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When you have children, you often become a full-time cleaner as well as a parent. If you are expecting a baby - sorry! But the truth is that laundry, stains that never seem to go away, muddy shoes and stains on the carpets in the home, are the majority of parents' reality. So if there's so much cleaning and laundry to do, you might as well become an expert at it, right? Here are the Cylinda housekeeping tips to make life with kids a little cleaner!
If you're expecting a baby, just prepare yourself, and if you already have kids, you probably already know that the washing machine runs hot (even red-hot) most days of the week. Life with kids involves loads of laundry and cleaning, to say the least, so you might need one or five tricks to keep it clean! Here are the tricks you wish you knew earlier:
1. Get rid of stubborn stains
When it comes to stubborn stains, there are a few basic rules to keep in mind. The first is to try to deal with the stain immediately (we know, it's not always possible with children, but try) because then it can settle in the fibers of the fabric and be difficult to remove. The second is to always bathe stains instead of rubbing them, otherwise the risk is that the stain will spread and get worse.
Grease stains: Get rid of the grease stain by sprinkling cornstarch or baking soda on it and leaving it on for 30 minutes. Then take a toothbrush to brush away the powder and repeat if necessary! Next, get tough and rub the stain remover into the stain. Leave on for 10 minutes and then run the garment through the washing machine according to the washing instructions.
Colorful stains: Blueberry or similar stains stick to fabric like a rock, so if you want to remove the stain, you have to be quick! Start by scraping the top of the stain with a knife and then soak the garment in cold water. Next, turn the garment inside out and rub some liquid detergent on the stain. Let it soak in cold water for about 15-30 minutes and then rinse with cold water again. You can now wash the garment in the washing machine - even if you have already removed the stain. Then air-dry the garment so that the heat from the tumble dryer or drying cabinet doesn't cause the stain residue to set more firmly.
Cylindas washing machines have several practical stain removal programs that allow you to identify a certain type of stain, which the machine then adjusts to and processes!
2. spilled on the carpet? No problem!
Stains and spills on carpets in the home are common - especially when small culprits are involved. Small carpets can often be machine washed if the instructions say so, or hand washed if they are more delicate. In the case of individual stains, you can often solve it on your own with clever tricks and patience!
Start by scraping off the excess spillage if it's sticky or has a lot of pigment (e.g. blueberries), then you can try the dishwashing liquid method. This involves pouring a few drops of washing-up liquid into a glass of hot water, then dipping a cloth and wiping it over the stain. Press a few times and leave for a while before taking a new cloth and wiping the surface of the carpet. After that, mix 1 tbsp of vinegar with 1 dl of water and repeat the same procedure - the vinegar will absorb any residual dishwashing liquid so that no more dirt gets stuck in the residual dishwashing liquid. Now you have a clean carpet, hooray!
3. clean muddy shoes
After a lot of (or just wild) hanging out at the playground, new shoes can look like they've been there for years. So it doesn't take much for little shoes to need a good clean - something you can easily do in the washing machine. Remove the insole, pull off the laces, brush or wipe off any dirt and then put them in the machine. 30 or 40 degrees is usually the recommendation! Just remember not to do it too often, as they may lose their shape.
4. Wash and tumble dry smooth sheets
How do you get that crispy hotel feeling over the sheets? And is it even possible in a dryer? The answer is yes! What you need to consider is that not wash sheets and duvet covers in a crowded machine. The more that can get tangled up in each other - the more wrinkled the laundry will be. This applies to all types of laundry, not just sheets! Always shake out the sheets properly before putting them in the dryer (it's best to have two people helping out) and the same goes for the tumbler: don't fill it to the absolute maximum. Get into the habit of choosing a lower temperature when you tumble dry so that the sheets don't over-dry, as this can damage the fibers in the fabric. Voila, now you can crawl into bed with a hotel feeling.
5. Keep an eye on the symbols!
We've all been there when a garment has been ruined due to ignorance or carelessness when it comes to washing advice, and it's just as sad every time. So why not go through the basics of all the symbols once and for all?
Washing symbols:
The washing symbols are often blue or show a tub of water. If the washing symbol has a number in it, such as 30, 40, 60 or 90, this shows how high a temperature you can wash the garment at. If the symbol has no line, it means normal washing, while one line indicates gentle washing and two lines mean extra gentle washing (for example silk and wool). If the symbol has a hand over it, it should be washed by hand and if it has a cross over it, the garment should not actually be washed in either water or a washing machine.
Symbols for tumble drying:
Square symbols with a circle (can sometimes be yellow) show the advice for tumble drying. Empty circles in the symbol indicate that you can tumble dry the clothes while one dot indicates low temperature, two dots medium temperature and three dots high temperature. A colored or dark circle indicates that drying should be done without heat and if the symbol contains a dash it means you should be gentle, while two dashes indicate extra caution. If the garment must not be tumble dried, the symbol is crossed out.
Other symbols to look out for:
- Bleaching - Triangular symbols, gray in color
- Drying - Square without circle, with or without different lines
- Dry cleaning - Circular symbols with letters or dashes
- Deletion - Symbolizes an iron with or without dots or crosses
Want more advice when it comes to symbols? Check out Cylinda!
