Tip of the Day 5/13/11

Laundry 101:  The Dryer--eater of socks, snagger and shrinker of clothes, our best friend and our worst enemy.  A few basic rules will help you to use that dryer to its fullest potential.  As you remove items from the washer shake each item to help remove wrinkles, check to see if sleeves have turned wrong side out, if pants have come unzipped, items are wrapped around each other, etc.  The more care you take putting the items in the dryer the more efficiently it will dry them.  Line dry all female underware, this will increase it's "shelf life."  Lay sweaters flat to dry, shape them and smooth out wrinkles, if you do not have a drying rack just use the top of the washer or dryer covered with a towel to absorb moisture, turn them over after a few hours to dry the other side.  Never put silk or linen in the dryer, the should be hung to dry.  Again, read the care label for the best instructions.  Do not use the High heat cycle for anything except towels, blankets, or other heavy items.  It is not designed for clothing.  It is better on your clothing to dry them on a lower heat for a longer time if need be than to subject them to the high heat.  Set the time for half what you think it will take to dry the load, redistribute and check for items that have dried faster than others to go ahead and remove.  As you remove items, shake them out to further release wrinkles.  If you are blessed to have one of the new high efficiency washer and dryers, utilize the different options.  Don't limit yourself to the old standards.  This is a major pet -peeve and I believe the reason so many people are walking around looking disheveled in wrinkled clothes--leaving clothes in the dryer or the laundry basket.  Fold, hang and put clothes away immediately.  It really isn't that much more work to just do it.  If you know you are not going to be able to get to the items right away try to only wash items that really aren't going to be affected by sitting for a few hours, towels, underware, jeans, sheets.  If leaving items in the dryer is a consistent problem, work on developing a new habit, enlist family members to help, buy and iron, use wrinkle spray, you will all feel much better about clothing that looks neat.