Keep June Flaming!

I have a beautiful picture on my wall entitled Flaming June by Sir Fredrick Leighton. It is of a sleeping woman in a beautiful orange dress. It is a favourite of mine as is the colour orange; rich and vibrant, promising warmth and lazy summer days. As I write this who knows what summer may hold for us weather wise, but we can dream.

Preventing colours fading in the wash is a problem we all face. So, let’s look at the reasons why and ways to prevent this or at least help keep our brights bright. Clothes tend to fade in the laundry due to hot water washes, harsh detergents and over drying. The first and most obvious action is to always check the washing symbols on your clothes labels and follow them. Then separate your clothes according to colour. I usually choose lights and brights and darks as two loads, but this research has made me think again. New colours turn inside out and do not over fill the machine. Use a gentle wash and choose detergent that is gentle on clothes. Tips to try are to put a cup of white vinegar in your conditioner compartment or add at the rise cycle. This removes detergent residue from clothes and has the bonus of softening and keeping bacteria build up in the machine down. No need to use it in every wash but regularly will help. And for dark loads don’t use biological detergents as they tend to fade dark colours.

Finally, over drying clothes can make them fade. Try and remove once the drying cycle has finished. Again, overloading your dryer is not great for your clothes. You can also buy sheep’s wool dryer balls that reduce drying time by up to 30% and help the clothes dry more gently.

May you have a glorious June with lots of light and bright weather and clothes. And if you need us for your washing machine or other domestic appliances call us on the number below