Dear Home Ec 101, OK, Heather, help me out here! I’m about to have a baby, and while I’m loving all the hand-me-downs we’ve gotten, but I’m at my wit’s end trying to get the stench of fabric softener out of them. 🙁 I have really severe skin allergies, and all the laundry soap I …
Dear Home Ec 101, I’m not always great about making sure my towels get dried the same day they are washed. This leads to them smelling like mildew. Will the smell go away? Can I do anything to make it go away? Or did I just ruin all my towels? Signed, Mildewed in Minneapolis Heather …
Dear Home Ec 101, After doing yard work this weekend, my dear husband has poison ivy. What is the best way to launder his clothes and keep the resin from spreading through the laundry? Signed, Trying to Contain the Irritant Heather says: You’re in luck! Removing poison ivy from clothing isn’t that difficult, you just need …
Dear Home Ec 101, I read that I should wash clothes in cold water when doing laundry to save energy. However, I was taught to wash everything in warm water. Can my socks, toddler clothes, and my husband’s workout clothes get truly clean using cold water? Signed,Tepid in Topeka When I first launched this site …
Heather says: Noah is back and this time, he’s got the marching band (hello Blue Devils!*) getting their act cleaned up with the Method Just Say No to Jugs Campaign. Enjoy the video: I’m a child of the 80’s, if you need details, I was in grade school, where Nancy Reagan drilled (indoctrinated?) “SAY NO …
Dear Home-Ec 101, I don’t know if you have any advice that you can give me for this, but I went to go wash my daughters comforter and the washing instructions start out with “Front Load Washer only” – I’ve never seen this before, and I only have a top load washer. I don’t want …
Dear Home Ec 101, I washed, but did not dry, my 4-year-old’s dress that says it’s dry clean only – who makes dry clean only clothes for 4-year-olds, anyway? I didn’t even think to check. It is 100% silk. It shrank quite a bit and while it was still wet I was able to stretch …
Dear Home-Ec 101: It’s cold! Well actually it’s 68 right now – but yesterday it was in the 40’s and I wanted to wear my nice, warm, fluffy white wool sweater. It has not seen the light of day since last winter (February-ish). I pulled it out of the dry cleaner bag and it is …
Dear Home-Ec 101,Could you please explain to my 14-year-old daughter why it’s important to wash bed sheets regularly?Signed,Skeeved in Skokie Heather says:Absolutely, I’ll even do it in a video so she doesn’t have to take the time to read. Just stick it in her YouTube queue. Here’s what it comes down to. Human beings are …
Dear Home-Ec 101,I have been using my new front-load washer for over a year now, and all my towels are ruined. It doesn’t matter what color they are or were. They now all have large spots that look like I used chlorine bleach on them. Can you help? I have not changed the detergent or …