You know you’re awesome when your mom needs your advice

Dear Home-Ec 101,

In thirty five years of doing laundry, I have never made a mistake. That’s right, I have found the perfect way of doing laundry through a very complicated method of washing clothing by color and weight.

Except…well, today I did a load of tablecloths. One of them was red and another was white. They were both new, but I figured modern methods of dying surely would keep the red tablecloth from bleeding onto the white. Right? Wrong. Now I have a pink tablecloth and a red tablecloth. It’s a lovely pink tablecloth and not blotchy at all, but still. What should I do?

By the way, Ivy is not a great name. I Your mother named you [redacted] because it’s a beautiful and wonderful name. How was I your mother to know that every other mother in 1975 would also think it was a fabulous name? I Your mother wanted to name you [redacted] since I she was a wee little girl. Everyone else just stole my name from me. I mean, well, you know what I mean.

Oh, well, I your mother loves you anyway.

Signed,

Mystery Lady X

Ivy says:

Mom, I can tell it’s you by your email address. That’s okay, though. I Your daughter loves you anyway.

With any luck, you haven’t already dried your tablecloth. Both Rit and Carbona make dye removers. Rit’s is called Rit Dye Powder Color Remover and Carbona has the awesomely named Carbona Color Run Remover. Both can usually be found in the same section of a store that you would find dye. Usually this is by the laundry products although at one very random KMart I was at, the dye stuff was by the hardware. Both products will almost definitely work if you haven’t dried the tablecloth.

If you’ve already dried the tablecloth you can try these products, but your best bet would be just to enjoy your new pink tablecloth. It works for both Valentine’s Day and Easter! Congrats on your first laundry mistake, Mom.

Sing With Me

Heather says:

While cycling laundry this came to me and I must share it with you all.*

The Laundry Song

This is the chore that never ends.

Yes it goes on and on my friend. 

Some people started washing it not knowing how it’s done and now I’m washing forever just because. 

*Some would say it is because I am cruel and heartless, others because I am easily amused.  Which do you believe?

Kitchen Towels Vs. Paper Towels

Dear Home-Ec 101,

I use way too many paper towels and kitchen wipes.  Part of the problem is that it drives me crazy to have to wash all the kitchen towels separately! Do I have to wash them separately, or can I wash them with everything else?

Signed,

Bounty-ful

Ivy says:

First, I’d like to thank everyone for their well-wishes yesterday. I seem to be feeling much better today- not 100%, but a heck of a lot better than the feeling crappy trifecta that I had achieved yesterday.

Now, for the question. The paper towel and wipe companies have a lot invested in making you think that you really need their products, but you don’t, I promise. I mean, yeah, there are some times when a paper towel is the best choice (like cleaning up kitty diarrhea or greasy messes) but you can mostly use your kitchen towels/rags to clean up just about everything.

Now, if you’re using your kitchen towel to wipe your hands or counters after handling raw meat- put that immediately in the laundry pile. Don’t reuse those. But you don’t have to wash them separately. If you’re really concerned, you can always wash them with your whites and use bleach accordingly, but mine just go in with the towels and underwear and I wash it on hot.

So, no, you don’t have to wash your kitchen towels separately- go ahead and wash them with the towels or whites and it’ll all be fine.

Laundry Lovin’: To Wash or Not

Dear Home Ec 101,

If I have brand new sheets, should I wash them first before putting them on my bed?

Signed,

Short Sheeted in Shelbyville

Heather says:

Yes, wash the sheets. Many new fabrics are treated with pesticides prior to packaging, especially if they are shipped from overseas or are expected to be stored for a long time. Additionally if you have sensitives skin new fabrics often have excess dyes or sizing which can cause itching or rashes. Good luck and enjoy your new sheets.

Submit your question by sending an email to helpme@home-ec101.com 

Make your laundry detergent stretch farther

Ivy says:

I wish I could remember where I read this tip, so I could properly credit it. If you originally wrote about this on your blog, please let me know so I can link you.

Anyway,  to stretch your laundry detergent a bit further, when it is nearly empty, add some vinegar, shake up the bottle and then pour in your wash. It will wash just fine and will get the tiny little bit of laundry detergent that is left out of the bottle. Waste not want not!

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