Spring is springing out all over and before you know it summer will be here. You’ve probably already moved your heaviest clothes and shoes back into storage. You may even be eyeing up new swimwear. If, however, you want your clothes (new or old) to look their best, you need to adapt your clothes-care routine for the warmer weather. Here are three tips to help.
Test out new toiletries
As the temperatures go up, so does your need for deodorant, insect repellant and, above all, sun protection. You’ll probably make your first selection of these based on your skin type, their specific benefits and their sustainability. Once a new product’s got your attention, take it for a test run before you commit.
Some products are great in all kinds of ways, except when it comes to being kind to your clothes. There are times when you may just need to live with this. For example, if you need strong sun protection, you need strong sun protection and that’s all there is to it.
On those occasions try to wear clothes in robust fabrics that can handle regular washing. Natural fabrics are usually your best option here. For the rest of the time, however, try to stick with products that won’t mess up your clothes.
Limit your laundry
The hotter it gets, the more tempting it can be to wear something once and just throw it in a laundry hamper. In fairness, there’s a perfectly logical reason for this. When the weather gets hot, clothes are more likely to need frequent washing to keep them odour-free. That said, there’s still a lot to be said for thinking before you toss your clothes in for washing.
Swimwear should always be rinsed out after each use even if you’ve been at the beach rather than in a pool. Then decide if it needs to be washed. For everything else, ask yourself if an item is really dirty or smelly or if it just needs a refresh. If the latter, then try steaming it instead of washing it. Most of the time, that’ll be fine. If not, you can go ahead and wash the item.
Even then, take the time to put the item in the best condition for washing. At a minimum read the care tags and sort your clothes into piles of like items. If possible, check your pockets, close fasteners and turn clothes inside out. Put smaller items into net laundry bags. None of this is unique to warm weather, but warm weather can increase the temptation to skip these steps.
Do your laundry regularly
Avoid letting dirty clothes pile up. This is bad at any time of year and it’s particularly bad in summer. The obvious issue is the potential for odour. For completeness, the odour is caused by bacteria. This in itself is a good enough reason to deal promptly with laundry.
The less obvious issue is that sweat can be very damaging to fabrics. You may have noticed that sweat can lead to fabrics losing their colour. It can also lead to them losing their strength and hence shorten their useful life.
If you’re struggling to find time to do laundry (or you’d just rather not), then try a laundry pickup and delivery service. Check out australianwomenonline.com/simplify-your-life-with-a-laundry-pickup-and-delivery-service/ to see how it could help you.
