Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Ever since I started doing my own laundry, it's always
felt a little bit like a science experiment, and I
am the maddest of scientists. For example, I might see
a label that says wash this garment in cold water,
but I know the powder detergent that I bought is
gonna dissolve better and warmer hot water. So I'm then
(00:26):
gonna play around with which setting on the washer will
help dissolve the detergent without straight up destroying my garment.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
Or maybe I'm experimenting with.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Spot removal, Will hairspray or dish soap work better to
lift the oils off this stained blouse. According to a
study conducted by One Pole on behalf of Swash laundry detergent,
more than two thirds of millennials and Gen z ers
surveyed felt very confident in their laundry game. And yet,
according to the same survey, there are a lot of
(00:56):
laundry mistakes being made, like forty percent admitted to overfilling
the machine with clothes, and more than half of respondents
have made the classic mistake of thinking more detergent means
cleaner clothes. But despite these misguided approaches, sixty five percent
think laundry is an important skill that should be taught
or learned in some way. Well, Matt and I agree.
(01:18):
Plus we need to settle our feud over whether or
not fabric softener is necessary. So start taking notes because this.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Is grown up stuff.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
Hello to all of our grown ups and adults. Welcome
back to another episode of Grown Up Stuff How to
Adult the podcast here to help you answer all of
life's adulting questions like what is the point of a
delegates bag if I'm already watching things on the delegates cycle?
And how much detergent is too much detergent. It's me
Molly again, still lovable but ever bubbling through life, and
(01:54):
I am joined as always by the Jiminy cricket to
my Pinocchio.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Matt's still Oh whoa.
Speaker 3 (02:00):
I have always considered that our exact relationship.
Speaker 4 (02:02):
You just nailed it.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Wait again, really, I thought, yeah, I mean it feels right.
It just feels right, Matt. How you doing, buddy?
Speaker 3 (02:08):
I'm doing well. Busy week as you know, but we're
hanging in there.
Speaker 4 (02:11):
How about you.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
Some weeks I'm surviving. Some weeks I'm thriving. I feel
like I'm somewhere in the middle. This week not quite either,
but you know, you know. But I have an important
question for you. Shoot, do you know how to do laundry?
Or are you just spraying your workout whear with for
breeze like the rest of us.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
I think, like you said, I'm somewhere in the middle.
For a long time, I had a laundryer, Matt that
did that had a drop off service, so I was
just dropping it off. And then I was on my
own for a few years there. And now I have
a wife, And I'm not saying that women are doing
the laundry. I'm just saying that she no. I'm just
saying I'm just like, I'm just saying that she's really
(02:49):
good at it. She loves doing it. And look, sometimes
she goes away and I'm on my own for a
little bit and I do my best. But I think
that that's all we can all say about. We're just
out here, We're just doing our best. I don't know
what am I you.
Speaker 2 (03:01):
I generally know how to do laundry.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
I've got a lot of questions on what I should
or shouldn't be doing. Detergent is a big one for me,
like what kind should I be using? But also understanding labels,
these symbols. I hate when garments have just the symbols
and not the written instructions. I feel like I'm deciphering hieroglyphics.
But I'm hoping that, you know, we might be able
(03:24):
to figure out some of these things with our guests today,
because if you haven't figured it out by now, folks,
we're learning about how to do our laundry properly.
Speaker 3 (03:36):
And I know some of our listeners might be thinking,
but I already know how to do my laundry. But
I'm gonna tell you right now, there is still so
much to learn, because there's a lot that Molly and
I both learned in preparing for this episode and from
talking to our guests.
Speaker 1 (03:47):
Yes, that's right, And just in case you're curious, here's
what we are going to hit in this conversation with
our guests today. We're going to talk about machine care.
Cleaning and maintenance falls into that as well. We're going
to talk about sorting something called bluing.
Speaker 4 (03:59):
What is that we're.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Gonna find out? We're gonna talk about pilling. You know
how those little things that come off on your sweater
that stick me like you hate those little fabric things,
types of detergents and how much you really need, The
dangers of fabric softener, dryer sheets and scent beads, Yeah,
I said, dangers of care labels, how often you should
be washing your clothes, getting rid of odors, and saving
(04:22):
and repairing clothes that you may have damaged in the
wash or drying process.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
And so much more.
Speaker 3 (04:27):
But since laundry is such an important topic, we had
to invite not one, but two amazing experts to join
us and help us figure out how to do laundry
like grownups. To kick things off, we're talking to Kishan Lane,
the creator of the Weekly Home Check on Instagram, which
aims to help new homeowners better maintain their homes. Kishan
is going to tell us the ins and outs of
how to clean our washers and keep our clothes coming
(04:48):
out clean, how we avoid dryer fires, and general practices
to keep our machines running as efficiently as possible.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
And then you'll hear our interview with Patrick Richardson, aka
the Laundry Evangelist. Patrick is the host of The Laundry
Guy on Discovery Plus and the author of House Love
and Laundry Love. He's going to talk to us about
how much a church it is too much at churchan
stay and removal, bluing, and the garment care side of laundry.
Speaker 3 (05:13):
We're going to kick it off with Keisham Lane Kishan,
Welcome to the show. It's so good to have you here.
I've been a long time Instagram followers, so it's just
wonderful to meet you and have you on the show.
And today we're talking about laundry. But arguably more important
than the laundry itself is caring for the machine that
handles this vital task. So how often, in your opinion,
(05:36):
should we be caring for our washing machines? And what
really are the steps involved in maintenance and.
Speaker 5 (05:41):
Upkeep with our washing machines. You should clean it four
times a year, but this also depends on how often
you use it, right, If you use it more frequently,
you should probably clean it once a month or after
every thirty loads.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
My washing machine has not been cleaned in nearly that long,
so oh it's overdue.
Speaker 2 (05:59):
It's over to Yeah, and what does it mean to clean?
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Because I have gotten so into TikTok cleaning videos where
they like I've seen people just like take certain parts
off of their washer and.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Be like, look at all this mold and grossness. Yeah,
how do we do it?
Speaker 1 (06:13):
I also just bought something that's like a powder pod
that says like washing machine tub cleaner, Like is that
doing anything?
Speaker 5 (06:21):
Yes? It is okay. So when I clean my washing machines,
I always use vinegar. And a lot of times people say,
you know, vinegar is not great for the seals, but
it's not true. Distilled vinegar is really good at fighting mold,
really good at fighting mineral deposits and mildew. And so
you just want to take a half mixture of distilled
vinegar and water. And like for my front loaders, those
(06:43):
of you you have front loader machines, you'll wipe the
rubber seal on the front loaders and be sure to
get into all the crevices the bleach tray, the fabric
soft in the tray. Front loaders will also have filters,
which top loaders do not. You'll find your filters specifically
towards the bottom. It'll be towards the bottom, right or left.
