Our busy schedules often leave us with limited time, so we tend to wash our clothes whenever we have free time. But in reality, it’s not ideal because when we wash our clothes like that, they don’t have enough time to dry.
The best time to wash your clothes is in the early morning, as this will allow your clothes to dry throughout the day. Many people think that drying clothes at night will make them dry faster, but this is completely wrong.
At night, the humidity is usually higher than during the day, even if you hang your clothes in a covered area, they will still take longer to dry and may even develop an unpleasant odor. Damp clothes are also more likely to cause skin conditions such as fungi and eczema.
Use One-Time Fabric Softener
After washing your clothes, you should soak them in fabric softener, especially on rainy days. Fabric softener not only makes your clothes smell nice, but some specialized fabric softeners also have antimicrobial properties and help clothes dry faster.
You should choose fabric softeners with a light fragrance, which can be found in most grocery stores and supermarkets. According to experts, whether you wash by hand or machine, when soaking clothes in fabric softener, leave them in for 10 – 15 minutes so that the fragrance can penetrate the fabric, making your clothes and family smell good for longer and avoid the unpleasant smell caused by bacteria that often occurs during the rainy season.
Wash in Small Batches and Prioritize Important Clothes
When it’s raining, we usually wait for sunny weather to do the laundry, but this is not a good idea. When you have too many clothes, and you put them all in the washing machine, the load will exceed the machine’s capacity, resulting in inefficient washing. The clothes will be harder to clean and the washing machine may even stop working.
Experts recommend putting only 80% of the maximum load capacity for efficient washing and long-lasting use. When washing clothes during the rainy season, you should divide the clothes into small batches, as this will make the washing machine work more efficiently, making it easier and faster to wash and dry the clothes.
Therefore, when it’s rainy or windy, remind all family members to consider before putting clothes in the washing machine.
Wash Clothes with Warm Water at 60 Degrees
Have you ever tried washing clothes with warm water? This is considered an effective method for hand washing and machine washing when the washing machine does not have a drying mode.
After washing clothes, you should soak them in a basin of hot water at a temperature of around 60 degrees, then wring them dry. Hot water helps the clothes evaporate water faster and dry quicker on humid rainy days.
Spin Clothes in the Washing Machine to Dry Clothes Faster
A small trick for families using washing machines is to activate the spin-drying or drying mode when washing clothes. You should also add 3 tennis balls inside the machine to help distribute heat evenly.
With this method, the clothes will dry faster, cutting about 10 minutes compared to the usual 35 minutes. However, be prepared for the noise, which sounds like popcorn popping in the microwave.
Dry Clothes Using a Hanger
To dry clothes quickly in this weather, you should use a metal wire and hang the clothes straight, allowing them to be evenly spread. Do not hang the clothes too close together. Before hanging, use a clean cloth to wipe off any dirt to avoid dirtying the clothes after being exposed to rain.
For jeans and trousers, instead of hanging them right-side up, you should turn them inside out to hang. This method helps the clothes dry faster. Use hangers or clips to hang the pants upside down on the wire, with the waistband and leg opening pointing downwards.
Ironing clothes before hanging them up is also a simple method that helps clothes dry faster. Iron the clothes and wash them with hot water; this method will help the water evaporate faster, making the clothes dry much quicker.
Hang Clothes Inside the House
If your family has a balcony or a spacious area, you can comfortably hang your clothes. For many families, finding a place to hang clothes on rainy days can be a challenge due to limited space.
Choosing a spot to hang clothes is not simple when the house is small. You cannot hang clothes near the kitchen or bathroom because these places are not suitable. If you hang clothes in the kitchen, the smell of food will easily stick to them, while in the bathroom, the humidity is high, drying takes longer, and even bacteria can thrive.
Therefore, when hanging clothes inside the house, hang them near a window or use nails to connect the ends of the wire together and hang them inside. Make use of sunny or dry weather by hanging clothes in the garden or on the roof to help them dry faster.
Dry and Iron Clothes Daily
In rainy weather or humid air like now, having a dryer or a washing machine with a drying mode is essential for your family. A dryer will allow you to have fresh-smelling clothes regardless of the hot, uncomfortable weather.
Every day before going to work, we should get into the habit of ironing clothes before wearing them, especially shirts. Ironing not only makes clothes straight and beautiful but also removes any leftover bacteria, making clothes smell clean, fresh, and cool.
Store Clothes
During prolonged drizzles, it’s hard for clothes to dry completely. However, you should not rush to store slightly damp clothes in the closet. This will only cause the clothes to mold quickly, become damaged, and the moisture can also spread throughout the closet.
Instead, to keep clothes in good condition and eliminate bacteria and mold, you should thoroughly dry them before storing. Especially with blankets, bedsheets, pillows, and mats, wash them clean, dry them in direct sunlight, and put them in vacuum-sealed bags to prevent moisture, musty odors, and limit the growth of mold.
Put some moisture-absorbing agents or silica gel packets in the closet to maintain a dry environment.
Source: VOV