Handy hints that make doing the laundry less of a hassle

You can use salt to prevent colours from fading. Just toss a teaspoon of salt in with your dark clothes to help make the colour last longer. Washing coloured clothing inside out can also help maintain colour.

Here are 16 things you never knew you could put in the washing machine. 

Ditch the time-consuming iron or handheld steamer to get wrinkles out of a shirt or slacks. Throw a few ice cubes or a wet washcloth in the dryer with your wrinkled clothes. As the ice melts and the water turns to steam, it will remove the wrinkles. This trick isn’t as effective with heavier clothing but is a miracle for lighter fabrics. The best part is that you don’t have to set the dryer for longer than 10 minutes for it to work.

Stop shrinking your woollens! When you put a load of clothes into your washing machine, use a dry-erase marker to note on the lid which items should not go into the dryer. That way, whoever switches the load from the washing machine to the dryer will know which items to leave out for line drying. The enamel finish on most washing machine lids is similar to a whiteboard, and dry-erase markers can be removed easily with a dry paper towel.

You can use these DIY cleaning products in every room of your home.

Add a crease-eliminating pad to your hanger with a pool noodle! (We found that smaller-size noodles work better than larger ones for this handy hint.) Use a utility knife to cut the noodle to size and then slice it open lengthwise. Then slip the noodle onto the bottom bar of the hanger. The extra padding is perfect for hanging dress pants in your closet. It prevents that dreaded crease, saving you time because you won’t have to iron it out before you can wear the pants!

Even if you empty your dryer’s lint trap before each load, chances are there is still lint build-up around the area that could potentially cause a fire. So it’s important to deep clean the area once in a while, and this handy hint will get the job done. Wrap a clean rag around one end of a paint stir stick. Remove the lint trap and clean out the area with the rag-covered stick. To help the lint stick to the rag, dampen it with water first.

If you like to wear your jeans more than once between washings, stick them in the freezer between wears. The frigid air will kill bacteria that can cause odour.

Being a self-confessed klutz, I’ve needed to learn how to treat clothing stains. For a grease stain, I turn to white chalk. Just rub the chalk on the stain and the chalk powder absorbs and lifts out the grease, so it’ll come out in the wash. —Jean Reeves

If you have some articles of clothing you don’t want to put in the dryer, use a salad spinner to remove excess water. Then hang them on a rack to dry.

Check out these clever home improvement hacks you’ll wish you knew sooner. 

If you’re out of dryer sheets, throw a ball of aluminium foil in your dyer. The aluminium will fight static build-up and help keep your clothing separated.

Don’t miss these clever household uses for aluminium foil.

Stuff a strip of foam pipe insulation into the space between your washer and dryer or along the wall. That way, socks can’t slip into the abyss.

Use our room-by-room guide to declutter your home.