Had a long day at work and came home wearing dirty, sweaty, oily and greasy work clothes? First, not all work clothes are subjected to the same wear and tear, so how often they need to be washed really depends on what your profession is. But every so often you will have to wash your work clothes at home. Here are some great laundry tips for how to wash work clothes at home.
One way to make washing work clothes at home a little bit easier is to do a bit of at-work spot treating. Here are some examples:
- If you work in construction or other another physical labor job, in addition to dirt and dust, you may have blood stains on your clothes. According to some online sources, these tips may help simplify the cleaning process for when you get home.
- Ice: Grab an ice cube and hold it on the stain for a minute or two until fully saturated, and then use a clean, dry cloth to blot some or all of the spot.
- Window cleaner: Find some window cleaner and do the same as with the ice—by creating a just-in-time pretreat stain process.
- If you work as a mechanic or in a related field, grease and oil stains are just part of the job. Try these pretreat tips for washing work clothes at home.
Cornstarch: Pour a decent amount of cornstarch on a greasy spot. This will absorb the grease and then you can use a spoon to wipe away the grease-filled powder. At home or at the local laundromat, apply your stain remover and toss the item of clothing in the washer on warm by itself or with the rest of your work garments.
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- When you get home from work, apply dish soap or commercial laundry prewash to the dirty area of the clothes and soak in the washer for 30–40 minutes in warm water with no rinse cycle. After the soak, set the washer for the hottest setting the clothes can tolerate. Wash and dry normally with an enzyme-based detergent for extra washing power such as Persil® ProClean®.
- Fun tip! Some mechanics swear by adding a can of cola to the wash as it helps clean and also deodorize the garment.
- Many professionals will testify that dirty, smelly, sweaty, grease-stained clothes are best taken care of by running a hot bath for the clothes immediately after your own bath or shower when you get home. Sometimes the clothes are simply too soiled for the washing machine and the tub is easier to clean.
- Soak clothes for 15 minutes, then scrub all of the clothes with a bar of strong soap. Soak for two hours in a bathtub of hot water, and either mild dish soap or a cup of vinegar to help eliminate odors. Rinse and air dry. Clean the tub.
We hope you found our tips on washing work clothes at home helpful. Don’t forget to check out our other cleaning tips such as how to remove coffee stains from your clothing, how to best wash a hat and the best way to wash your shoes.
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