Stuffed animals get a lot of love from their owners. Kids tend to drag them around, drool on them, share food with them, and take them on all sorts of adventures. This can lead the stuffed animals to become downright dirty, smelly creatures. Luckily, they can be easily washed in a washing machine.
The trick to cleaning stuffed animals in a washing machine is to keep them contained. Washing machines have parts that can catch and stretch limbs, eyes, and ears on some stuffed animals. To keep them safe in the wash cycle, they can be put into a pillowcase that is then tied shut. This will allow them to be washed, but will also keep their delicate pieces from being pulled off. Then, wash them on a gentle cycle with one spin cycle, and a low cycle through the dryer.
Remember, before you toss any stuffed animals into the washing machine, make sure to first look for loose parts. If the toy has any open seams, stitch them back up. If it has a loose eye or nose, secure it with a few loops with your thread and needle. Even on gentle cycles, those loose parts can get opened up more or pulled off. If you're like most parents, it probably took you a bit of convincing to get the animal owner to allow you to give it a bath, so make sure it comes out looking better than it did going in.
You know all those little plastic toys that accumulate on your floor? Most homes with kids have bins and bins of different types of plastic toys, some that toddlers suck on, others that bigger kids build with. Regardless of what type of plastic toys you have, they should be cleaned on a regular basis to rid them of germs, and the easiest way to do that is in the washing machine. The only plastic toys you should NEVER clean in a washing machine are ones that have batteries in them. If the toy talks, moves, or plays music, putting it in a washing machine will do more damage than good.
To clean these small plastic toys, the first thing you need is a mesh laundry bag. In fact, you may want to get a few of these bags and use one bag per type of toy. You can put Duplo blocks in one, baby toys in another, and toddler toys like Little People in another. This way, they are easier to put away after they dry. For smaller items, like Legos, you may want to use a mesh lingerie bag, as the holes in the mesh are smaller and will prevent pieces from getting lost in the washer.
Once you have your toys bagged, toss them in to the washer and set it on a sanitize cycle with no spin. You want the toys to be smothered in hot water, but don't want to have to put up with the noise of a spin cycle (trust me on this one). After the cycle runs, pull the bags of toys out and spread them on clean towels on your floor. Allow them to air dry for an hour or so, then shake them a bit to release any water that got trapped in crevices. When they are dry, scoop them up and put them back into their appropriate bins, and rest easy knowing that you washed a bunch of kid germs down the drain.
If you have a shower that requires a shower curtain and liner, then you are likely familiar with the gunk that can build up at the bottom of the curtain and liner. The orange or gray film that builds up can turn a perfectly good shower curtain into a gross looking piece of fabric or plastic seemingly overnight. Not only can the shower gunk turn the curtains dingy, but you may have family members or guests who use the fabric curtain as a hand or face towel, which can leave dirt, makeup, or other stains on the curtain.
Your first response may be that you need to get a new shower curtain or liner, but these items can both be tossed in the washing machine to be cleaned. When I clean my plastic shower curtain liners, I like to throw them in with a few towels so they get a little scrub in the wash cycle. They can go on the same cycle as you normally wash your towels, just make sure to pull out the plastic liner before tossing the load into the dryer, and check the label on the shower curtain. When in doubt, hang them both back up in the shower to dry instead of running them through a dry cycle.
Have your beloved running shoes seen better days? Did you do a mud-filled run, or a 5k on trails? If your running shoes or tennis shoes are in need of a little cleaning, the easiest thing to do is throw them into the washing machine.
First, knock off as much loose dirt as you are able. Next, remove or loosen the laces as much as you can. If the laces don't need to be washed, I remove them. If they are as dirty as the shoes, I keep them in but loosen them, so the water can get inside the shoes. Finally, before tossing them into the wash, remove the insoles-especially if you have custom orthotic insoles as they should not be submerged in water.
Toss a couple big towels into the load to dampen the sound of the shoes in the washer, and run a normal warm cycle. The shoes can go through the spin cycle, but should not go through a cycle in the dryer. That may cause them to shrink, which may give you blisters or pain when you wear them next. Set the shoes in a well-ventilated area and allow them to dry completely inside and out before using them again. I've found that it can take 24-48 hours for the shoes to dry completely, but that opening them up as far as they can go does speed the drying process up a bit.
Once they are dry, lace them back up, and they will be ready to hit the trails again!
Until next time, I'm the Domestic CEO, helping you love your home.
Originally posted here: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/house-home/housekeeping/4-surprising-items-you-can-clean-in-a-washing-machine?page=1
Original article and pictures take http://www.hometalk.com/13364955/4-surprising-items-you-can-clean-in-a-washing-machine site
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