You can take that out, but when you take it out,
(07:04):
water will come out, So be sure to have a
towel underneath that. And when you take it out, you
can clean the filter. You can sit the filter in
warm water, also that mixture of vinegar and water if
you like, but be sure to clean the inside of
the gasket. Also, on our front loaders, you have a
removable tray where your fabric softener goes. It'll say something
like push or press here to release it. And you
(07:26):
want to make sure you want to get in the
back of that gasket as well to clean all that
gunk and maybe mildew and build up that may be stored.
And as far as the tub cleaner, you want to
run that on the longest, hottest cycle.
Speaker 3 (07:41):
And then just for the people who don't know, aka myself,
what is it?
Speaker 4 (07:46):
Gasket?
Speaker 5 (07:47):
Okay?
Speaker 4 (07:47):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (07:47):
So the gaskets are the rubber seal you'll find on
the inside of your washers.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Gotcha.
Speaker 5 (07:55):
If you examine, you can look in between the gaskets
or the seal and you can see just how much
gut builds.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Up because she got flaps unfolds.
Speaker 5 (08:05):
Yeah, she's got flaps. She's got folds, and you can
you can clean each one. You do, you do for
the life of the machine and for the betterment of
your laundry.
Speaker 3 (08:14):
So we've talked about like the inside of the at
least the washing machine. But what about there's a lot
of like connections, right, there's like vents on the back,
there's water connections. I mean, would you ever recommend like
moving our washing machine out a little bit, getting behind
it and doing some cleaning. Could that help with like
efficiency as well?
Speaker 5 (08:29):
Absolutely? So every three to five years, you're actually supposed
to replace your hoses. Oh yeah, even if you don't
see signs of leaking or bulging. If you do, it's
definitely time. But even if you do not, inside they
are rubber, so over time they wear and tear. And
check the seals. Make sure if you live in a
place where there's hard water, you want to make sure
(08:49):
there's no hard water stains around your your hoses. If
you do, they'll be pretty evident, you'll see them. You
want to make sure you want to wipe those clean
as well, with again that water in a mixture.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
If you're someone like me and you have not taken
care of your machine in a long time, what are
some of the common signs that are washing machine is
in need of servicing or upkeep.
Speaker 5 (09:13):
If your washing machine shakes when it's running.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
Yeah, I was like mine does that?
Speaker 3 (09:19):
Yeah, definitely draking.
Speaker 5 (09:20):
Or if your clothes just come out smelling.
Speaker 3 (09:25):
Molly, have I been smelling?
Speaker 1 (09:26):
I did just smell you recently, and I thought you
smelled okay, just okay, okay.
Speaker 3 (09:31):
All right, so it might be worth looking in along with.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
But like I was not appalled by you.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
Okay, next time you might have to Okay, I got you, buddy.
Speaker 5 (09:40):
Yeah, because a lot of the times when we stray
away from cleaning our machines again, that mold and mil
tew can really start to develop inside the actual drum
and it can get onto your clothes.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
That's disgusting.
Speaker 5 (09:54):
Also, overloading our machines. A lot of the times we're
just throwing everything in and it just to get it
done and get it over with, but it prevents the
machine from cleaning properly when you overload it. Actually, we're
only supposed to load our machines just about three fourths
of the way full. You should be able to stick
your whole fists in there and just go all the
way to the back without touching any clothes. Yeah, big whoops.
(10:19):
Too many clothes would absorb all the water right, and
the detergent won't have get a chance to dissolve and
wash our clothes, and too many clothes will cause extra
stress on the parts.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
That makes sense, That makes a lot of sense.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Sometimes for some of my clothing items, I feel like
I'm trying to decipher hieroglyphics because they don't not all
of my clothes, unfortunately, will have it written out in
this cleared instruction. She'll just have these weird symbols that
I'm supposed to somehow understand and know already what they mean.
Speaker 5 (10:52):
So here's the cool part about that.
Speaker 4 (10:53):
All.
Speaker 5 (10:54):
If you take your iPhone the new update has, you
can put your camera to the care tag and it'll
show you all of this. Wait, really, yes, you take
the guessing game out of all of this.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
Let me just pick my jaw up off the floor,
because that's truly a game changing because I have a
lot for some reason, I have like multiple garments that
just don't have the written instructions. Yeah, just these symbols.
And I'm like, well, I'm hope I'm doing this right.
Speaker 5 (11:20):
Ope, right here we go. Let's see after this cycle.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
Yeah, let's see exactly.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
Okay, So here's how this works. First, take out your
iPhone and snap a picture of your care label, making
sure your camera gets a clear image of the laundry
symbols on the tag. Then open your photo and you'll
notice that little information symbol at the bottom that looks
just like an eye with some stars around it. Click
on that and once that's open, it'll give you an
option that says look up laundry care.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Once you click on.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
That, it will give you a complete rundown of what
your symbols mean when it comes to washing that item
of clothing. Let's talk about how to take care of
our dryers too. Dryer fires affect nearly two nine hundred
homes a year, according to the US Fire Administration.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
Now, I think one way we could avoid this.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
Is just, you know, regularly checking that the lint trap
is cleaned out after and before each load. But what
are some other areas of the dryer that we need
to be cleaning out that aren't as obvious. Not only
to prevent a disaster like a fire, but you know,
just to get the most out of our appliance too.
Speaker 5 (12:32):
You definitely want to pay attention to those hoses. You
want to make sure they're not bent, you want to
make sure there's no tears, and you want to make
sure you replace those about every five to eight years. Okay,
a lot of people don't have access to their hoses
and may be in the walls or to the vents.
If you can, there are dryer kits that you can
(12:55):
purchase through Amazon, and you can get vacuum attachments to
vacuum these hoses out. But also it's a good idea
to check your clothes pockets when you're doing laundry in general,
you know, because some of that can catch fire as
well if you have a dirty lint trap. Oh yeah,
(13:17):
I'm real bad at that part. I can't say I'm
the vest at that too, but I try to check
my pockets. But every now and then you'll I'll find
like either a receipt, it's real common for me. Yes,
sometimes lit bomb.
Speaker 4 (13:29):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
The other thing I want to ask you about the
dryer is recently I had a family member who there's
apparently like another there's like the lint trap, but then
there was like another area that they were like, oh,
you're supposed to clean it out every month. And even
on my dryer it's like a drawer. I don't even
know how to describe it, but it says to like
pull it out and to rinse it.
Speaker 5 (13:50):
The filter is that?
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Oh that's the filter in the dryer.
Speaker 5 (13:52):
Okay, yeah, maybe the filter on most machines. Our filters
can come out. And you want to take off the
lint vacuum the l you can use it with your
hands if you can, and just place it in water
and make sure all parts are dried before obviously putting
it back in.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Got it? Okay, good advice.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
When I head home to my parents' house, they have
these like spiky balls they use in their drying cycle.
What is the advice with dryer balls or dryer sheets
or any other sort of accessories that we might use.
Speaker 5 (14:21):
The sheets they coat your clothes and like these synthetic
chemicals and it decreases the absorbency of your clothes. Oh,
which is wide. Dryer balls are recommended because they're hypoalogenic.
