How to do laundry, according to TikTok

Ann Russell has taken her cleaning experiences to the networks and has been successful. See her tips for some of the most common questions when cleaning

laundry it is one of the most essential and hated household chores. And while opinions about how to do it right abound, we wanted to know how one woman in particular deals with her dirty whites: Ann Russell, aka “Aunt of the Tick ​​tock”, has amassed 2.3 million followers on the platform thanks to her practical cleaning hacks, presented in light and no-nonsense videos. Among her most followed posts: tips for recovering a shrinking sweater (4.6 million views) and from what she doesn’t like fabric softener (2.3 million views).

The 59-year-old, who lives in a small village in southern England, says her TikTok stardom was “a total accident”. She only came in to follow her niece, but she decided to post a video of her dog, Holly, reacting to fireworks. Then a simple explanation of how to use bay leaves took off. “I went from eight people watching one video to 70,000,” she says.

She posted the laurel video in the fall of 2020 when she was self-employed as a professional cleaner. In September of last year she published her first book, How to clean everything (How to clean anything). But he still attributes his success to “very, very lucky.” Of course, her nearly twenty years of housekeeping experience undoubtedly had something to do with it.

Should we strictly adhere to hand washing items?

Russell says you can use the gentle cycle of your washing machine to wash clothes that require hand washing, as long as they aren’t old, valuable, or extremely fragile, but don’t put them in the dryer.

If you wash items by hand in a sink, she recommends wringing them out and never wringing them out, to avoid warping them. “After squeezing out a lot of water, place them on a large towel, roll up the towel, and squeeze it to get as much water out as possible,” she explains. “Then hang to dry.”

How much soap to use?

The influencer almost always recommends using less than the amount recommended by the brands. It’s “much better for your clothes, much better for your car, much better for your skin,” she says, because any soap residue can stay in the fibers, which makes clothes dirtier over time.

Sometimes just washing with water is enough: “I don’t use soap for probably 30% to 40% of my washing.” For items that haven’t been used much, water already solves the problem. “You want your clothes to look nice and fresh,” she says.

While it may seem controversial, Russell explains that there’s a big difference between dirty clothes and clothes that have simply been used. “You want your clothes to look nice and fresh,” he says. For items that have been lightly used, water does the trick.

What’s the best way to treat blemishes?

Russell is dedicated to pre-treatment sprays but isn’t loyal to any particular brand. “It’s not so much what’s in them as it is the fact that you give them what they need: more time to clean up.”

Another tip: don’t be afraid to try washing a stained garment again. “Things don’t always work out the first time. But they will work out eventually.”

Are fabric softeners necessary?

“I’m not a fan of fabric softener,” he notes. “I use it once in a while, but if you use too much, the clothes get heavy, greasy and smelly after a while,” because the fabric softener builds up in the fabric. It can also stick inside the washing machine, where “mold is very good for you”.

Is hot washing always more harmful?

Could be. “I have to confess, when I’m not trying to save on energy bills, I always like to wash my cotton and linen in the heat.”

Furthermore, washing at high temperatures is the best way to sanitize the fabric without the aid of soap. But this only applies to manufacturer pre-shrunk cotton and linen. “All other fabrics should be cold washed.”

If you find that your pre-washed cotton clothes are shrinking too, he says the tumble dryer is to blame.

Can you recover objects that have shrunk?

Sometimes. Some fabrics, such as silk and viscose, shrink, meaning the space between the fibers shrinks, but they don’t actually shrink. “When you iron them or take them out, they come back,” says Russell. “Real shrinkage is when the fibers themselves get shorter, and then there’s not much you can do about it.”

Cotton that hasn’t been pre-shrunk is a common victim of true shrinkage. Wool and cashmere are others. “Once it shrunk, it was gone.”

Is it necessary to separate the white and colored pieces?

“Yes, yes, yes,” Russell points out. “It looks like it won’t be a problem, but it will be.” If you want to keep your whites sparkling, she recommends never washing them with anything but pure white, bar none. He recommends washing lighter shades, such as ivory or whites with little bits of color, along with a color catch sheet. “Generally speaking, the hotter you wash, the more likely you are to release dye,” he reveals, adding that a color catcher can also help identify which objects may be releasing dye.

@annrussell03

problems with the washer dispenser

original sound – Ann Russell She/She

Why do some clothes still smell bad even after washing?

Russell explains that smells don’t always indicate that clothes are dirty. Some dyes and fabric treatments have specific odors, he adds. “I’ve noticed sometimes the black jeans [molhados] they have a very sour smell, but they are clean and when they are dry they have no smell at all”.

Another common culprit? Leave wet clothes in the washing machine for a long time. Even after washing them again, some of the bacteria may remain.

A smelly washing machine can also make your clothes smelly, which is why Russell recommends leaving the detergent drawer and machine door open to air out.

How to revive faded whites?

For whites that have turned gray or yellow, Russell uses peroxide bleach, which is milder than chlorine bleach and generally considered color-safe, and cautions that sometimes you need to use more than you expect. “People say they tried it and it didn’t work,” he says, but usually “they don’t use enough.”

Your method? Add half a cup of powdered bleach to a bucket of warm water, add the whites and stir with a wooden spoon, then set something heavy on top of the clothes in the bucket, like a plate, to let everything submerge for 24 hours. Finally, wash everything in the washing machine twice, without soap: “It usually looks good.”/TRANSLATION BY RENATO PRELORENTZOU

Source: Terra

Ben

Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.