#artfullheart

[artfullheart]

Laundry Tips

I've been meaning to make an extensive list of tips as someone who worked in a laundromat. Some basics and a few things I noticed not many people know. This is also coming from someone who learned to take care of my clothes early on to save money cause we're all broke here, so these tips also save you money:

•If you're not sure how to separate colors, have 2 piles, lights and darks/brights. Obviously black clothes and bright colors like red or yellow should be separate from whites. But when you get any color clothing that's not a light color, or if you're not sure if it counts as "light", take a corner of the item and run it under warm water, then squeeze the water out and check if the water comes out with dye. If it does there's a high chance it will bleed dye on your clothes, so wash it with the darks.

•You do not need brand laundry detergent. Any laundry detergent will do. I experimented with a few brands and all brands cleaned just fine. Just know, if you use powder detergent, check the instructions because most have to be used with warm or hot water.

•Don't use that much soap. You're using too much. More soap doesn't mean more clean, the measurements on the container are made to be the exact amount you need. More soap means the machine has to work harder to rinse it out and you get soap residue more than likely, which can make you itchy or make allergies worse.

•You don't really need to wash anything in hot water regularly. Cold water is fine for most things, and makes your clothes last longer. You only really need hot water for things you clean less frequently or things that need disinfecting, like pillows, bath rugs, and comforters.

•With things that need disinfecting like bath rugs, pet blankets, reusable period pads/undies, and soiled sheets, use half a cup of hydrogen peroxide in the bleach tray. It's a color safe bleach so you can add it to any color item. For items that stink, like pet items or workout gear, add half a cup of vinegar instead of softener. It works better than the expensive "sport" detergent. Even on urine smells. I got this tip from a nurse that works in a hospice.

•To be honest, softener is unnecessary. You can soften clothes with half a cup of vinegar in the softener tray. You won't smell it once it's washed, in case you're worried about that. Softener is terrible for clothes, it actually ads a coating to fabric so if an item is supposed to pull sweat from your body, like workout gear, towels, or summer clothing, it looses the ability with just a couple washes with softener. And fire resistant clothing like baby clothes will lose the ability if washed with softener.

•If it's the smell you want, I recommend wool dryer balls. They help dry your clothes better anyway. But for scented clothes, add like 5 drops of any essential oil to a couple of them, or dip them in a hydrosol like rose water for a bit and then toss them in the dryer. I've heard people do this with perfume too, but I've never tried it.

•Treating stains is easier if you do it as soon as it happens. Or as soon as you get home. If you can't wash it right away, put a couple drops of laundry soap on the stain and dab it into the stain with a damp cloth, or use a stain spray if you have one. If the stain is cooking oil, hair products, or any type of grease, put a couple drops of Dawn dish soap on it. There's a reason they use it for oil spills. Just don't add any to your washing machine, it can cause the machine to suds up too much and break it. When you wash the item, check if the stain came out. If not, air dry it. Heat sets in stains so drying it in a machine will make the stain impossible to remove.

•If you have the space please air dry your clothes in the sun. Please. It's so good. It makes your clothes smell great, makes them last longer, helps remove stains, and brightens whites like bleach never could. I live in an apartment but I hang clothes next to the window in the spring/summer and its so good.

-Clothing labels lie. Here's a breakdown of what needs special care and what doesn't:

•Wool and silk are cold wash only. Hand wash if you can, but if you must machine wash, use cold ONLY. Use a delicate setting if your washer has one. It should be air dried. Get a drying rack. If you absolutely cannot air dry, dry wool clothing on cold/delicate for 10 minutes at a time until it's barely damp, then leave it open on your bed/couch or over a chair. Do not dry silk. It's expensive, why would you ruin it. Hang it on a hanger and hook it over your door if you have nowhere else to hang it. It dries quickly.

•Cotton can be washed any temp, but everything lasts longer in cold wash. Dry on normal, only dry on high if the item needs disinfecting or if the item is thick, like a pillow, bath rug, or comforter.

•Linen is indestructible. Linen is stonewashed to soften it, which means people put the fabric in large washing machines filled with rocks to beat it so it softens. Wash on high and dry on high to soften it more if the item is stiff, but a cold wash and normal dry is fine otherwise.

•Synthetics like polyester, acrylic, nylon, etc. are best washed cold and dried on normal/warm. More delicate items like thin blouses, stockings, and anything with lace is best air dried, but can be dried on cold/delicate if necessary. Synthetic clothes are more prone to staining so treat stains as soon as they happen.

•SOME dry clean only clothing is fine in the washer, but I'd say dry clean it if you're not sure. If it's an item with no lining it's usually fine, but always air dry these. Dresses, blouses or skirts with stiff linings will lose their shape in the washer. Easiest way to tell, if you turn a dry clean item inside out and there's a white paper like fabric lining certain areas it can't be machine washed. That's a stabilizer/interfacing and it will get ruined. Always dry clean suit jackets, coats, and anything labeled dry clean that's filled with feathers. Some suit pants can be machine washed, but make sure it doesn't have any interfacing. If a dry clean item has lots of colors on it, like a multicolored shirt, or a black dress with a white collar, dry clean it. It will get ruined otherwise.