They're made of wool, and it's beneficial to those but
sensitive skin. And if you like the fragrance of it all,
you can again use essential oils and they last a
(14:44):
thousand uses. Where's your dryer sheets? You use them once
and you throw them away.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
Which I'm curious, what exactly are the dryer balls doing though?
Or they like help helping to dry more quickly.
Speaker 5 (14:54):
They are when you're drying your clothes, the balls are warm,
they're hot, and so they're allowing your clothes to dry
more effectively and quickly.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Well, they're also moving them around too, right, they're avoiding
moving they're helping them like they're avoiding the clumping because
they'll like land on them.
Speaker 3 (15:10):
And so yeah, kind of like air raating out, providing
space in between things they're not clumping.
Speaker 5 (15:16):
Together, ultimately saving you money and time.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
So is there anything else that we're forgetting in our
laundry routine that people should be remembering to wash more?
Speaker 2 (15:25):
Like curtains?
Speaker 5 (15:26):
Shoes?
Speaker 2 (15:26):
Can we be putting shoes in.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
Air washer or are we going to like ruin our
washer by doing that?
Speaker 5 (15:32):
Depends on the shoe and the fabric. These also have
care tags. Oh, but shoes that are machine wash will
take the laces out and place in either a garment
bag or a pillowcase.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
Interesting, I never would have thought to put in the
pillow case.
Speaker 1 (15:46):
Okay, is it like that basically serves as like a
delegate's bag for your shoes?
Speaker 2 (15:50):
Right then?
Speaker 5 (15:51):
Exactly? Oh that's such a little barrier. Yeah, other things
are pillows. That a lot of times we forget to
do gym bags or curtains.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
How often should we be cleaning our curtains?
Speaker 5 (16:05):
I clean our curtains probably at least once a year
if they are machine washable, right, A lot of times
you can just steam them. Oh really a steam clean? Yeah,
for your drapes and your curtains.
Speaker 2 (16:18):
Okay, I have a steamer. This is good to know.
Speaker 5 (16:20):
Yeah, that will also, I mean, depending on the steaming,
you can also sanitize it if it's like a handheld steam.
I love my steamer. My steamer is one of the
greatest inventions I think on this planet.
Speaker 3 (16:30):
Is there any other pieces of maintenance so we may
have skipped over that you think it's important to cover.
Speaker 5 (16:34):
On our front loaders. It's good to note that you
want to keep the gaskets dry as possible, So that's
something to do after every cycle. Because that glass is
therein it's so much water pressure against the glass, A
lot of water gets trapped in the gaskets, which will
eventually again cause mildew mold. You want to make sure
(16:55):
that's dry as possible, and do not close your washer lits.
Make sure they're got enough air out to dry well.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Kishan, thank you so so much for being here.
Speaker 5 (17:07):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
You have given us so much great information. Please let
the people know where they can find you and discover
everything else home related that they should be looking into.
Speaker 5 (17:19):
Absolutely, you guys can check me out on all socials
at Weekly Home Check. I'm on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and
YouTube and I'm bringing you a weekly task to keep
your home maintained. I've got a great community base and
we're all in it together. So check me out Weekly
(17:39):
Home Check.
Speaker 4 (17:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
I can't recommend it enough. It's I mean, Kishon really
just goes through systematically your entire house and how to
keep it up to date and fresh and clean to
improve the value of your home and your your quality
of life. It's just awesome stuff.
Speaker 5 (17:51):
Thank you, Thank you Matt, thank you Molly for having
me and just you know, supporting Weekly Home Check. I
appreciate it a lot.
Speaker 2 (17:58):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (17:59):
Thanks for coming on and sharing your knowledge with us.
Speaker 1 (18:03):
A huge thank you to Keishawn Lane. If you aren't
following the Weekly Home Check on Instagram, I strongly encourage
you to do so. Keishawan reminds us that part of
doing our laundry correctly. Is also knowing how to make
sure our washer and dryer continue to function properly, because
if they're not clean or working properly, it really doesn't
matter whether or not you're sorting your whites from darks
(18:25):
or using the right amount of detergent. So remember to
keep those gaskets and drums clean and stop overloading your washer.
Now let's get into spot treatment, detergents, and clothing care
with Patrick Richardson aka the Laundry Evangelist. Patrick, thank you
so much for joining us on Growing up suff how
to adult. We are talking laundry and you are the
(18:48):
laundry Evangelists.
Speaker 4 (18:49):
Well, I'm super excited, and you know, I'm always super
excited to talk laundry because I mean, who doesn't want
to talk about laundry? It's fun.
Speaker 3 (18:56):
I'm actually, before we get to the first question, I'm curious,
where did the laundry evangel to come from?
Speaker 4 (19:00):
Like how did that start? So it's kind of a
funny story. So the briefest bit of the story is
when I opened my store twelve years ago, it was
Designer Vintage, and I had laundry products in the corner
because I wanted people to be able to care for
the vintage, and I don't send anything to the dry cleaner.
I watched everything I own, you know, my Casutar, sport codes,
my sweaters, my suit, my tuxedo, everything.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (19:23):
And this woman at the Star Tribune, which is one
of our two local newspapers, found out about it, and
for spring cleaning, she wanted to do a whole article
about me. So she said in the article, you're so
obsessed with teaching people about laundry. You're like the laundry evangelist.
And I thought it was funny. So it just sort
(19:46):
of stuck.
Speaker 3 (19:47):
I love that. That's amazing. Yeah, it was funny. So
thank you, Amy Jordan shout out. Well, So this might
seem like a simple question for the laundry evangelists, but
we're gonna start simple on grown up stuff. What are
some of the most common mistakes people make when attempting laundry?
Speaker 4 (20:07):
The first one, in the biggest one is too much detergent.
In fact, I'm just gonna go ahead and make a
blanket statement, you're using too much detergent. I don't know
how much you're using, but I know it's too much.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
I'm so guilty of this. I am so guilty.
Speaker 4 (20:23):
For a full load of laundry, you need about two
tablespoons of detergent really, and if you're using more, it
actually is counterintuitive. So more detergent in your clothes are dirtier.
Oh and the reason for that is one of the
big things the detergent does is it has a surfact
in it, So the dirt comes out of your clothes,
(20:43):
it gets trapped in the detergent. It rinses down the drain.
If you're using too much detergent, it can't rinse out,
so the dirt comes out, it gets trapped in the detergent.
Then it can't rinse down the drain, so it actually
resettles back in your clothes with the dirt. So if
you're using too much detergent, I mean, I hate to
say it, but like you're walking around in your own filth.
Speaker 3 (21:05):
Oh goodness gracious. And when you say full load of
laundry just for the listeners at home, do you mean
like you filled up your your laundry machine all the way?
Speaker 4 (21:14):
Well, whatever your machine means, because it depends on your machine,
it's usually somewhere between seventy and eighty percent of your
machine is full and you'll have to look at your
buyer's God. It varies a little based on is it
a front loader, is a top loader, it is an agitator,
is an impeller. But it's basically full to your machine,
which is seventy or eighty percent. If you have a
smaller like you have an apartment sized stackable, which we do,
(21:38):
you know that's a smaller unit. So at that point
I would probably go to one and a half tablespoons
of detergent.
