Laundry
Every tip here is checked against the sources listed on its page.
Most laundry trouble comes down to three things: the wrong water, too much soap and clothes that stay damp too long. Let’s sort out what is going on at your house.
Start here
- How to get a grease stain out of a shirtA spot you only noticed after the wash can often still come out, as long as it has not been through the dryer yet.
- How to get the sour smell out of towelsThat smell lives in the towel itself, so you give it one real hot reset and then change the habits that brought it back.
Lists in this room
All laundry tips
How to Get Candle Wax Off a Tablecloth and a Wood Table
Harden the wax, scrape it off, then lift the rest with paper towels and a warm iron. For wood, use ice and a plastic card. The full method for both.
How to Get Gravy and Grease Out of a Tablecloth
Gravy is part grease, so it needs a stain remover, hot water if the label allows, and a check before the dryer. The full method, plus old and set stains.
How to Get Red Wine and Cranberry Out of Table Linens
Red wine and cranberry both start with cool water and no soap. Then a short soak and a check before the dryer. Amounts, times, and what to do if it set.
How to get a grease stain out of a shirt
A paste you can make from your laundry shelf lifts cooking oil out of cotton, even after a wash.
How to get the sour smell out of towels
Real heat and less soap get towels smelling like nothing at all again.
Stain removal chart: 12 common stains and what lifts them
Coffee, wine, grass, ink and more each get the water temperature that helps instead of hurts.
How to whiten yellowed white clothes without bleach
A long soak in oxygen powder brings dingy whites back without chlorine bleach.
How to get yellow sweat stains out of white shirts
Those yellow underarm marks can fade with the right soak and a little patience.
How to clean a front-load washer and stop the musty smell
Sometimes the smell is coming from the washer, and the rubber seal is the first place to look.
How to get the mildew smell out of clothes left in the washer
If you forgot a load overnight, a hot wash with oxygen powder usually saves it.
Worth buying for laundry
Also useful here, from your cabinet
Keep the laundry fixes on your wall
The free Kitchen and Laundry Rescue Guide puts a towel reset card, a care-label water guide and the never-mix chart on printable pages you can hang by the washer.
