How do I get bobbles off a jumper?
What causes pilling, the tools that remove it safely, and how to slow it down.
beginner20 min2 min read
Clothing & Laundry
Washing, drying, stains and making clothes last.
109 guides in Lifestyle
How do I get make-up and foundation off clothes?
Foundation is pigment suspended in oil, so it needs a degreaser first and a solvent second — and the collar mark that will not shift is usually being treated as dirt.
beginner15 min3 min readHow do I wash a coat or a down jacket?
Down and waterproofs both need a specialist wash and no fabric conditioner, and down specifically must be tumble dried — the one case where the dryer is essential.
intermediate1 hr4 min readIs a heated airer or a dehumidifier better for drying clothes?
A heated airer warms the washing; a dehumidifier removes the water from the room. The dehumidifier is the one that also protects the house from damp.
beginner15 min4 min readShould I use powder, liquid or capsule detergent?
Powder contains bleach and works better on whites, stains and machine hygiene. Liquid is better on grease and on colours. Capsules are convenient and inflexible. The right answer is usually two of the three.
beginner8 min4 min readWhat do the tumble dryer settings actually mean?
Dryer programmes differ in heat and in how they decide when to stop — and using the wrong one is the main cause of shrinkage, creasing and damaged elastic.
beginner10 min4 min readWhat is the eco programme on a washing machine actually doing?
It trades time for heat: it runs much longer at a genuinely lower temperature than the number on the dial, because heating water is where nearly all the electricity goes.
beginner12 min3 min readWhy do my t-shirt necklines go wavy and stretched?
A t-shirt neckline is a narrow rib band under tension all day. It fails from being pulled over the head, hung on hangers and tumble dried — and the cheap ones fail because the band has no tape behind it.
beginner15 min4 min readHow do I rescue a shrunk or damaged garment?
What can be recovered when a wash goes wrong — shrinkage, colour run, bobbling and stretched shapes — and what genuinely can't.
beginner1 hr3 min readHow do I dry shoes and boots properly?
Newspaper and airflow, not heat — the method that dries them overnight without ruining them.
beginner20 min2 min readHow do I get paint out of clothes?
Whether a paint mark comes out depends entirely on whether the paint is water-based or oil-based, and on whether it is still wet.
beginner25 min3 min readHow do I hand wash clothes properly?
Hand washing fails when people treat it as scrubbing. It is a soak, a gentle squeeze and a careful lift — and the lifting is where garments get ruined.
beginner25 min4 min readHow do I iron a shirt properly?
The order that gets a shirt done in five minutes without re-creasing the parts you have already finished.
beginner10 min2 min readHow do I look after shoes so they last?
Cleaning, conditioning, drying and rotation for leather and other shoes — and the two repairs that double a shoe's life.
beginner30 min2 min readHow do I patch a hole in jeans?
Backing the hole from the inside, why a patch behind beats a patch on top, and the stitching that stops it going again.
beginner45 min3 min readHow do I set an iron for different fabrics?
The dots on the iron match the dots on the label, and the order of work matters: start cool, work upwards, because an iron cools slowly.
beginner15 min4 min readHow do I take up trousers or a hem?
Measuring the length while wearing them, the hand stitch that stays invisible, and the no-sew options that actually hold.
beginner1 hr 30 min3 min readHow do I thread a sewing machine and set the tension?
Threading with the presser foot up, why that matters, and reading a test stitch to find the tension fault.
beginner20 min3 min readIs the quick wash on a washing machine a false economy?
A quick wash is not a cheap wash — it is a short one, and what it shortens is the rinse as much as the wash, which is where most of its problems come from.
beginner12 min3 min readShould I buy a heat pump, condenser or vented tumble dryer?
Heat pump dryers cost more and run at about a third of the electricity, but they dry more slowly and cooler — which is better for clothes and worse for impatience.
beginner20 min4 min readWhat does dry clean only actually mean?
Sometimes it is a genuine warning about a fibre or a construction, and sometimes it is the manufacturer covering itself — knowing which is what saves money.
beginner10 min4 min readWhat is the difference between polyester, nylon and acrylic?
Three synthetics that look alike on a label and behave differently in wear. What separates them is abrasion resistance, moisture behaviour, heat tolerance and how badly each one pills.
beginner10 min4 min readWhy does my waterproof jacket soak through when it is not leaking?
The membrane is usually fine. What has failed is the water-repellent finish on the outer fabric, and a saturated outer face stops the jacket breathing, so your own sweat condenses inside it.
beginner10 min4 min readCan I fix a bleach mark on clothes?
A bleach mark is missing dye, not added dirt, so it cannot be cleaned out — the realistic options are neutralising, over-dyeing or disguising it.
beginner40 min3 min read