Speaker 3 (21:44):
Okay, this is huge.
Speaker 4 (21:46):
Oh, by the way, there's enough detergent in one pod
to do five loads of laundry.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
I just bought a ton of pods. You're telling me
I shouldn't be using them.
Speaker 4 (21:54):
I'm telling you that when you use those up, you
probably shouldn't replace them. What great thing is you live
in an apartment, so it doesn't matter if you trash
the machine, because the other thing is they're horrible for
washing machine.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
I hope my landlord isn't listening.
Speaker 3 (22:07):
Really, why are they horrible of the pods because they
don't totally dissolve.
Speaker 4 (22:13):
They sort of gum up the censers and they gum
up the gears.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
Okay, yeah, so that's the first mistake.
Speaker 4 (22:20):
The second mistake is people are using fabric software in
dryer sheets, which.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
We just learned makes you flammable. Right, yep, you heard
that right. Fabric softener was something that Kishan also warned
us about, and that's where we first learned of its
combustible nature.
Speaker 5 (22:40):
And fabric softener. I don't know if we spoke about
fabric softenaire, but that's also a common mistake that a
lot of people do. They use fabric softnaw, and it's
it's not so great for your clothes.
Speaker 2 (22:48):
Should we never be using fabric software?
Speaker 5 (22:51):
No, you should not ever be using a fabric softnare
at least a deposit on our clothes which is also
left in the machine and also so makes the clothes
highly flammable. Wait what yes? What do you want to
do instead? Is just use a quarter cup.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
Of vinegar and that'll make them softer.
Speaker 5 (23:08):
That'll make them softer, and if you wanted some kind
of scent, you can use essential oils.
Speaker 4 (23:13):
Wow wow, wow, Well it makes you flammable. It makes
you infertile. What yeah, one of the things in them
is a thalate esther which it can cause infertility in women.
Oh my god, I mean if you really stop and
thinking about it. Since we're grown up stuff, will grown
up talk?
Speaker 2 (23:32):
Yeah, lay it out on us Patrick.
Speaker 4 (23:34):
Women, And I'm going to use women primarily because I've
never seen a study on infertility in men as it
relates to dryer sheets. But one of the things that
you want to use dryer sheets for is like intimate
because they're silky and polyester.
Speaker 2 (23:48):
Right.
Speaker 4 (23:48):
Well, that's also going in the most private parts, their
first layer, Like they're going closest to your skin, and
you know you're putting these phalites on them.
Speaker 2 (23:58):
Wow shook.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, thiolates
are a group of chemicals that are present in plastics
and everyday household in personal care products like soaps, shampoos,
hair sprays, and fabric softeners, as they can often be
used to help dissolve other materials. The New York Times
called thilates hormone disrupting chemicals that can quote change how
(24:23):
reproductive organs develop in the womb in animal studies end quote,
and they reported that some scientists believe that exposure may
lead to issues like polycystic ovary syndrome or PCOS, and
other conditions that impact a woman's fertility.
Speaker 4 (24:39):
Same with scent beads. They're all basically the same product,
it's just how we put them on. I mean they
take away absorbency. The first time you use fabric softener
or dryer sheets on your towels, you reduce their absorbency
about eighty percent.
Speaker 3 (24:51):
Wow, oh who And they're just not necessary.
Speaker 4 (24:55):
I mean the reason that we're created is because people
were using too much detergent. And so rather than saying,
use less detergent. Here's another product, they were like, Oh,
your clothes are crunchy from too much detergent. Let me
fix that with something else. I mean it would be like.
Speaker 2 (25:08):
With another product.
Speaker 4 (25:09):
Yeah, if I could figure out how to sell you
like salt, and then if you were like, oh, it's
too salty, then I could sell you something to make
it less salty, when the simple solution would have been
just used less in the first place.
Speaker 2 (25:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
Fabric softeners often leave a build up or residue in machines,
which can impact their effectiveness and also create an ideal
environment for things like mildew to grow. And if you're
someone with a sweaty gym bod like myself, Consumer Reports
says that fabric softener may also be limiting the moisture
wicking abilities of your workout wear too, so when it
comes to dryer sheets, fabric softener, and scent beads, skip them.
(25:49):
You don't need them, and they're likely doing more harm
than good to you, your clothes, and your machines. Next,
we wanted to get down to the nitty gritty of
stain removal and learn how to best at what we
often think of as impossible stains. However, while we expected
Patrick to begin his advice with some of those bold
adages we've all heard before, you know, something along the
(26:10):
lines of treating the spot immediately by dabbing with selter. Instead,
Patrick taught us one of the most important life lessons
about being an adult. Stay present with the people you
love and don't sweat the stains.
Speaker 4 (26:25):
The other thing is panicking about your clothes. You know,
people like freak out. Like if you go to a
party and you spill spaghetti sauce, right, Like, don't panic,
enjoy the party. You can deal with this later.
Speaker 2 (26:37):
Yeah, that's great life advice.
Speaker 4 (26:39):
Well, I mean I hate that, Like, you know, in
my book, I say if you come to my house
and you spill red wine. The only thing that happens
is I pour you more red wine. You are more
important to me than like my sofa. You know, I
can get the sofa clean tomorrow. Yeah, I'm going to
enjoy the fact that you're with me now. I mean,
I have a sweater in my bathroom because my hamper
(27:01):
is in my bathroom and I just haven't gotten around
to spot treating and it's been there three weeks. I mean,
I'll get to it when I get to it, but
I'm still going to get it out.
Speaker 3 (27:09):
So do you not worry about stains like setting in
I feel like it's a big thing with stains. It's like, oh,
it's going to set if you don't like get to
it immediately.
Speaker 4 (27:16):
Yeah. You know, Madison Avenue did a really good job
when they taught everybody if you don't treat it right now.
I mean, I haven't treated that sweater for weeks. I'm
not worried about it. And it's a white sweater with
curry on it. I just haven't gotten to it, but
I'm not worried about it.
Speaker 3 (27:30):
I am curious to know what is the most effective
method of getting those stubborn stains like wine sauce or
oil out of our clothes.
Speaker 4 (27:38):
So oil is going to come out with vinegar and water.
Speaker 3 (27:41):
Okay, a spray bottle.
Speaker 4 (27:42):
Of vinegar and water is the answer to oily stains.
Wine is gonna come out with oxygen bleach. And here's
a fun fact about wine and oxygen bleach. If you
get wine on your sweater and you need to dip
it in oxygen bleach, which you can do. You just
have to dip it and then rinse it. If you
dip it and the wine turn it's like Robin's egg blue,
(28:02):
then it was really good wine. If the wine turns tan,
it's really cheap wine. So if your friends come over,
spill a little on a napkin, and then later you know,
when you go back, are you going to the liquor
store to Trader Joe's.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
I love it, And.
