Fed up mum praised for ‘brilliant hack’ to get her boys’ grubby white socks clean again using JUST her washing machine
THERE’S nothing worse than coming to do a wash, only to find you have a whole heap of grubby socks to try and get white again.
And it can take hours of soaking them in a cleaning solution.
But mum Carly has revealed she’s got a hack to make the process a whole lot easier – with no soaking in buckets required.
She took to TikTok to share the nifty trick, which uses solely the washing machine for the process.
“My boys only wear white sport socks,” Carly began.
“And the worst thing about it is, is that my drawers are painted rugby, they go on their motorbikes, always get dirty, but they just HAVE to wear white sport socks!
“Anyway, if you’re like me and they get stained and dirty and whatever else – people like to soak them in bleach or milk and tablets – but this is what I do without having to put them in a sink or a bucket.”
Carly then showed herself putting an entire plastic bag full of dirty socks into the washing machine.
She then squeezed a generous amount of bleach into the washing machine drum, before putting it on the “rinse and spin” cycle.
“And then when all this fills up with water, so it’s the bleach and water in there, I’m going to pause the machine and let them soak for an hour,” Carly said.
Once they’ve soaked for an hour, she drains it, and puts them on a hot wash.
And the comments section was almost immediately filled with people praising Carly for sharing the nifty hack.
“Genius! Never thought of this!” one wrote.
“I never thought of soaking in the washing machine by pausing?!” another said.
“I’m 38 and a mum of three, how have I only just learnt this?”
“I’ll definitely try this,” a third commented.
“Great hack!” someone else said.
“Going to try this,” another wrote.
More winter laundry tips
Tackling laundry in the winter can be a challenge, but these handy tips can help you stay on top of it:
- Use a Dehumidifier: Place a dehumidifier in your drying area to speed up the drying process and prevent dampness.
- Spin Cycle Boost: Run an extra spin cycle on your washing machine to remove excess water from clothes, reducing drying time.
- Indoor Drying Rack: Invest in a good-quality indoor drying rack and position it near a radiator or in a well-ventilated room.
- Tumble Dryer Balls: Add tumble dryer balls to your dryer to help clothes dry faster and reduce static cling.
- Space-Saving Hangers: Use space-saving hangers or a retractable washing line to maximise indoor drying space.
- Microfibre Towels: Lay microfibre towels over your drying rack to absorb extra moisture from hanging clothes.
- Partially Dry Outside: On dry days, hang clothes outside for a short period before bringing them in to finish drying.
These hacks can help you keep your laundry routine efficient and your clothes fresh, even during the colder months.
“These socks are the bane of my life,” someone else admitted.
“My boys are exactly the same!”
“My son is the same,” another wrote.
“Pains in the a**,” Carly hilariously replied.
“Great idea – will tell my daughter as my grandson only wears white sport socks,” someone else said.
“He plays football & rugby she’s always soaking them before washing!!”
“How does the bleach not stain and change the colour of the socks?” another questioned.
“Any time I’ve tried this I’ve just ended up bleach staining my clothes!”
“I don’t know – it just works for me,” someone else wrote.
“Make sure all socks are pretty much white and you put it on straight away.”
But someone else warned against the hack, writing: “To much bleach will weaken the fabric and makes holes quicker.”
However, Carly wasn’t too worried about that, as she replied: “Maybe, but I buy them all the time because my boys just wreck them anyway!”