Patric Richardson loves laundry. So much so that he is known as 鈥渢he Laundry Evangelist,鈥 and has written a book to teach people how to approach the sometimes-daunting task.
According to Richardson, his book 鈥樷 is a complete how-to guide to 鈥渨ash everything you own.鈥
While 鈥楲aundry Love鈥 is chock-full of helpful tips and tricks, Richardson says the book is also part memoir and includes stories from his childhood growing up in the Appalachian Mountains.
鈥淚t鈥檚 stories of the women in my life who were important who kind of made me who I am today,鈥 he said.
Richardson has a college degree in fashion merchandising, apparel and textiles and is the owner of Mona Williams boutique in the Mall of America. He is also the founder of the 鈥樷 classes that teach people how to 鈥渨ash the unwashable.鈥
In his book, Richardson has compiled his best hacks to show people they truly can wash anything.
Here鈥檚 some of his best advice.
Richardson says there are 鈥渟o many laundry myths鈥 people believe which just aren鈥檛 true.
鈥淭he biggest one is that there are things that say dry-clean only,鈥 he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no such thing as dry-clean only -- I believe you can wash everything you own.鈥
Richardson said it鈥檚 not true that some materials, like wool, must be taken to a dry cleaner.
鈥淭he farmer has the sheep out in the field,鈥 he said, 鈥淎nd if it starts to rain, he doesn鈥檛 herd them into the barn and then run them through the dry cleaner, he just lets them stand out there.鈥
He said if the wool can get wet while it鈥檚 still on the sheep, it can when it鈥檚 in sweater form too.
鈥淵ou can wash anything you own if you use the right products and you know what you鈥檙e doing,鈥 he said.
According to Richardson, a family of four should be able to complete all of their laundry in a few hours each week.
While Richardson says you shouldn鈥檛 just throw all of your items in together, it鈥檚 not necessary to separate everything.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 have to separate your husband鈥檚 clothes from your kid鈥檚 clothes [or] the towels from the shirts,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 just way too much.鈥
He says to sort by colour and you will be 鈥渢otally good to go.鈥
Another common laundry lie is that you should be washing your garments in cold water.
What is better, Richardson says, is to use warm water, but to set your machine on the express cycle setting.
鈥淪o you bring up the temperature and you bring down the amount of time and that gives you the best results.鈥
The warm water helps your laundry detergent to 鈥渙pen up and work,鈥 while a shorter cycle keeps your items from becoming damaged, Richardson said.
Ultimately, Richardson said 99 per cent of the time, any mistakes that can happen when doing laundry can be undone.
鈥淒on鈥檛 let your clothes be the boss of you,鈥 he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no reason to be afraid to do your laundry.鈥
When it comes to removing stains, Richardson has a whole arsenal of tips and tricks.
Here are some of the most common ones:
Lipstick stains can be removed by spraying the area with a mixture of water and white vinegar, rubbing that in and then scrubbing the area with soap and a brush.
Others messes like blood, wine, grass or blueberries are 鈥渁ll kind of the same stain,鈥 Richardson said.
鈥淭hey come out with oxygen bleach,鈥 he explained. 鈥淥xygen bleach is totally colour safe, you know you can pick it up relatively easily and you just add it to the wash and it comes out.鈥
Ink stains, Richardson said, can be removed using rubbing alcohol.
If you鈥檙e trying to remove unwanted odours from clothing or other items, put vodka in a spray bottle.
鈥淵ou can spray it in sneakers, you can spray it on hockey gear,鈥 Richardson said. 鈥淰odka will remove the odour from absolutely anything.鈥
Sometimes even after a wash, gym clothes can still smell not-so-fresh. But, Richardson said if you add a little oxygen bleach to the cycle, your garments will come out smelling as good as new.
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