Speaker 4 (28:20):
Then the sauce will come out with stain bar and
a stain brush. You can buy a bar of laundry
soap in the laundry aisle. It's a hard bar of soap.
Speaker 2 (28:29):
I've seen this.
Speaker 4 (28:30):
Yeah, it will be labeled as laundry soap. And then
you use a brush like a fabric brush and the
soap to get out the stains. And if I had
no idea what was going on, I would spray it
with vinegar and water and then scrub it with soap
in a brush.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Interesting, now I've seen, especially on your website, you have
the horse hair brushes and for stain removal.
Speaker 2 (28:51):
Right, what exactly is the brush doing.
Speaker 4 (28:54):
It's actually agitating. It's gentle enough to agitate the fabric,
but it's not going to damage it. So what it's
actually doing is it scrubbing for you, so you're not
trying to manipulate it like people want to rub the
fabric against it itself, like they put something on and
then they rub it together. That's another abrasion. But it's
really hard on the fabric.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
Okay. And so as someone who like you said all
of your your your delegates, you your you're harder to
wash items of clothing. You say you tend to them yourself.
So it makes me think, you know, when you buy
any piece of clothing and it says, you know, line
dry hand wash only, dry clean only, do we really
have to follow those or you know why or why not?
Or are there benefits to doing it or drawbacks? Like
(29:38):
what's your opinion on that to me.
Speaker 4 (29:40):
Dry clean only isn't dry clean only. It's pay attention
to what you're doing. You can still wash it, okay,
just pay attention.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
This is good to know because I have a pair
of slack sitting right next to me that I've put
in the wash twice now by accident.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
But they survived.
Speaker 4 (29:54):
Yeah, they were fine. The thing is, the Victorians didn't
have dry cleaners, and they wore all of these anty fabrics.
Speaker 2 (30:01):
That's true.
Speaker 4 (30:01):
And those fabrics have survived. We see them in museums,
so we know that the clothes can survive washing, you know.
And I think that a lot of manufacturers just don't
want to sort out care tags or they're just afraid
that you're too aggressive. You know, in Europe, lots of
tags will say washable, and you'll buy the same garment
in the United States and it will say dry clean only,
(30:23):
and it's literally the exact same garment. When you see
those tags that say hand washed, cold, hand washed, cold dry,
flat lime, dry dry clean only, don't wash, do not
dry clean, which I have seen. When you see those,
the very best thing you can do is just grab
the scissors and cut them out. And then they don't say.
Speaker 3 (30:40):
That, but doesn't to some extent. These mean like be
careful with drying them. So like you can't necessarily throw
a dry clean only or something like into the dryer
like you might ruin like a wool sweater.
Speaker 4 (30:53):
Yeah. Yeah, you still have to be careful. I mean
you can't treat everything the same way. Like every load
of your laundry can't be machine wash, warm, tumble dry,
Like you can't do that. That's not good, right. You
can't put a cashmere sweater in the dryer. You can, however,
put a cashmere sweater in the washing machine because the
fabric is quite durable. You have to put it in
(31:15):
a mesh bag and take care of it. But you
can totally put it in the washer. Yeah. I don't
use the dryer that much, so I never really think
about the dryer. So what do you do? I hang
everything up?
Speaker 3 (31:25):
Okay, So maybe like that's the best approach then, is
if it's something that we're not sure about, maybe definitely
wash it, but just hang it up to dry. It
is probably the best advice there.
Speaker 4 (31:35):
Yeah, just hang it up, Okay. I mean I even
do that for like all of my dress shirts, my jeans,
they just last longer and as much as I love clothes.
And it's funny because I'm coming to you from all
of America, but I hate to shop. So when I
buy my clothes, I want them to last as long
as possible. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:54):
Yeah, And you know, I think we're also awakening a
little bit to the dangers and the issues surrounding fast fashion.
So I think there's this growing shift towards buying fewer
clothes and choosing higher quality pieces and making them last longer.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
So hanging up people, dry it, dry it, line dry it.
That's the call.
Speaker 4 (32:11):
Yeah. I mean, you can make your laundry so much
less expensive by line drying and using less detergent. Think
of what people are saving just by listening to you.
Speaker 1 (32:21):
We're saving people money. Oh my gosh, Patrick, We're like superheroes.
Speaker 4 (32:25):
You really are. I mean you all look like superheroes.
Speaker 1 (32:29):
Stop at Patrick. Oh, I love you already, But I
want to, you know, going back to the laundry care
and or the garment care and keeping it lasting as
long as we can. That kind of lends itself really
well into how often should we be washing certain items?
Like for example, I personally am a heavy sweater. It
doesn't take much to get a real good sweat going
(32:50):
with me. And so I'm typically washing my workout clothes
after everywhere. But something like jeans, how often should I
be washing gan if I want them to last longer.
Speaker 4 (33:02):
So your workout wear, you really do need to wash
everywhere for a couple of reasons. Number one, it's better
for the workout gear because it doesn't have the oil
and the sweat in it. But it's also better for
you because it can actually the bacteria can sort of
multiply and you can get a rash, so it's no good.
So you need to wash active wear. And like what
I'm gonna call the first layer. So like underwear, probably
(33:22):
every single time. Right, People who are not heavy sweaters
that wear bras can wear them a couple of times,
but everything else is a one and nine. But like
my shirts, I try to wear my shirts three times
before I wash them, provided that I don't spill on them,
and if I spill something small, I try to spot
it out. But my jeans, I think you can wear
(33:45):
genes seven to ten times without washing them. Really Yeah, okay,
they're not as dirty as you think. And people wear
their winter coat all winter long and they don't wash it.
You know, good point, But genes you generate have something
under them, not always. If you don't, you have to
wash them more often. And you know the thing like
(34:07):
the shirt, Like I'm thinking about the shirt that I
have on. My husband loves fahidas. I mean, it's ridiculous
how often we go eat fajitas. And sometimes when you leave,
like even if you're careful and you don't spell on you,
you leave and you smell like the Mexican restaurant. Yes,
the shirt's completely clean, but you smell like the Mexican restaurant.
You can actually spray it with vodka, and vodka removes
(34:29):
the odor from anything. So like I just go home,
sprits the shirt with vodka, let it dry it, and
put it back in my closet.
Speaker 1 (34:37):
And now we've heard this before as well, but you're
you promised me I won't smell like a boozehound.
Speaker 4 (34:43):
No, that's the unique characteristic of vodka. When it dries,
it's odorless and colorless.
Speaker 2 (34:47):
Huh.
Speaker 4 (34:48):
Yeah, it's pretty amazing. Interesting, it's funny, like because you're
in New York, it's a theater trick.
Speaker 2 (34:52):
Oh uh huh. That was at one time in the theater.
Speaker 3 (34:56):
And actually, now that now that we're talking about this,
I do feel like I remember our costume teams spritzing stuff.
Speaker 4 (35:01):
Yeah, so it was probably voko, Yeah, probably was.