__________________

I think that's everything, but if anyone has any questions, especially for doing laundry with a disability/low spoons, ask on this post or in the tags. My inbox seems to swallow messages but I'll keep checking this post.

[bestnatesmithever]

I posted 1,522 times in 2022

That's 1,522 more posts than 2021!

177 posts created (12%)

1,345 posts reblogged (88%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@artfullheart

@gigi-tastic

@pricklylegs

@donkandfriends

@memewhore

I tagged 77 of my posts in 2022

#buster keaton - 5 posts

#comedy - 5 posts

#improv comedy - 5 posts

#paul f tompkins - 4 posts

#marc evan jackson - 3 posts

#brooklyn 99 - 3 posts

#the good place - 3 posts

#comedy bang bang - 3 posts

#justified - 3 posts

#youtube - 3 posts

Longest Tag: 67 characters

#this is not meant to create a hierarchy. i value all of you equally

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

So this is how the night started. Paul F Tompkins and Marc Evan Jackson did their “2 Gentlemen Improv” show first and then a show with members from the Curious Comedy Theater (including me!) afterwards.

My comedy partner, Kyle Stebbins, was playing piano for both shows and the theater was packed so I sat in a chair right behind him. We did not know that the spotlight was going to include me.

Before the second show I was sitting in the greenroom with the cast waiting for PFT and MEJ to return. They walked in and we introduced ourselves. When Paul got to me I said, “I’m Nate” and he recognized me and cracked up.

I’ll post more photos in a bit. If you have questions about PFT and MEJ drop them in my ask hole.

65 notes - Posted June 5, 2022

#4

71 notes - Posted April 17, 2022

#3

My 9yo came up with a list of super powers with odd limitations that make them useless

Flying…but you can only fly downwards

Invisibility…but you’re only invisible to yourself

Super Strength…but you can only lift really heavy bowls

Super Speed…but you’re very clumsy

Laser beam eyes…but they’re just like laser pointers and they make cats chase after them

96 notes - Posted February 14, 2022

#2

A relaxing afternoon with my 9yo

152 notes - Posted May 29, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

See the full post

606 notes - Posted January 30, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

It's good to be back.

[sexybritishllama]

Honestly even though I know its a llama and I've been following you for years my brain occasionally thinks your icon is a bear in a christmas hat (im on mobile so it looks small and blurry) and it makes me very confused. So I know you as "sexy llama bear"

honestly i have had multiple people tell me they think it looks like a bear and at this point i think death of the author applies where whatever meaning youre applying to it is valid regardless of my input. it can be a bear if you want. or just a brown squiggle. who knows. its me

[artfullheart]

Was feeling inspired and painted some cherry blossoms

Finally putting the paint set I got to use, but now I'm out of white paint

[artfullheart]

[artfullheart]

About those million view craft videos

I need to know if there are videos with actual professional crafters reacting to these terrible craft videos.

Please. I need this in my life. For science.

[artfullheart]

Are we supposed to feel bad for the cows or buy the leather jacket???

Someone please explain

[artfullheart]

I love survey websites sometimes

[artfullheart]

Woke up in the middle of the night to write down a dream I was having. I have so many questions

[artfullheart]

[artfullheart]

What's the point of wide mouth bottles?? I don't want coffee all over my nose and shirt I just want to chug my cold bean juice with wild abandon without repercussions

[artfullheart]

Playing This War Of Mine

My awesome brother got it for me. I don’t see anything on here about this game. Yet its popular on steam. Its one of those “play until you cry” type games tumblr loves so I’m kinda surprised. Its about surviving in a war torn city by scavenging(and maybe stealing) from nearby areas. It involves crafting and a bit of strategy to keep your inventory in check and so you don’t starve or die from sickness. If anyone here has played it and wants to give me tips, i’d appreciate it

[artfullheart]

You know, even with me being a 27 year old, hearing people I follow saying they're over 20 is weird. Its like, for some reason I just assume every one here is a teenager.

[artfullheart]

Name Change!

Hey guys, I know I’ve never changed my name before so it’ll be a bit confusing for a while, but my name WAS CraftyJessy and is NOW ArtfullHeart.

I started a Tumblr blog for the awesome crafts stuff I found here and it quickly turned into a fandom/personal blog. But my name didn’t match my blog so I changed it. I will keep my icon for now to keep confusion to a minimum, but I might change it later.

Also, I now have a side blog called Crafty Jessy. I will use this to reblog and post craft posts. So if you like crafts stuff follow me there to see:

-sewing(anything from simple makeup bags to handbags to clothing alterations)

-knitting and crochetting

-papercrafts

-organization ideas

-cheap gift ideas(I mean actual nice looking useful gifts not cheap looking kids crafts)

-tips and ideas for cheap versions of expensive items

Feel free to send me any asks for ANYTHING craft related. I’ve learned to fix lots of big mistakes in sewing/knitting/papercrafts mostly, but I can help you look up something if you don’t understand it.

I will also follow blogs that reblog craft stuff so like this post or follow Crafty Jessy so I can follow you.

Thanks for sticking around!