Check It. White Vinegar fix.

Back in the early days of the BEAT, Lauren wrote about the wonders of white vinegar as a household cleaning agent. Last night I tried vinegar in laundry for the first time, and it worked!

We had a couple plush Ralph Lauren Home towels that just wouldn't shake a musty odor, even after plenty of washing and thorough drying. I did a little research online and a common fix seemed to be washing towels in hot water with a cup or so of white vinegar (inexpensive and widely available in supermarkets), then re-washing with detergent right after.

My towels came out like new! Soft and fresh. I was thrilled with the results. If you have any towels or clothes that maybe sat in a damp pile for too long and picked up a stink, try vinegar to get rid of it.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: the BEAT

Check It. Dawn Cuts Grease.

Dawn dish soap is known for its grease-cutting effectiveness on pots, pans, and dishes. A recent discovery of mine is how well it works on getting a grease spot out of clothes. Up until just recently, if a shirt or pants of mine got a grease spot on it, I figured there was no way to fix it, and the item was just ruined for good.

My new favorite pants couldn't have this sad fate, even when I noticed a dime-sized grease spot on the front of the thigh area. I did some internet research on if grease spots can come out, and found the Dawn solution. I got a bottle (I actually use Mrs. Meyers Clean Day Lemon Verbena for dishes), squirted a dollop on, brushed it in gently with a new soft-bristled toothbrush, and let it set. Then squirted a little more on. The pants set for about twenty minutes, then I threw them in the wash with a load of laundry, and they came out greaseless.

I think the more times you have washed a garment post-stain, the less likely this is to work, but it is most definitely worth a try.

If you ride a bicycle, Dawn is also known to be a good bike wash (again, the grease-cutting goodness).

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: bloombikeshop.com

Check It. A laundry tip.

Last night/this morning I tried a new system of getting my laundry done that I'm feeling quite good about. Laundry is so time-consuming, and it's the worst feeling when you want to go to bed, but are kept up waiting for drying to be finished. Well, you don't have to wait up for the washing. Put the wash in just before bed, then switch it to the dryer when you wake up, and by the time you're ready to get dressed, your clothes will be clean, dry, and warm! On a drizzly morning like this, that's a nice feeling.

It felt nice getting a little bit of early morning air (my washer/dryer is out the back door) and feeling productive immediately as the day begins. And well-rested!

Another benefit of this trick is, very few people do laundry in the early morning hours, so even if you live somewhere with shared machines, here's a time to have them to yourself.

Happy laundering!

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: Martha Stewart Living

Make It. Laundry tips [A clean house on the cheap].

It's Friday, which for many people means it's almost laundry day.

One way to keep your clothes fitting just right even after several washes is to always undo the buttons, zippers, Velcro and any other thing that binds one part of your clothes to another. Even if it's a button you don't use often, the agitating washing machine pulls at button holes and zippers making them weaker and less likely to hold up over time.

In order to keep your pants, shirts, and dresses from embarrassing oops-that-wasn't-supposed-to-come-undone moments, undo the buttons before a load of wash. It takes an extra minute, but is definitely worth it.

-- Lauren Williams