Speaker 2 (35:05):
Real.
Speaker 1 (35:06):
Simple Magazine created their own recommendations on how frequently you
should wash certain items of clothing along with your workout wear,
anything white or silk swimsuits, posury t shirts, tanks, and
camussels should be washed after everywhere, but things like wool
or synthetic blend sweaters can be worn up to five
times before washing them. Let's dig into the sorting of
(35:28):
it all. Sorting has become something of a hot topic,
and there's a bit of a generational divide around it.
But is the dye in our clothes bleeding all that
much still? And how much are we really putting our
whites at risk when we throw them in with lighter
colored items.
Speaker 4 (35:47):
I love sorting like I love it. I actually sort whites,
cool colors, hot colors, black active wear. That's how I sort,
and I do it because that's the very best thing
you can do for your clothes. But you know, if
you're a single person, you don't have that many clothes,
you probably could get away with lights darks active wear.
(36:07):
The reason you want to throw the active wear aside
is because you should put oxygen bleach in it, because
that's going to take care of all the.
Speaker 2 (36:13):
Sweat, even if they're dark colors.
Speaker 4 (36:16):
Even if they're dark colors, oxygen bleach is one hundred
percent color safe. Chlorine bleach is not. Oxygen bleach is okay,
like your workout wear. Have you ever put it on
after you've washed it and it smells terrible like ten
minutes later. Yeah, that's because it's hydrophobic and oleophilic. It
hates water. It loves oil, so it loves the oil
in your skin, and it loves the sweat in the
(36:36):
oil in your skin. Oxygen bleach will break that down
and take it away. The problem is oxygen bleach is
not safe for wool or silky So I throw the
active wear in its own load. I don't worry about
the color. I throw in its own load, and then
you know, you can just put the oxygen bleach in
there with it.
Speaker 3 (36:53):
Interesting to you, what is it defines a cool color
and what defines a hot color?
Speaker 4 (37:00):
Are any shade of blue, green, or purple and gray?
Hot colors are going to be any shade of red.
So pink to burgundy orange, So what peach to rust?
And then yellow so like buttered to gold, I guess?
And then brown?
Speaker 2 (37:15):
Oh, brown is a hot color.
Speaker 4 (37:17):
Yeah. The thing is our clothes don't really bleed that
much anymore. That's kind of a like it's really fun
to watch on the Brady Bunch, but it doesn't really
happen in twenty twenty four. And if you haven't used
color catchers and you live in an apartment, they're going
to change your life.
Speaker 3 (37:33):
Wait, what is a color catcher?
Speaker 4 (37:35):
So it's this little paper sheet that absorbs dye. So like,
if you have a red and white striped shirt, the
red dye goes into the color catcher so it doesn't
settle into the white. Oh and so if you do
accidentally wash your red sox with your white, it keeps
the color from fading. They're pretty amazing.
Speaker 1 (37:54):
Now we're talking a little bit about active wear, and
I want to get back really quickly to So you
had mentioned OXYGENA, which is really good. Are there certain
other ingredients we should be looking at when we look
at the detergent that are going to be more effective
on certain types of fabrics?
Speaker 4 (38:08):
So I prefer. It's funny, I'm going to call it
the oatmeal approach. I prefer the most basic, simple soap
or detergent you can get your hands on, okay, and
then if you need to add oxygen, bleach ad it.
If your clothes are really dirty because you were hiking,
add some baking soda. You know, you can make the
process a lot more sustainable, but it also makes it
(38:30):
a lot cheaper because the manufacturers add a huge price
to be like now with oxy boost or now with
you know, sanitizer. Well, if you need those, add them.
But you just don't need that stuff in every load.
I mean, we have this mindset that our clothes are
(38:51):
filthy and we basically have to you know, boil them
and pray that they're safe to wear. Yeah, and the
reality is to turgent will pretty much do it ninety
nine percent of the time. You know, there's just those
few things when you need to add a booster. But
then when you do, just add it. It's just like oatmeal.
You know, if it needs to be sweeter, you just
(39:11):
add more sugar. If you haven't had any fruit today,
you throw in some crazines. You know, start with a
basic and add what you want. Don't start with twenty
different kinds that are super complicated.
Speaker 1 (39:23):
Coming up on grown up stuff? How do adults? I
have a sweater that I held on too that I
was like, maybe I'll just lose a lot of weight
and fit into it someday.
Speaker 2 (39:31):
But now I can actually do this.
Speaker 4 (39:34):
I have three or four ozembic sweaters myself, and it's
really easier to just take them back to where they
need to go.
Speaker 1 (39:43):
We'll be right back after a quick break, and we're
back with more grown up stuff.
Speaker 2 (39:57):
How to adults?
Speaker 3 (40:02):
So, cycle length, speed, and water temperature are some of
the most crucial settings for people who are just you know,
starting out with laundry. To understand what is your advice
for each of these very very important settings.
Speaker 4 (40:15):
Okay, so for cycle length and speed, express cycle. We
want the shortest cycle we can get our hands on.
So if you don't have an express cycle on your
washing machine, choose permanent press because that's the shortest. And
this one's going to be very controversial. So here it comes.
I prefer warm water.
Speaker 2 (40:36):
Interesting, I know.
Speaker 4 (40:39):
I know, I know, and I get called out for
it all the time. Here's the problem when you buy
detergent and they show the commercial you can call water wash.
What they tell you in the fine print that you
can't see in the big print is that they consider
cold sixty five degrees. Okay, chances are your cold is
(41:01):
not sixty five degrees. I mean, I know where you live.
I know it's not. Yeah, it is in San Antonio, Texas,
but most of the United States it's not that warm.
And so if it's not sixty five degrees, you're not
really getting the benefits of your detergent. There are washing
machine manufacturers that are coming out with washing machines that
(41:25):
actually measure the temperature and bring it to sixty five degrees,
and if you have one of those, cold water wash
all you want. Otherwise, I'm a fan of warm water.
Warm water is not that hot. It's usually in the seventies,
but it's just warm enough to get everything to work.
Speaker 1 (41:41):
Do you have any tips for salvaging items that we
might have damaged in the laundering process, like such as
in situations where I have accidentally shrunk in a wool sweater.
Speaker 4 (41:53):
Okay, so you can unshrink it, you can, Yeah, you can.
Paul McCartney told me not to name, but I did
this on Kelly and once and she was fascinated, so
she tells her friends now when she does it, like
she does it for other people, it's kind of a
funny thing. Here's what you do. You soak it in
really hot water with a couple of tablespoons of either
olive oil or hair conditioner. Really yeah. You let it
(42:16):
soak for twenty four hours, but the water needs to
be pretty hot, like hot tab Okay. Then you take
it out like sopping wet on a towel and massage
it back into place, and the oil or the conditioner
will actually soften the fibers up that you can stretch
them back out.
Speaker 2 (42:32):
This is blowing my mind.
Speaker 1 (42:34):
I have a sweater that I held onto that I
was like, maybe I'll just lose a lot of weight
and fit into it someday.
