san-mateo-laundromat

How to Dry your Washing Faster – to save you time and money

Tue, 09 Jan 2024 05:36:22 GMT

There are a few tricks to drying your laundry load faster, saving you time and money.

Do NOT over fill the dryer – dryers work by moving warm air around the wet items. To do this efficiently, there needs to be space for the clothes to move around in the dryer. By overloading the dryer, the load will take longer to dry. The items will not move freely in the drum resulting in the outside items getting quite hot while the centre items staying damp and steamy. Cramped items will also dry squashed with more wrinkles and creases, therefore needing ironing – taking you more time and effort.
Use woollen dryer balls – woollen dryer balls can speed up drying time by up to 25%. Being natural they can eliminate static, are eco-friendly and sustainable. Woollen dryer balls are quieter to use in the dryer (unlike other dryer ball options). They are also fragrant-free – however, you can add a few drops of your favourite smelling essential oils to spread through your washing. Another benefit is it reduces clumps, prevents wrinkles in your laundry and keeps the washing moving round freely.
Dry similar fabrics together – light fabrics will dry a lot faster than heavy fabric so it’s important to separate the loads. By drying them together, the lighter items will over dry, which can stress the fabric and shorten the item’s life. While the heavier items can remain damp and steamy.
Turn jeans and heavy items inside out – to dry jeans, and the like, faster, turn them inside out to allow the pockets and thicker seams to dry faster, instead of them being hidden away inside the thick fabrics taking longer.
Washing in a commercial frontload washer to spin more water out – Removing more water from your washing before you start the drying process is a great head start. A few quality domestic washers, at home, can spin your washing at a top speed of about 40 g-force. Our commercial Dexter washers are bolted to the concrete floor as they can spin at 100 and even 200 G-Force! By removing the water before you start the drying process can save you dollars and time in the dryers.

Benefits of using Bicarb and Vinegar in your laundry

Tue, 09 Jan 2024 05:36:22 GMT

Bicarb (bicarbonate of soda or baking soda) is great to add to your laundry powder to freshen up your washing and is an economical way to bulk up your laundry powder, making your detergent last longer.

Bicarb can boost laundry powder efficiency for cleaner clothes, removes odours and helps to remove stains. Bicarb can also make clothes soft after washing and as a bonus can help to clean your washing machine.

Vinegar can also be added in the softener draw (added to the final rinse) to help clean clothes without harsh chemicals, deodorizes and loosens soap buildup by opening the fibres to refresh the fabrics. Vinegar is a great natural fabric softener. It can remove trapped body soil and excess detergent residue from the fibres, allowing them to breath. Vinegar can also help remove stains and stop colours from fading. Another benefit is that vinegar can also help clean your washing machine and its pipes.

It is important not to add bicarb and vinegar in the washing machine together as they will neutralise each other. They make a carbon dioxide gas together and if enough vinegar is added, the bicarb will disappear into the vinegar solution. In your laundry load, use them separately.

How to Wash Wool – Woollen doonas and more

Tue, 09 Jan 2024 05:36:22 GMT

We specialise in doona washing but the principle of washing wool – for a doona, blanket or jumper or socks is the same.

Its better to use a ‘wool wash’ detergent and not your general laundry detergent. Wool wash is often a liquid and will soften and condition the wool fibres for a longer life. Regular detergents can cause the wool to dry out, shortening the items life. Read the detergent’s instructions as you often use a lot less wool wash in a load than general detergents.

The most important part of washing wool is the temperature. ALWAYS wash wool in cold water and on a gentle cycle, if possible. Heat (via water or the dryer) can shrink your woollen items. To dry your doona you can hang it outside on the clothes line – this can take some time.

I wash my Australian made King sized wool doona in our laundromat’s Commercial American (Dexter) Jumbo 20kg washers on Cold for 30 minutes. Then I put it into our Mega 15kg natural gas dryers on a LOW heat and it has never shrunk. On LOW (55 degrees) it takes about 1 hour to dry. You can have your bulky woollen doona washed and dried in 1.5hours with us. I also sometimes like to put 3, or so, woollen dryer balls into the dryer with the doona to help fluff it up and speed up drying time.

How to get Soft, Fluffy, Resort Style Towels and Robes

Tue, 09 Jan 2024 04:42:31 GMT

Resorts, and their high use towels, use special commercial softeners to get their results but here is some home, affordable tricks, to get a similar result. It’s all to do with Vinegar, dryers and woollen dryer balls.

Using too much softener, or using it regularly, might make them smell nice but they can over-coat the towel fibres and not allow them to breath and open up to be fluffy. We recommend occasionally using vinegar in the rinse/ softener draw of the washer to break through the buildup of softener and soap.

After washing the towels, you can either put them straight into the dryer, with some woollen dryer balls to help open the fibres and fluff the towels as they go round in the dryer. Otherwise, to save a few dollars, hang the towels on the clothesline to semi-dry and then finishes them off in the dryer with the woollen dryer balls.

Tips for Removing Stains in Fabrics

Tue, 09 Jan 2024 04:40:42 GMT

The most important thing is to act quickly. The longer you leave the stain, the harder it is to remove, as it sets into the fibres. As a quick guide, I have created the table below. For stubborn stains, a few goes might be needed. Its important to get the stain out before you wash in hot water or dry on a high heat, as heat can bake the stain in more. Remember to follow the care instructions of the item as it’s a guide to prolonging the item’s life.