Ask Mum Now - hints and tips and solutions » clothing

Drying knitteds

admin — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 21:32:12 +0000

When drying jerseys and other knitted garments, thread old pantyhose through the sleeves and peg the pantyhose to the clothes line. This prevents peg marks on the garments.

Emergency sewing kit

admin — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 02:33:45 +0000

Make up a sewing kit to keep handy for emergency with pins, needles, various coloured cotton threads, small scissors. Store in a plastic container or an empty glass jar with a lid.

Remove fruit stains from fabrics

admin — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 01:22:47 +0000

To remove fruit stains from fabrics, soften the stain with warm vinegar and then wash.

Remove chocolate stains from clothes

admin — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 01:56:25 +0000

To remove chocolate stains from clothing, rinse the stain with soap and cold water then wash with soap and hot water. The cold water treatment will deal to the colour and the heat will take to the greasy part of the stain.

Remove rust marks from clothes

admin — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:33:40 +0000

To remove rust marks from clothes, squeeze a lemon over the stain then gently rub in some salt. Leave for a few minutes then wash the garment.

Clear the clutter at home

admin — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 18:17:43 +0000

Is your home cluttered with stuff you don’t need. Have you ever tried to get rid of the clutter in your home? How often do you look at stuff you don’t need and just sigh and walk away.

Well – how about sorting out what you do and don’t need – or want. It’s time to take drastic measures that give clutter a new life somewhere else.

Don’ t know where to start? Try going in to one room at a time with 4 boxes.

Label the boxes with these 4 categories.

Rubbish – Into this box goes any items that you don’t need or want any more, but that are damaged or broken and can’t be sold or donated.

Give Away/Sell – Be generous!! Think about the uses someone else might get out of the items versus the use they get in your home buried in cabinets or closets. Consider the financial benefits of selling your stuff at a garage sale or in an online auction (eg Trademe or eBay).

Storage - Put items in this box that you really can’t part with but don’t need on a regular basis. Make an inventory of the items as you box them. Group similar items together. Remember one good way to clean out cupboards and drawers is to store out of season clothing in another space.

Put Away - This should be your smallest category. These are items that you need on a regular basis. Monitor yourself by deciding if you have a place for each item. If the items in this box won’t fit into your home without cluttering up an area , have another think – Do you really need them? If you do need these “essentials”, get a storage solution that fits into your home, don’t just leave the stuff in boxes.

Merino for babies

admin — Mon, 18 May 2009 03:28:38 +0000

A new Mum has heard that merino is really good for keeping babies warm without being too heavy or bulky. She asked how other mothers get on if the baby seems to be allergic to wool and gets itchy and red where the wool touches the baby’s skin.

One response is from a mother who says she always put her babies into a cotton vest then put a woollen vest over that before putting on the outer clothes. This kept the baby warm without too much bulk and no wool next to the skin.

Keep the colour in your jeans

admin — Sat, 02 May 2009 11:01:04 +0000

If you want your jeans to keep their colour, soak them in ¼ cup of vinegar mixed with 4 litres of water for about 30 minutes.

Then wash the jeans with soap powder as usual and hang them inside out to dry.

Stains on leather

admin — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 05:43:22 +0000

This video from YouTube shows a four-step process to cleaning stains off leather.

Stains on clothing

admin — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 04:29:48 +0000

We have collated ways to remove some stains from clothing. Keep checking back as we will add to this list as you request more stain removal techniques.

Blood
If garment is washable, soak it in cold water to absorb the blood.

If blood has dried, you may need to apply white vinegar to dampen the stain, then gently rub in some salt. Leave for 15 minutes and rinse. Repeat if necessary.

If you are left with a water mark on the garment, wash the whole garment and the water mark will disappear.

Chewing gum
Cover the chewing gum with cooking oil and gently dab the oil over the gum

Wash the garment to remove the oil residue

Grass
Dampen the stain with cold water, then cover with a laundry detergent that has enzymes added.

Rub the powder into the water so you have a paste over the stain.

Leave for several hours and wash as usual with more of the enzyme loaded detergent.

Dry in the sun.

Ink (Liquid)

Soak as soon as possible in cold milk.

Rinse away the milk and wash as normal

Ink (ballpoint)

Dampen with white vinegar and coat with baking soda. Rub in gently and leave for 30 minutes.

Red wine
Dowse with cold water until stain disappears then wash as normal.

Rust
Rub a cut lemon over the stain.

Cover stain with salt and rub in gently.

Leave for up to one hour, rinse and repeat if necessary.

Alternatively use baking soda instead of salt.