Speaker 2 (42:40):
But now I can actually do this.
Speaker 4 (42:42):
I have three or four Ozmbic sweaters myself, and it's
really easier to just take them back to where they
need to go. Absolute like a whole Ozmpic wardrobe of
things that I just haven't let go of yet.
Speaker 1 (42:57):
I'm laughing so hard because it's such a great way
to phrase it. Where I like bought it and I
was like, this is tight, but I'll fit into it someday.
And I bought it anyway, and I haven't worn it.
I'm now gonna start calling it my oampic wardrobe. That's hilarious.
Speaker 4 (43:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (43:12):
And then another question about clothing that's we're getting kind
of ruined maybe through the wash, is clothes that excessively pill.
Do you have any tips to deep hill or make
those wearable again.
Speaker 4 (43:24):
So you can minimize the pilling by putting them in bags?
Speaker 2 (43:27):
Oh, in those mesh delicates bags.
Speaker 4 (43:29):
Right, Yeah, But you can buy a couple of different
DP pillars and they all work pretty well. I avoid
the electric ones because they can get too aggressive, or
like the battery operated ones.
Speaker 1 (43:40):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (43:40):
Yeah, but you can buy like a volcanic stone, like
it's like a pumice stone that'll work. You can buy
a thing that looks like a little comb and that
will cut off the pills in a real pinch. You
can actually use a disposable razor.
Speaker 2 (43:55):
I've heard that, yes, and it.
Speaker 4 (43:57):
Will work with any of them, just don't it too aggressive.
The fun fact is pills usually happen because the fibers
are really durable. The reason our jeans don't pill is
because cotton isn't very durable. It just breaks off, and
that's how we end up with lint. In the dryer
fabrics that are really durable, like wool or polyester, the
(44:18):
fibers are so strong they won't break off, so they
don't lint, and that's how you end up with pills.
And pills usually happen where you rub up against, like
under the arms of your sweaters, and so once you
cut them off, often they won't come back. But if
you have to take them off every so often, I mean,
that's not that big of a deal either.
Speaker 1 (44:39):
There are also some electric tools that are designed to
shave off the pills from your sweaters safely, but just
be sure you don't get overly enthusiastic when deppilling is.
You don't want to end up with a hole in
your fabric. Something that Matt and his wife have been
experimenting with when it comes to their laundry is a
practice called bluing, and for my fellow arrested development fans,
(45:00):
it's not what you think. It's essentially the process of
adding diluted blue dye to your whites in the laundry
to improve their brightness and balance. Out any natural yellowing.
Matt and Elena are still trying to determine if this
actually works, but we thought we'd ask Patrick if bluing
is just another laundry myth to be debunked, or if
there's something to this process.
Speaker 3 (45:22):
So, something I've heard about recently, which maybe some of
your listening might not have heard about, is bluing. Could
you explain blueing and why we might want to use it.
Speaker 4 (45:31):
I love bluing like I love it. There's actually if
you go into like if you tour historic houses, sometimes
in their laundry room, like if it's like a big mansion,
they'll have a washing sink, a rinsing sink, and a
bluing sank. Really, yes, And if I ever win Powerball,
I don't buy Powerball tickets, but if for some reason
I win Powerball.
Speaker 2 (45:52):
You're getting a bluing sink.
Speaker 4 (45:53):
I'm gonna have the square trains like the Beverly Hillbillies
did in front of their house, and I'm going to
have a bluing sink. So the bluing works. The color
we think of is white is not a natural white.
It's called optic white. And the way you get optic
white is you use a blue dye, so bluing is
actually a temporary version of that blue dye. So when
(46:16):
our grandmothers or your great grandmothers used to do laundry,
they would add bleach and you know, we should never
use chlorine bleach because it's horrible, but they would use
chlorine bleach to bleach out the white. So what they
would do is they would bleach the color out. Then
they would use bluing to put the color back. So
if you don't use bleach, you don't have to take
(46:36):
it out. But the washing machines at that time just
weren't that advanced. I mean, that was sort of the
best system they had, so it still will brighten white.
The problem with modern washing machines you actually have to
dilute it in water and then dump that into your
washing machine. But a fun fact to bluing is if,
like you have a pair of black pants that you've
(46:58):
washed too many times and they start to look.
Speaker 2 (47:00):
Grayish, yeah, which I do.
Speaker 4 (47:02):
You can use bluing to take the color back to black.
If you've overwashed your blue jeans and they're no longer
the color that you want, you can use bluing and
restore the color to them.
Speaker 3 (47:11):
What I thought this is just for whites. I did
not know this.
Speaker 4 (47:14):
No, you can actually use it on color. Basically, what
it does is it adds the optic whitener back. But
if you use more, you basically are using blue. I
mean it's blue dye at that point. So you can
use it on my jeans, you can use it on black.
It's kind of a wonderful product.
Speaker 3 (47:33):
My wife bought them and it didn't really work. But
maybe we messed it up.
Speaker 5 (47:36):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (47:37):
You might have too much detergent in your clothes. They
may be dull because they're full of detergent. Hmmm, that
is probably what it is.
Speaker 1 (47:46):
So to fix that, can he just like rinse it
without any detergent, like on a cycle without any detergent.
Speaker 4 (47:51):
I mean, just start using a tablespoon and a half
of detergent. Yeah, after three or four washes, they'll probably
just brighten.
Speaker 3 (47:57):
Okay, we'll give that a shut.
Speaker 4 (47:58):
Next.
Speaker 3 (47:59):
Well, we've come to the end of our questions, Patrick,
But is there anything that you feel like we've missed,
or anything that you're really passionate that we glossed over,
anything else that you think that the listeners should know
when it comes to laundry.
Speaker 4 (48:10):
Two things. Number One, you know I told you not
to use dryer sheets, but everybody uses them. For static.
You can use a ball of aluminum foil. You take
a one yard piece of aluminum foil and make a
ball about the size of a softball, throw it in
your dryer. It will absorb static better than anything you've
used in your life, and you can continue to use
it until it gets about the size of a walnut.
(48:33):
When it gets that size, just toss it and recycling
like you make a new one. That's a killer trick.
But then I hope the biggest thing that anybody takes
away is that, you know, laundry doesn't have to be
this horrible chore. When I was a kid, you would
watch TV, and at the time, you know, TV was sexist,
so it would always be the mom. But it would
be like, oh, I've got to go make dinner for
(48:53):
the kids, and like, you know, she'd put her hand
on her forehead like she was going to lay on
the fighting couch because it was this huge process. Well,
my mother in the seventies put the chicken in the
harvest gold double oven the exact same way that Ina
Garten puts the chicken in the oven. Now, the difference
is there are now networks and books and magazines and
(49:15):
stores devoted to cooking. It's the same chicken, it's the
same roasting band, and it's the same oven. The only
difference is people decided that cooking was a hobby. Yeah,
that it was fun. So it's fun to cook.
Speaker 2 (49:30):
And then it wasn't gender exclusive either.
