Make your clothes last longer – including fixing washed-out colours & getting super bright whites
FEELING the pinch?
Try these thrifty tips from fashion editor Clemmie Fieldsend to give your most-loved clothes a longer lease of life.
VINEGAR FOR WHITES
SKIP using bleach or other whitening products that will cost you a lot.
Instead, turn to those everyday essentials you already have in your kitchen cupboards, such as bicarbonate of soda, laundry detergent and white vinegar.
Add half a cup of bicarbonate of soda to your washing machine barrel, detergent as normal and the vinegar to the machine’s drawer for a dazzling result.
VODKA PONG-BUSTER
ODOURS from a long walk in the rain with the dog can linger on your coat.
While most of our clothes can go in the machine, duck-feather or down coats can’t as they will lose shape or won’t dry thoroughly.
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All you need is some vodka. It really works to get rid of those wet-dog smells.
Half-fill a spray bottle with vodka and the juice of a lemon, and, voila! The lemon adds a fresh scent, while the vodka combats smells.
ASPIRIN STAIN SAVIOUR
SWEAT stains on shirts are caused by the aluminium in many deodorants reacting with your perspiration.
Never use bleach to try to banish them, as this will just make it worse.
Create a paste with crushed aspirin and water and apply it to the stain with a toothbrush before washing. The salicylic acid should eliminate it.
Soaking in a half lemon juice and half water bath should also do the business.
PEPPER COLOUR CURE
WASHING powders and tablets can be expensive enough – never mind buying all the extras such as whitening products and colour catchers.
In the machine, colour gradually fades from cotton fabrics but an easy hack is to add a sprinkling of ground pepper to your wash.
It will bring the colours back to life.
It exfoliates and breaks down the soap residue that can cause colours to fade, and is less abrasive.
FIX SHRUNKEN JEANS
JEANS got smaller in the wash? We have an easy fix.
Simply dampen the area that has shrunk – for example around the waist – using a spray bottle of water.
Then gently tug on the fabric to loosen the fibres. This will reshape the jeans. Just make sure you pull on them in all directions to get the desired effect.
Leave them to air-dry on a flat surface and they will then be as good as new.
UNDIES SPINNER WIN
DELICATES such as bras and knickers can often shrink and get ruined in the wash. Stop this with help from a a salad spinner.
Add undies, tights or socks to the spinner with a tablespoon of detergent, half fill with cold water and spin until clean.
You control the movement of the spinner but it also means your delicates don’t get caught on holes in the washing machine or any other clothing that could make them snag.
FORK FIX FOR BROKEN ZIP
A BROKEN zip can be one of the most annoying things to fix, often costing money not worth the price of the clothing item itself, if taken to a repair shop.
So a cheap, easy option is to replace a broken zip end by using a fork – a TikTok video showing how to do this recently took the internet by storm, amassing hundreds of thousands of views.
Simply place the detached zip on to the end of the two centre prongs of a fork, then position the teeth against the zip as normal and slowly ease it upwards, reattaching the zip to the item of clothing.
BANANA BUFF YOUR LEATHER
LOOK to contents of your larder to reinject some much-needed life back into old leather or faux-leather shoes and clothes.
Shine up shoes and buff off scuffs to look like new . . . by rubbing with a banana skin.
Using the inside of the skin, rub into the leather or faux leather and quickly wipe away any excess using a clean, soft cloth.
You can also buff new life into leather and faux leather with a sliced potato, using the flesh rather than skin.
Again, once finished, just quickly clean off any excess with a clean cloth.
NEVER TRY TO FOLD A BRA
BRAS often carry a hefty price tag so buying new ones all the time can add up.
Keep your comfiest ones in good shape for longer by never folding, but stuffing them instead.
Folding the bra by twisting the cups underneath each other can damage both the cups and the wire, resulting in a wonky and uncomfortable shape.
Lay down your bras how you see them in a shop, one on top of the other and fastened at the back, and keep cups to their original shape by stuffing them with your socks. Genius.
ALCOHOL ZAP FOR CREASES
IF you’re looking for a quick, cheap solution for removing creases from clothes, that does not involve an iron or steamer, then listen up. We know just the thing.
Empty a spray bottle, add one cup of cool water, one teaspoon of fabric softener and a teaspoon of rubbing alcohol.
Simply shake and spray, making sure that the item is hung so that the creases can drop out of the clothing whilst drying.
This trick will also work wonders on crumpled bedsheets.