Yahoo News Home experts' warning over common laundry product that can ruin clothes and towels
Doing the laundry is nobody's favourite household chore, but unfortunately it's a necessity if you want your clothes, sheets and towels to stay fresh and clean.
However, you might not be aware of the risks that can come with doing your laundry - and there's one very common mistake that can make clothes harder to clean, make your towels less effective, and irritates the skin.
That's according to consumer experts at Which?, who have lifted the lid on why you should avoid making this mistake if you want to keep your clothes in good condition for longer.
The pros have urged people to start taking better care of their clothes in order to avoid extra spending, and also to minimise the impact on the planet. They've highlighted a couple of tips and tricks to follow, including one very popular washing mistake that plenty will be guilty of.
In order to keep your clothes in better condition for longer, it could be worth ditching your fabric conditioner. This can leave a residue on clothes that builds up over time and can be tricky to remove.
Using this can also make it more difficult for your laundry detergent to penetrate and actually clean your clothes. It can also make towels less effective at absorbing water, and it can irritate sensitive skin too.
However, if you do want your clothes to be soft when they come out of the wash, there's a simple product you can use that isn't as harmful - and it's much cheaper too.
Distilled vinegar can be used as an additional step when you wash your clothes in order to keep them fresh and soft. Simply hand-wash your clothes first with some vinegar diluted in water, before popping the load in the machine as normal.
Baking soda can also help soften your washing - just add a cup of it to the dispenser tray before your wash.