Speaker 4 (49:32):
Yeah, it's not gender exclusive. I'd love to cook. So
the thing is, if you decide to get yourself the
right tools, you can do the same thing with laundry.
Laundry can be fun. You know, hang a disco ball
in your laundry room, put on this podcast, get some cookies,
and do the laundry. It's fun. It's very satisfying because
(49:52):
three hours later it's all done and you put it
away and you get this great sense of satisfaction. So
if you just it's fun, it's fun. And finally, you know,
I don't know if either of you have children, but
or spouse. It can be children or spouse. Usually if
you tell people you're gonna go do the laundry, they
don't follow you. So you can eat the whole bag
(50:14):
of cookies. By yourself.
Speaker 3 (50:17):
That is a hack if I've ever heard one.
Speaker 1 (50:20):
Gets a much needed alone time. If that's your situation,
I love it.
Speaker 3 (50:27):
And if your partner's love language is as acts of service,
or if it's yours, then what a beautiful thing to
do for your partner.
Speaker 4 (50:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (50:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (50:36):
When I wrote the book, we actually called it laundry
Love because my big thing is you do laundry for
people that you love. So if you're grouchy about doing laundry,
you need to stop and be grateful that you have
somebody to do laundry for, even if that's just you.
And the other thing that was in the book is
you don't have to do laundry. You get to do laundry.
(50:58):
You know, there's a lot of people, a lot of
places says that would kill for the option of putting
their clothes in, pushing the button in. An hour later
they're cleaned.
Speaker 3 (51:07):
So true.
Speaker 4 (51:07):
So it's just changing your mind. That's probably true of life,
right Like most things in life, it's just changing your attitude.
But it's totally true of laundry Love.
Speaker 1 (51:16):
It Patrick, I cannot tell you how not only haven't
you given us invaluable advice about laundry I feel like
you have bestowed so much important life advice here today
and just ways to go about changing your attitude, changing
your perspective that are also equally invaluable.
Speaker 3 (51:36):
And this has just been delightful.
Speaker 4 (51:38):
Well thanks and remember to eat the whole bag of
cookies yourself.
Speaker 2 (51:40):
I love it eating the whole bag of cookies by myself.
Are you kidding me?
Speaker 3 (51:43):
Totally?
Speaker 1 (51:43):
That's my love language. Oh, Patrick, thank you so so much.
Speaker 4 (51:51):
Yeah, thank you, this was fun.
Speaker 1 (51:58):
A huge thank you to both Kishan and Patrick. So
excited to have you on the show. Don't forget to
follow them both on social and check out Patrick's book,
Laundry Love and House Love. Here's what I'm taking away
from our conversations with both Kishan and Patrick. Dryer sheets,
fabric softeners, and scent beads leave a film on your clothes, towels, sheets,
(52:18):
et cetera, making them less absorbent and highly flammable. Plus
some reports have linked hormone endocrine disrupting chemicals which are
found in these laundry products, to infertility. Instead, try dryer
balls with a little bit of sential oils on them
for better drying and to get that scent you're looking
for and to get rid of that static cling, just
(52:39):
roll up a ball of aluminum foil and toss it
in the dryer. More detergent does not mean cleaner clothes
access laundry detergent actually does the opposite and traps the
dirt and oils in these fabrics. For large loads, about
two tablespoons of detergent should do the trick, and for
smaller stackable machines, one and a half tablespoons is plenty.
(53:02):
Don't overfill your washer or dryer. If you're packing it
to the top, you're doing it wrong. Somewhere around seventy
to eighty percent full is a good measure. Vinegar and
water are great for oil stains. Sweaters that you shrunk
in the laundry can be fixed with a hot soak
and some olive oil or hair conditioner. Bluing is a
great way to not only make your whites brighter, but
(53:24):
if you add a little more, you can restore dark
colored jeans too. Color catchers are a great tool to
help avoid colors bleeding in your wash. Pro tip, though,
put them in a mesh delicate's bag to avoid them
getting sucked into the drain and creating a blockage. And finally,
laundry is not only a way to show your love
(53:45):
for others and yourself. It can be fun and most importantly,
it can be a reminder to be grateful for the
many wonderful things we have in our lives. Sweet Sweet
Mattie Stills. Every time we talk to someone about a
topic that seems very specific and even technical, I feel
like we have gotten a much bigger life lesson out
of those conversations, Like, laundry is about gratitude and love.
Speaker 2 (54:08):
Hell, it's even about self care.
Speaker 1 (54:11):
Matt what stuck with you most from these conversations with
Keishawan and Patrick Detergent.
Speaker 3 (54:16):
We're a really big eco friendly house. We've been like
started trying out different products. Like there's this company called
Drops that has like little powder pods that use different
kinds of plastic that dissolve completely and they're using a
smaller amount of detergent and they come in paper packaging,
so you're not using like plastic or anything like that.
So those have been really, really incredible. I've just learned
that a little bit goes a long way, and I'm
(54:38):
excited about saving more energy and doing laundry with a
planet in mind. But what about you.
Speaker 1 (54:43):
Just knowing that there are some things that we can
actually clean at home that don't need to go to
the h dry clean is pretty shocking too. But Matt,
my ever prepared friend, let's tell our friends at home
what's next.
Speaker 3 (54:57):
On the podcast, We're digging into plant care and we
will be joined by author and Instagram icon the One
and Only Plant Queen aka Christopher Griffin. We're talking lighting, overwatering,
finding plants in our toxic to your pets, and so
much more.
Speaker 1 (55:11):
I can't wait to ask them about what I should
be doing about this potted perennial. I have no idea
what to just do with what is now just a
pile of dirt in a pot right now.
Speaker 3 (55:21):
And I've got a couple of follow up questions like
A what is a perennial? And B why do you
just have a pot of dirt in your apartment? But
I'm sure we will find out all about that and
more in two weeks on the next episode Of've Grown
Up Stuff? How do adult? And if you are enjoying
the show, don't forget to follow and subscribe wherever you
are listening so you don't miss an episode. We also
want to hear from you, so go ahead and leave
(55:42):
us a rating review on your podcast player of choice
while you're at.
Speaker 1 (55:44):
It, or send us that email tell us what kind
of adulting stuff you're trying to figure out and want
us to cover on the show. You can send us
that email or voice note to grown Upstuff Pod at
gmail dot com. You might hear us thanking you on
an upcoming episode. Remember you might not be graded in life,
but it never hurts to do your homework.
Speaker 3 (56:04):
This is a production from Ruby Studio from iHeartMedia. Our
executive producers are Molli Soshia and Matt Stillo.
Speaker 2 (56:10):
This episode was engineered by Matt.
Speaker 3 (56:12):
Stillo and written by Molly Soosha.
Speaker 2 (56:15):
This episode was edited by Sierra Spree
Speaker 3 (56:17):
And special thanks to our teammates at Ruby Studio, including
Ethan Fixel, Rachel Swan Krasnov, Amber Smith, Deborah Kerrett, and
Andy Kelly.