Warning as popular TikTok laundry hacks could be ruining your clothes
House-proud Scots could unwittingly be destroying their clothes by following misleading TikTok videos, a laundry expert has warned.
The popular cleaning account @realsimple shared a 57-second video busting the common cleaning myths that are rife on TikTok, and which do far more harm than good to your wardrobe.
In one clip, the cleaning guru who runs the page urges her followers to avoid laundry stripping, which is too harsh for most garments. The deep cleaning method involves soaking clothes for several hours to remove residue from natural body oils and leftover detergent, before running them through a full wash cycle without softener.
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Although the process looks highly satisfying, it can cause the dyes in coloured fabrics to run, leaving your clothes discoloured or stained.
The expert explained: "The problem is that really hot water and the concoction of chemicals that you're using, so things like borax, that stuff actually weakens of the fibres of your clothes meaning your clothes are gonna fall apart really quickly."
Real Simple also advises domestic goddesses against making their own detergents, which yield underwhelming results at best, and can become highly toxic at worst, the Mirror reports.
She said: "Mixing old, practically expired detergents will give you subpar results. It's just not going to do a good job and combining household cleaners could even get kind of dangerous."
The expert added: "Two laundry staples, bleach and vinegar, these two combined can create something called chlorine gas, which is really toxic. Honestly not worth it."
Once you have washed your clothes correctly, you might want to turn to the advice of fellow cleaning influencer Tor Rydder, who has revealed how to dry your clothes in just five minutes.
The organisational guru's "burrito method" promises to dry clothes incredibly quickly without resorting to a tumble dryer - perfect for people who are travelling or trying to cut down on electricity bills.
Taking to you YouTube channel Organizing TV, Tor revealed that the simple techniques only requires a towel and a bit of floor space.
He explained: "To do the burrito method, we place a newly washed T-shirt down on a towel. Then we start by folding the T-shirt over, like so."
Next, the expert folds the top into medium-sized flaps, layering them until it is tightly wrapped up in the towel. "Once we reach the top, we start stepping down on the towel," he instructs, using his knees to apply pressure to the rolled-up towel.
He said: "The reason we do this is because the towel will absorb all of the water from the burrito. Once we unwrap it, it will be a lot drier."
Tor also advises wringing out the "burrito" to remove excess water if you don't want to step or kneel on the towel. After this, simply unwrap the towel and your T-shirt should be ready to go.
Tor explained: "I do find that this method will easily reduce drying time from overnight to a couple of hours." He continued that "putting the top on a hanger and blasting it with a hair dryer for a maximum of five minutes," could further speed up drying time for people who are short on time or living in particularly chilly climates.
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