can let it dry on a drying rack. Lay your jacket flat on the drying rack and shake it gently so the padding settles. Place the rack by the heater and/or next to an open window. Drying takes one or two days, depending on the weather. Shake your coat regularly during the drying process to avoid weird bumps.

Drying wool is another thing – if you just hang it on the line, it will stretch. After washing, lay your woollen jumper flat on a dry fluffy towel and then roll it up together. Apply slight pressure when rolling it up and leave it rolled up for a few minutes. Then lay your jumper on a fresh dry towel on a flat surface or a horizontal drying rack. After 12 to 24 hours, turn over and spread out on a dry towel for a perfect result.