20 quick home-based hacks for your clothes
For every problem, there's a solution. Well, for nearly every problem. Because if the required solution is currently not to hand, it's time for an emergency solution.
These quick fixes are in no way inferior to the more usual methods — as the following list of household hacks for your clothes proves. Whether combating red wine stains or stubborn zippers, these tricks have proven themselves in everyday use. So, dear dedicated followers of fashion: no reason to panic. Help is on its way!
1. Widening shoes
If you need to stretch your newly purchased leather shoes, you can widen them with the help of a hair dryer and a pair of thick socks. Just pull on the socks, slip your feet into the shoes, then warm the places where they pinch with the hairdryer. While doing so, move your feet from side to side in the shoes.
2. Stuck zipper
When the zipper doesn't close smoothly anymore, that can often be the beginning of the end. But, this doesn't have to be the case. Put a little Vaseline on the open zipper at the point where the teeth meet. In most cases, once lubricated, it will slide easily again.
3. White soles
The rubber soles and edges of sneakers shine like new when you clean them with nail polish remover. Drizzle some nail polish removed on a cotton pad and polish the soles and the toes of your sneakers with it. Shiny!
4. Remove deodorant stains
With time, even light-colored T-shirts end up with those strange stains in the armpits due to the chemical reactions between sweat and deodorant. Where your washing machine is powerless to help, a mixture of lemon juice and baking soda does the job. Put some baking soda on the stains — baking powder of course works just as well — and rub it with half a lemon. After leaving it to work for a few minutes, wash out the deodorant stains with water.
5. Prevent sweat stains
It doesn't matter whether they're caused by sheer excitement or higher temperatures: damp sweat stains are always unpleasant. In order to avoid them, you can stick sanitary pads in the armpits of your clothes. It sounds weird, but it helps.
6. Simple suede leather care
Elvis once sang, "Don't you step on my blue suede shoes." Had he known that he just needed a nail file and an eraser to take care of them, he would have been a lot less fussy.
7. Eliminate makeup stains
Quickly apply some primer to your neckline and you're good to go. But wait, a blob of it has landed on your shirt! No problem: get some shaving foam (not gel!) and leave it for a short time to work on the affected area. Then wash it off with water, dry with a hairdryer, and you're done.
8. Stop snags in your pantyhose
This trick is so old, that some people might not even know it anymore. Stop snags in your pantyhose in their tracks with a few drops of clear nail polish.
9. Loose buttons
This also works for buttons. If it looks like you'll soon be parting company with your favorite shirt after years of loyal service, use some clear nail varnish to hold buttons in place before they fall off. Just apply the nail varnish the loosening threads.
10. Open fly
When the zipper on your jeans opens by itself again, you can put a brake on its free-spirited independence by attaching a keyring to the fastener and then pulling over the the button on your pants. Then button your pants as normal: the zipper is not going anywhere.
11. Watermarks on leather shoes
Rain and snow settle on even the best cared-for shoes. However, it's child's play to remove watermarks with vinegar or half a lemon. Rub it in and then clean as normal.
12. Shave off fuzz balls
Woolen pantyhose, pullovers, knitted jackets: sooner or later they start to generate fuzz balls. However, you can easily remove the fluff with a razor. Spread the fabric flat and go over it carefully with the blade. You can collect the balls of fluff with a strip of adhesive tape afterwards.
13. Ruffled shirt
Your closet's full of clothes, but you have nothing to wear? You can pep up boring T-shirts with two safety pins. Thread the needles left and right along the internal side seams, so that it creates a cute ruffled look on the outside.
14. Stinky shoes
You can wash most training shoes, but you shouldn't do it all that often. So that your best pairs don't stink, instead sprinkle some baking soda or baking powder inside. That absorbs the stink and can be emptied out the next day.
15. Lipstick attack
You should kiss red lips — and keep them as far away from your clothes as possible. However, in the worst case scenario where you don't manage this, you mustn't despair. Spray hairspray generously on the stain and dab at it for few minutes. Then put the affected garment in the washing machine as usual.
16. Errant permanent marker
Permanent markers can be really useful. Less so, however, when you get them on your clothes. But there is a solution: stains from these waterproof markers, and similar products, can be removed with cleaning solvents like benzene. Place some paper towel under the fabric and spray some benzene on the stain. Repeat the process several times while changing the kitchen paper.
17. Iron your collars
Ironing shirt collars is always a challenge, whenever you have to do it. Anyone wanting to make it easier should just use some hair straighteners instead.
18. Lost drawstring in your hoodie
The cords in the hood of sweatshirts disappear so quickly that some of them seem to pull themselves out of the seam immediately after purchase. But wait: with a drinking straw you can thread them back through the hood without further ado. Stick the cord in the straw and then feed it into the opening. Then, pull the hem of the hood along the straw until you see it poking out the other end.
19. Quick drying
So that your laundry dries quicker, you should always put a clean hand towel in the dryer with your wet laundry. The hand towel absorbs the moisture, so it's more widely distributed and can evaporate more quickly. This doesn't only save time, but also energy!
20. Spilled red wine
When it comes to stains, spilled red wine is one of the classics. As long as it's still wet, you should sprinkle salt on it right away. Dried-on stains should be tackled with white wine. Because of their similarity, red wine will dissolve itself in its white counterpart. The lighter white wine stain can then be quickly removed.
Those who know how to help themselves live a more relaxed life. This is good for your individual wellbeing and no less for your surroundings. Share this article with your fashion-loving friends so that small clothing catastrophes don't degenerate into full-blown disasters!