Mitchel Groff

When it comes to buying a dryer, know which features to prioritize. Review these dryer basics and features to help you select the right model for your needs. A well-chosen clothes dryer will help you get the laundry done faster with wrinkle-free results and minimal hassle. Clothes dryers use heated air and tumbling action to evaporate water from garments and linens, then exhaust the humid air through a lint filter. Basic budget-friendly dryers come with white exteriors, mechanical controls, and only a few temperature settings (low, medium, and high). Cycles likely include only timed-dry (you pick the amount of time) and air-dry (no heat). As prices increase, the dryers add more sophisticated timers and settings. High-end dryers likely include touch pad or touch screen controls and dozens of choices for heat temperature and cycles that you might be interested in. Expensive dryers are als...

Spills at the table are inevitable. Permanent stains on your tablecloth need not be. These great stain-busting tips will help you deal with the spatters left behind after a meal. These tips and tricks for specific types of stains will help you return your tablecloths, napkins, and place mats to their original pristine condition. Always follow the instructions on the pretreatment solutions. Before you use a product, test it in an inconspicuous area of your table linens to make sure it is safe for that fabric. Butter Pretreat with a prewash stain remover or liquid laundry detergent. Wash the item using the hottest water safe for the fabric. Treat again if necessary. ...

Our editors have a long, idiosyncratic list of tricks, favorite products, and smart organizing ideas around the home. We asked them for their best hacks and tips they use in the laundry room. Put their advice to work on the trouble spots in your wash routine. 1. Eliminate Creases with a Pool Noodle Sick of those unsightly lines caused by your drying rack? Here's a hack that's easy and affordable. Take a basic pool noodle, make a cut along one side, and slide it onto your rack. Bye-bye, creases! ...

Nothing can ruin your day like pulling your favorite sweater out of the dryer only to find the fabric covered in little balls of lint. Pilling, as we call it, can occur to almost any fabric from clothes to rugs and even furniture. After spending a significant amount of money on these items, finding pills is extremely irritating. But, before you throw that soft sweater away, know that there are quick fixes you can do to repair your belongings! Here are our favorite depilling hacks from people just like you: ...

What was once common knowledge is no more—since the decline of home economics, it seems that millennials are ill equipped to handle some of the most basic tasks, such as caring for their clothing. Pamela Norum, a professor in the Department of Textile and Apparel Management in the University of Missouri College of Human Environmental Sciences, studied more than 500 female baby boomers and millennials (between ages 18 and 33) regarding clothing care. She found that four major areas took a hit in the younger generation: sewing, hemming, button repair, and general laundry knowledge. While it’s unsurprising that baby boomers are more knowledgeable when it comes to clothing repair, Norum is concerned that carelessness might be contributing to the 14.3 million tons of textile waste that Americans create every year. She suggests that since these skills are no longer taught in schools, they should be learned at home, or even through fashion blogs and Pinterest tutorials . Her...

1. Leave the lid open between uses. Air-drying will curb mildew growth. 2. Pop in a bleach-free washer cleaner once a month to blast away odor-causing residue. Run the machine empty on a hot cycle. 3. Make sure that your washer is level. Otherwise vibrations can damage your floor and prematurely wear out key components, like the shock absorbers and the tub bearings. (Plus, there’s that terrible noise.) Place a level on top of the machine and adjust the feet, which typically screw up and down, accordingly. If this doesn’t help, beef up the floor with a 3/4-inch-thick piece of plywood that’s a little larger than the machine’s base. It will help absorb vibrations. ...

1. Use permanent press    This medium-heat cycle with a cool-down period at the end is a proven crease curber. Don’t pack clothes in. They need to float freely or they’ll wrinkle. 2. Don’t wait for the dryer to ding    You can skip ironing dress shirts, pants, and school uniforms by taking them out of the dryer 10 minutes before the cycle is done, when they’re slightly damp. Give them a good shake and hang them up, pressing with your hands. ...

Laundry symbols seem like another language, but the washing instruction symbols on your garments’ care labels tell you exactly how to do the washing and drying, as well as give extra information on bleaching and ironing. Read on for our quick guide to what the symbols mean, or download and print your own laundry symbols chart to refer to when you see a symbol you don’t recognize. Washing Symbols Getting the temperature and wash cycle right is important for seeing great laundry results, and can even prevent damage to your clothes. The clothes washing symbols below can give you an idea for temperature, indicated by the number of dots in the tub of water symbol, whereas different cycle types are represented by a tub with one or two lines drawn under it. Machine Wash Hand Wash Do not wash Dry clean only Do not dry clean Wash Cold On temperatures between 65 and 85F Wash Warm On temperatures at max. 105F Wash Hot On temperatures at max. 120F Normal c...

Whether you’re a total fashionista or you avoid the mall at all costs, you probably spend a lot more than you think on clothing. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American family spent $1,736 on clothes in 2012. Although kids outgrow their clothing fairly quickly, adults can hang onto theirs for years – as long as it doesn’t wear out. Since longer-lasting clothing means more money in your pocket, be sure you do all you can to preserve your wardrobe. Of course, it may require changing a few habits. Luckily, you don’t need special products to keep your whites sparkling and your dark garments looking sharp. Making Clothes Last 1. Start With Quality While I don’t recommend buying overly expensive brand-name garments, it’s always a good idea to purchase quality clothing. By spending more on quality pieces that never go out of style, you create a solid base wardrobe with longevity in mind. You can then add in cheaper, trendier pieces for a s...

Drycleaning – the ultimate laundry recourse of the lazy homemaker. It is also the life saver for many different types of clothes, which otherwise would have been destroyed by the regular washing at home. I would call drycleaning a savior of clothes. Some might call me out on this (dismal environmental outcomes being the main reason), but one cannot deny that many a garment would be in tatters if not handled by the expert dry cleaners. The Brand new look of a dry cleaned garment makes one forget many good intentions.  What is Dry cleaning? Dry cleaning is basically cleaning with a solvent, instead of immersing clothes in water and detergent. Most of the dry cleaning is done with the solvent Perchloroethylene ( Petroleum solvent). Lately eco-friendly solvents such as carbon dioxide are used in the dry cleaning process. In dry cleaning, First the clothes are sorted. The garment is inspected for any stains – stains are then spot cleaned with the help of powerfu...